Bob Joined the Navy
In the early 1950's the United States was again at war only it was termed a Police Action. Our troops were being sent to help defend South Korea. Bob's brother Leonard was drafted and was sent to Korea. He wrote to Bob, ". . . enlist in the Naval Reserves as soon as you turn 18 and, hopefully you won't have to serve in this Hell Hole."
On December 23, 1953, according to his Enlistment Record, Bob joined the Naval Reserve. He had two weeks of Boot Camp at Camp Porter on the Great Lakes. Weekly meetings were required for additional training. Each Reservist had to be ready to immediately report for Active Duty if called; therefore, all inoculations had to be kept up to date.
In addition, a two-week cruise on board a Navy ship provided additional training to maintain battle-ready status. Bob enjoyed talking about his training experiences on different types of ships. He was discharged on December 6, 1961. On his discharge papers was a list of the ships he served on during his 8 years in the Reserves. I do not have the exact dates of these training cruises; however, I do know he usually managed to schedule the tour during the winter months.
The ships named on his Discharge Papers were: USS PCE 880, the USS K M Willett (DE) 354, the USS Cowell (DD 547), the USS Lexington(CVA-16), and the USS Klondike (AD22)
Memories he shared
Many times when we were taking our coffee break, Bob would reminisce about his experiences on these cruises. His orders to report would take him to New Orleans, LA, Long Beach, CA, Norfolk, VA, or San Diego, CA. Bob described his training aboard a Destroyer as "rough riding." One Cruise, upon arrival in San Diego, he learned his orders had been changed and he was assigned to the Lexington Air Craft Carrier. Bob couldn't find the ship! Finally, he asked another sailor. The young man simply pointed straight up. There it was. It seemed to be about five stories high and was right in front of him.
Description of the ships
Research information about the ships was accomplished with Wikipedia.
All I could learn about the PCE 880 was that it was a Patrol Carrier Escort. The picture I found was of the PCE 882.
The USS K M Willett (DE 354) - Destroyer Escort was re-commissioned in May 1951 at San Diego. After a shakedown cruise along the California coast, she departed San Diego in route to New Orleans. She was assigned to the 8th Naval District and departed November 5 on a Naval Reserve Cruise to San Juan Puerto Rico. From then until October 1958, she made 65 training cruises. During this time, she rendered vitally important service making certain that the men of the Naval Reserve remained qualified to serve on a moment's notice to guard the nation's security on the high seas.
The USS Cowell (DD 547) Destroyer recommissioned September 21, 1951, Cowell was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and sailed from San Diego January 4, 1952, to arrive at Norfolk, Virginia on January 19. She joined in fleet exercises and training. On January 7,1955, Cowell cleared Norfolk and arrived at Long Beach January 28 to join the Pacific Fleet. During the 1955 tour of duty in the western Pacific she joined in guided missile exercises in route to Pearl Harbor, served as plane guard for the Essex, served on the Taiwan Patrol and participated in hunter killer exercises with TF77. The Cowell provided training from Long Beach when not deployed
The USS Lexington Air Craft Carrier (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16) at one time nicknamed the Blue Ghost is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built during Word War II for the United States Navy. Originally intended to be named Cabot, word arrived during construction the USS Lexington (CV-2) had been lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea. She was renamed while under construction to commemorate the earlier ship. She was the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of the Lexington. The Lexington was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive action through the War in the Pacific. Following the war, the Lexington was decommissioned but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950's being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA), Later she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CA) and in her second career she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, on the east coast as a training carrier (CVT). In 2003, the Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark.
The USS Klondike Destroyer Tender. After shakedown, the Klondike was loaded with hundreds of tons of spare parts and ship's stores in preparation for the task of supplying and maintaining destroyers. The Klondike was placed in service in September 1948. She served as the flagship of the San Diego Group Pacific Reserve Fleet until May of 1955.
