[Note: Read this post first for an introduction.]
This letter was written while my ship was in the midst of a three-month overhaul in San Diego’s NASSCO shipyards. My Desert Storm experience consists largely of me watching it on TV and supplementing that knowledge with the secret knowledge shared on the intelligence wires. I did return to the Gulf to serve in the combat zone but only after hostilities had largely ceased.
During this time my uncle Jimmy passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Many more heart attacks would come to afflict the Turner clan (though I intend to take good care of my ticker – and have so far).
C.J. was my parents’ Golden Retriever, still a puppy at the time of this writing.
My dad did end up visiting that March. We spent a few days and nights sightseeing around my ship and around San Diego. It was a weekend spent with my dad that I will never forget.
21 January 1991 (my 22nd Bday!!) [age:22, duh]
Dear Grandma,
Sorry it’s been sooo long since I’ve written – I’m just taking the bandages off my writing hand, so to speak. As you know there has been a whole lot going on since you last heard from me.
As you already know, we are “at war” with Iraq. At this stage in the game it is mainly an air assault carried out by Air Force and Navy + Marine pilots. There has not been too much participation from most of the Naval forces besides the few missile launches and routine boardings of tankers. Let me tell you that the Navy is the safest place to be, seeing how Iraq had no Navy to begin with and now has no Air Force.Also, I will not be going anywhere until late summer, which should be relatively calm in Operation Desert Storm. At any rate, I will spend my time up there getting a suntan and watching movies on the VCR, in air-conditioned comfort! Hey, it’s a touch job, but someone has to do it!
I heard about Uncle Jimmy the Sunday after he died from Jeff. I wish I could’ve made it to the funeral but I found out too late. I guess you just never know.
A friend of mine from Florida handed me an extra application to Florida State tonight. I have been collecting college applications for about a month now but have yet so sit down and fill them all out. The main reason for my delay was my work on an English 101 term paper that I’ve been busy with. I turned it in today, completing a three month course which I should earn an A in. So far I’ve taken three college courses while in the Navy and received A’s in all three. Not only that, the first two were free, and the USN picked up 75% of the cost of the last one! I hope to earn enough credits while I’m here to knock out my first year in school.
When I was at home, I did some figuring to calculate the approximate time I may leave the service. Providing I have enough “terminal leave” saved up, I may get out on January 2, 1992 instead of Feb. 15 1992. This earlier date would allow me to enter college for the spring semester instead of waiting all the way til summer. But of course, the situation could change between now and then …
I had plenty of fun with C.J. when I was at home. He’s a little bigger than he was when you had your picture took with him! I made it a habit after breakfast to grab the leash and take him out for a run on the local field. I even tried out his new manners, which work just fine, sometimes a little too good. I can make him stay all right, but he just sits there and stares at me blankly when I tell him to come! He’s a trickster, though. I spent a lot of time trying to get him to catch a tennis ball in his mouth, but that doesn’t work, either. As soon as I toss it, he becomes airborne, usually in my direction, and I have to dodge this flying tangle of fur and legs that’s about to knock me down! He’ll wear you out before you know it..
Jeff says that he seems to miss me – he mopes around alot and hasn’t been eating much lately. I told him to be sure C.J. gets his exercise and he should be okay.
Dad should get a chance to visit me out here soon, and Mom should be coming with him. He’s in the running for IBM’s “100 percent club” and IBM is having a big she-bang out here to celebrate. Dad thinks he’ll be here for it, around March 23 or so, and Mom might decide to come, too. I’m looking forward to it, showing them around to things they haven’t seen but only heard about where I live and work. He’s been to San Diego before on business and claims he likes it, but he doesn’t have to live here, does he?
My ship will be traveling up to San Francisco for almost the entire month of February to get some work done. Of course, there will be plenty of time for me to look around too, since it will be the first time I’ve been there. My cousin Lora Lee lives in Mount Pleasant and I hope to get to see her + her husband while I’m in town. Frisco is one of those places I can add to my travel list, which so far includes: VA, MA, CA,FL, HI for states I’ve seen while in the military; and countries: Canada, Mexico, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Diego Garcia and Oman. It’s not known if I’ll be going anywhere new between now and my exit date, but who knows?
It sure feels good to write again after all this time. Now that my English course is out of the way, I can get back to all those things I’ve been putting off for one reason or another (I’ll keep busy for a while with my procrastination….) Don’t worry too much about me, and I’ll be looking for your letter in the mail.
Love,
Mark