USS Halibut Crewman

[Kevin G]

I am a retired civilian mariner and often will chat with people wearing a ball cap or displaying a bumper sticker as a veteran.
Yesterday in the supermarket parking lot I was passing a gentleman with a USS Halibut ball cap on. We stopped and chatted a bit, asked him if he been crew on her and what his rating was. He said that he had been crew and he retired from the Navy as a W04 operations technician after 27 years. He explained as an enlisted man sonar was his field. I was pretty impressed, W04 is quite an accomplishment. We said goodbye and I went to my truck to leave but something was nagging at me. Then it clicked, the Halibut was a special submarine modified for surveillance/spying.
I googled it on my iPhone and my hunch was right. Went back in the supermarket and found the gentleman. He struck me as a rather quiet guy so I waited until he was away from other people and approached him again. I excused myself if I was pestering him but explained I realized what the Halibut was. All I got out was “ Were you ...” he smiled and said yes. Told me it was quite the experience, spent eight years on board her. I figured further conversation about her was not appropriate. Thanked him for his service and shook hands.
Excellent book” Blind Man’s Bluff” rivals “Hunt for Red October”, but it’s real. Halibut is prominently featured in it.
Kevin

 

[Rustyt1953]

I wasn't very familiar with the boat so I, too, did some digging and it indeed does have quite the history.

It must take a strong mind to live in one of those. I don't think I could do it.

 

[Rudi]

I wasn't very familiar with the boat so I, too, did some digging and it indeed does have quite the history.

It must take a strong mind to live in one of those. I don't think I could do it.

Great tale. Yep, living in sub would not be for me either. But Sub School would wash us out anyway.

 

[Leslie Sapp]

"But Sub School would wash us out anyway"

Supposedly, Subs were volunteer only. However, I have a friend, a plank owner on the Sturgeon, who told me, " no, I didn't volunteer, I was just a radioman when they needed one".

 

[vigil617]

I bought a copy of "Blind Man's Bluff" on a whim as a birthday gift for my dad probably 20 years ago now. What a great book it turned out to be, though!

It's nothing short of incredible what we were able to do on the oceans back during the Cold War, much of it highly-classified ops that were audacious and very productive. For instance, building the Glomar Explorer in plain sight as an "oil exploration ship" when in reality it was designed for the sole purpose of raising a sunken Soviet sub and collecting its secrets.

I'm sure that chief warrant officer from the Halibut could tell some tales -- if he's allowed to.

 

[Izzydog]

I've read the book Blind Mans Bluff several times, and seen the History Channel special of the same name several times. I can honestly say that, what our submarines do, and have done, will never be fully told.

I refuse to wear ball caps, shirts, or jackets, that might identify me as a veteran. It's not that I'm embarrassed of my service, I just don't feel that I've done anything worthy of any special recognition. I did my four, and kept on trucking. Besides all that, It's a little galling to me because, many vets seem to lord it over people, for no good reason.

 

[Izzydog]

"But Sub School would wash us out anyway"

Supposedly, Subs were volunteer only. However, I have a friend, a plank owner on the Sturgeon, who told me, " no, I didn't volunteer, I was just a radioman when they needed one".

Sub school wasn't that hard, the education on the boat was far harder.

 

[Golddollar]

I refuse to wear ball caps, shirts, or jackets, that might identify me as a veteran. It's not that I'm embarrassed of my service, I just don't feel that I've done anything worthy of any special recognition. I did my four, and kept on trucking.

I'm sure you did more during your service than you think. A lot of people are needed to support the pilot in the air, the GI or Marine on the ground and the sailor or Coast Guardsman on the water.

One of my old friends was an officer in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. He did some criminal defense work. I remember him describing how he counseled service personnel about the progression of trouble they could get into and the consequences thereof if they didn't clean up their act. How many service people did he keep from ending up in the stockade or brig and instead were kept on active duty? That's probably only known to those who listened to him and straightened up.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Just needed one-oh yeah!

"But Sub School would wash us out anyway"

Supposedly, Subs were volunteer only. However, I have a friend, a plank owner on the Sturgeon, who told me, " no, I didn't volunteer, I was just a radioman when they needed one".

I met a guy in group at VA who was a parachute rigger, and ended up in MACV-SOG jumping out of an observation plane at night with one other guy into Cambodia!