When I realized that Sue would be unable to re-join me in San Diego, I started putting in transfer requests for shore duty in the states.By this time I had spent a total of three years at sea aboard the Henderson,27 months of that was in Japan.Although I still loved Japan, I felt it was time to stay ashore for awhile.
After several transfer request were denied,I finally received a transfer,but not shore duty.I was transfered to another destroyer,the USS stockham DD683.
The Stockham was in mothballs in San Diego and her new crew had to remove all the protective spray off all parts of her equiptment.This involved hours on end of scraping,wire brushing,re-painting and polishing brass.
Eventually we were able to get back into seaworthiness condition and she was ready to be put back into service.
After the re commissioning ceremonies,we steamed out of San Diego for the Stockhams shakedown cruise and training exercises.Both crew and ship performed well.
In late February we departed San Diego and steamed down to the Panama Canal.
As we traversed the canal from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic ocean the temperature was 110 degrees.When we entered a fresh water lake The C.O. ordered the crew to break out the fire hoses and hose down the ship to wash the salt water off everything.We not only hosed the ship down but each other also.
After clearing the canal and entering the Atlantic, we steamed north towards our destination,Newport,Rhode Island. As we proceeded north,I received a cable from my wife that I was a father.Our daughter ,Donna, had been born on March 2nd..
When we reached Newport there was 2 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature was 30 degrees,quite a change from the 110 degrees just a few days before.
I had 14 days leave starting at midnight the day we arrived in port,but I also had liberty starting at 4 pm.I thought I would be clever and go on liberty and make my travel arrangements,etc.then return to the ship shortly before midnight and pick up my leave papers and be on my way to see Sue and my new daughter.
I went into town and made my plane reservations to leave Providence at 7:00 am the next morning. then I had dinner and took in a movie to kill time. However! while in the theatre a massive cold front moved in and when I came out of the theatre it was sleeting and the temperature was around zero and the wind was blowing around thirty knots,all liberty boats to the ships in the harbor were canceled and I spent the night in the dockhouse.
I finally made it back to my ship around 9 am the next morning wet cold and had missed my flight out of Prividence. I finally got out of Providence later that morning after pouring out a sob story to the gate attendants,and made it to Rome and to Sue and Donna.
When I enlisted on 4 October ,1948,it was for three years. When Sue was with me in San Diego I had a calendar on the wall and each night when I went to bed I would check off a day.
One night I went to bed with 87 days remaining on my enlistment and when I picked up the newspaper the next morning I had a year and 87 days remaining. Thanks to the Korean war, President Truman had added an extra year to my enlistment.
Never-the-less I finally finished my service and with the rank of 2nd. class torpedoman (the army equivalent rank is Sergeant), I was given an honorable discharge at the Philadelphia naval station on 21 September,1952,2 weeks short of 4 years.I bought a Greyhound bus ticket and headed home to Rome,Georgia and civilian life with Sue and my baby girl Donna Sue.
So grandchildren and future great-grandchildren,this is the story of how your noni and pawpaw met while I was in the navy and how our branch of the Henderson family started.
Just last year our Donnas daughter,Krista was married to a wonderful young man,John.While All of our children,Donna,Cathy, Bruce and Gina were together for the wedding, they had a photo taken together and framed it for Sue and I.An inscription is with the picture that reads,
" The Henderson Family,Our family is a circle of strength and love.With each birth and every union the circle grows.Every joy shared adds more love:every crisis faced together makes the circle stronger..." Donna,Bruce,Cathy,& Gina
