Courtesy of Don Jones - Association of Minemen (AOM) newsletter.
One day at Long Beach we were told to "manufacture" ten inert "P"-Mines (contact-fired) for planting by the YFU. They were called "P"-Mines in honor of CDR Plank (USN Retired), whose name appeared on the Distribution List of the now-defunct Mk 59 Mine's OP. Since I didn't attend the COI taught by CDR Plank at Long Beach, I had a lot to learn about the mine-design once used by then LT Plank in support of Chiang Kai-shek's KMT forces on Mainland China. Those must have been exciting days for the young LT, who recalled that one day the thatch roof of his TNT filling plant caught fire. We could tell that some of the wooden "P"-Mine tool kits we had at Long Beach had been in a fire. One of the never-seen-before tools was called a "kluge." That may have been the device used to drill a hole into the TNT charge in order to accommodate the boosters on the end of the long Mk 8 Demolition Initiator (DI). Another tool we used was the "bung-extractor/wrench."
MN 2 Frank Styles's crew mixed the concrete and quickly manufactured the concrete anchors, counter-weights, & ballast blocks. The 55-gallon oil drums (mine cases) were carefully selected & partially-filled with 100-lbs of concrete vice the TNT main charge. I liked the Mk 8 DI used as the contact firing device, however, I did not trust the color-coded chemical pencils used for delay arming (DA). I was concerned about the large plus or minus factors on the DA-settings. I think we used a 30-minute DA, with a 5 to 8 minute +/- factor.
The Mk 8 DI was fired by a 1-g blow to the awash mine case or by a mercury switch if the mine case inverted in cases where the mooring cable between the mine case & counter-weight was cut or broke. Flashlight batteries (C-cell size) were used to fire the detonator. Getting the desired 0.5 to 0.75-inch case clearance on the water's surface was frustrating but doable at pier-side.
We were excited when we went out on the YFU to plant the "P-Mines. When the skipper assured us that we were minutes away from launch, I activated the chemical pencils on the ten mines by twisting the knob & breaking the vial of acid inside the DI which started eating away at the spring-loaded wire. Then the unthinkable happened. We were off-course & out-of-position. Styles was the time-keeper & he kept loudly reminding everyone, including the skipper, that we were fast approaching the point at which the Mk 8 DI's could start arming. I believe the skipper took the initiative to "screw the course-correction" and told us to launch the mines. During post-analysis, we discovered all of the detonators had been fired by the time the mines were recovered, however, we didn't know when they had fired. Some could have fired during the launch & mooring phase. At any rate, it was a unique experience for all concerned & I owed many heart-felt thanks for its success to Frank Styles, who also answered to the nickname "Saigon Sam."
Don Jones, MNCM, USN Retired
Naval Weapons Station Earle is probably why I am here. My Mother was hired there during WW2. She was recently widowed when her first husband was killed in the Battle of the Buldge. To support herself my mother took a job in the personnel department. She met her second husband there, he was a sailor. By him she had two boys (my half brothers) and again widowed when he died suddenly of a stroke. In the early 1960's she met my father who was stationed there and they soon married.
In early 2001, I was working for a sign company in NJ who had a contract to install and service signage on the Naval base. The work took several months to complete. After September 11, 2001 access to the base was highly restricted and difficult to obtain. In order to continue the work my employer had to jump through hoops in order to get his employees access onto the base. All employees had to produce birth certificates for security clearances. I commented to my employer that was ironic, since odds were I was conceived on the back roads of Earle.
I always think of Frank when I see this classic old recruitment poster. The stance of the sailor, how he wears his hat and his build. I remember my mother commenting on this poster years ago, saying it looked like him.
Frank often spoke of his buddies from the Navy. He didn't have any real family to speak of. The United States Navy was it. I can't remember his friend's names, perhaps a few are still around. Most of Frank's stories involved drinking and fighting. My Dad was 5'11" and never weighted more than 170 pounds in his life. I kind of doubt he won as many fights as he claimed.
However, born in the country and was a tough farmboy who grew up in an abusive home. I knew a man filled with rage and anger, I'm sure when he got drunk and let loose it probally got ugly.
While serving in Vietnam, Frank's duty was not sweeping mines but "Hotel Management" It sound like easy duty, however it wasn't. One of his tasks was to fill out reports of all suicides at his hotels. My mother spoke of a Thanksgiving dinner when Frank was home on leave. He abruptly exited the kitchen during the carving of the Turkey. He had flashed back to a suicide he had to clean up on in one of his hotels. The man had used a knife. Frank also was responsible for going thru the deceased's personal belongings to make sure "nothing inappropriate" went back to the next of kin. Often it was photos from combat, once it was ears.
Note on the back "I was going to work and a kid yelled at me. So I gave him the finger and he snapped it. I knew he had a camera is why I didn't look back."
In doing this blog I've found myself researching Navy minesweepers. There's a lot of on line groups. I'm learning about the differant classes of ships and how they operate. I did not realize they were wooden vessals, to avoid setting off magnetic mines. The saying "Wodden ships, Iron men" applies to the minemen. Very cool stuff, I'm proud of my father's service. He served on the USS Robin AMS 53 and USS Crossbill AMS 45. Perhaps I'll contact a few groups to make certian of my facts.
Shortly after joining the Navy, Frank was hanging out in an ordinance room with a buddy bullshitting. Frank discovered one of those generator-plunger thingies that is used in the field to detonate explosives. Having a flash bulb in his pocket, he wondered if it produced enough current to light the flash. It was the old school glass kind with a steel wool looking filament. The resulting pop was so loud it caused an officer to come running into the munitions room. Loud pops and bangs get the military nervous for some reason.
