TBS 2-67 Cruisebook_Updated_7Jan23

three and a half years until his graduation were filled
with wonderful times at the Academy both sailing on
the Chesapeake, attending formal affairs and dances
and planning our wedding day. It was now 1966, just
months away from Hank’s graduation and our wedding
day. All the invitations were printed and ready to be
mailed when Hank announced he was going to take his
Commission in the United States Marine Corps. He was
very proud of this selection for he really wanted to be a
Marine Corps Helicopter pilot. I then had to rush and
change his title to “Second Lieutenant, USMC” instead
of “Ensign, USN.”
After a wonderful
honeymoon in Jamaica
we headed for Hank’s
first Duty Assignment
being on the Plebe (first
year Midshipmen) Detail
for the summer in
Annapolis. The summer
past quickly and we were
off to TBS (The Basic
School) in Quantico, VA
for six months. It was the
Basic Training for Marine
Corps Officers. This was
#2 out of sixteen moves
in 47 years. On to Naval
Flight School for Hank in Pensacola FL. Because the
Vietnam War was escalating now “pools” were formed
waiting to go through pilot training. Hank earned his
Wings as Designated Naval Aviator about a year later. I
was very proud and he was thrilled! Our first child,
Second Platoon
Gail, was born July 1967 at The Naval Hospital,
Pensacola! How happy we were she was healthy and
beautiful and we thanked God for this blessing! Off we
were to New River, NC, the Marine Corps Air Station
near Camp Lejeune. Shortly after our arrival at New
River in the Fall of 1968 Hank’s Squadron was deployed
on a three-month Caribbean Cruise. Gail and I kept the
home fires burning in our cute little rented house in
Jacksonville, NC.
Hank returned home from that Cruise just in time for
the birth of our son, David, born Christmas Eve, 1968 at
The Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune. Once again we
thanked God for our healthy, handsome baby and we
were thrilled with our little family! A month later, in
January 1969, Hank had orders to Vietnam. We
returned to New Britain where my in-laws found me a
small town house for rent in the neighborhood that
they and my mom lived. The three of them and loving
extended family members became my support system
for the next 13 months. We still never spoke of the
“what if’s” and said our very tearful goodbye’s. If
“anything were to happen” Hank told me, I would be
contacted in person by a Chaplain and a Military
Officer. Hank flew a CH-46 Helicopter which carried
troops and did medevac missions. He was stationed at
the Marine Corps Air Facility, Marble Mountain just
south of Da Nang. He sent pictures of his Hooch (a
Quonset hut) where he lived, volleyball games they
played, an outdoor movie screen and the airfield with
helicopters spaced just so in case of an attack from the
North Vietnamese. Knowing exactly where he was, I
would faithfully listen to the news every morning and
then again before I went to bed on the evening news. If
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