USS Austin 1987

USS Austin LPD-4
1987

Updated: May 18th, 2025

This painting of Austin was a gift to me by Bruno in Naples in 1987

Chapter Outline

Returned to little Creek from NATO Exercise Northern Wedding (November, 1986)

(My father died while we were at sea during Exercise Northern Wedding)

Took leave in late November, 1986 to process my father's estate in Nakomis, Florida

MARG Workups; (29 April-19 May, 1987)

Buried my father at sea aboard Austin (late May, 1987)

Ammunition incident the night before we were to go to Yorktown before deployment

Ammunition load out at Yorktown (about June 15th)

Pick up Marines at Moorhead City, North Carolina (about June 16th)

Mediterranean Deployment MARG 3-87 (18 June, 1987)
24th MAU (Marine Amphibious Unit) and COMPHIBRON Six Staffs embarked

Rota, Spain for MARG turnover (01-04 July, 1987)

Midshipmen Swim Call

Sierra de Ru tan PHIBLEX (05-07 July, 1987

Inport Naples, Italy (13 JUly-11August-Boiler Repairs)

Operation Bright Star-Egypt (17-21 August, 1987)

Inport Haifa, Israel (27 August-13 September, 1987)

Rehearsal Exercise Display Determination (19 August-26 September)

Change of Command (23 September, 1987), Sardinia

Naples following the Change of Command (24 September-26 September)

I took leave in late November, 1986 to process my father's estate in Nakomis, Florida.
I returned in time to enjoy the Christmas holidays. In January through March, we prepared the ship for our deployment in March.

MARG Workups: (29 April-19 May, 1987)

The fives ships with the PHIBRON 6 staff aboard USS Guadalcanal LPH-7 spent three weeks working on engineering readiness while practicing communications and the formations we would employ during deployment. There were no practice amphibious landings as the MAU-24 staff and the marines assigned to the ships remained in Moorhead City. We would pick them up just prior to deployment.

Buried my father at sea aboard Austin (late May,1987)

I buried my father at sea before we left on deployment. We buried him in the same place in the Chesapeake as my mother.

The same Chaplain and Master Chief were there when we buried my mother. The Chaplain told me that he wasn't surprised that my father died shortly after my mother!

Amunition incident the night before we were to go to Yorktown
and then proceed to Moorhead City to pick up MSSG-24 and then deploy as MARG 3-87!

LCDR Norm Phelps
Executive Officer

At about midnight before we were scheduled get underway at 0800 that morning, Norm Phelps, my industrious and reliable XO and Jim Peed, my trustworthy First Lieutenant knocked on my door at our quarters. They reported that the Deck Department 3rd Division Officer during his pre-Yorktown inventory that afternoon had discovered that he had too many 40 mm shells and that he had decided that the best thing to do was to direct his 3rd Division 1st Class Gunner's mate to throw the excess shells over the side! Concerned was not an accurate description of their distress! But, we decided to wake up friend of Jim Peed who was an experienced diver and was familiar with the area of the pier where the shells were located. His advice was not to worry about it as we could never find the shells in the muddy bottom and that the shells were old and probably did not pose threat to our departing or the next ship that followed us at the pier.

LT (LDO) Jim Peed
First Lieutenant

I decided to take the diver's advice and to get underway as scheduled. There was no way that Austin was going to miss movement as we would probably be significantly delayed while a fruitless search was conducted to find the shells. We departed the pier on time without any problems. Note: I did contact the Commanding Officer of the ship that followed us at the pier, USS El Paso LKA-117 and asked him if he encountered any problems arriving at the pier. Interestingly, that CO was Captain Morey Kemple who relieved me as XO of Saratoga.

Ammunition Load out at Yorktown (about June 15th)

We got underway on time and proceeded out Little Creek harbor and turned north past the burial site toward the York River.

We entered the York River and followed the channel to the bridge over Route 17. We were approaching Yorktown on an ebb tide so we passed through more easily than if it had been a flood tide.	With the bridge raised, the space was narrow but large enough for an AOR so we had enough room. We maintained about 16 knots with the ebb tide to ensure we had enough steerage way to get through safely!

I had learned a great deal about seamanship and how to best maneuver Austin during Exercise Northern Wedding. The most significant thing was that I could control Austin best by maneuvering the stern rather than by controlling the bow. This was primarily due to the fact that the bridge was forward of the center of gravity so it became a sail in stern winds. So with the ebb tide and northerly winds at Yorktown, I decided to approach the pier stern first. Once I had the starboard stern at the pier, I used the port engine to bring the bow to the pier. It worked perfectly. When we had on loaded our weapons, ammunition, and related supplies, we were in a perfect position with the bow facing the bridge to continue our route to Moorhead City.

As we departed Chesapeake Bay and entered the Atlantic Ocean, I had "Danger Zone" from the first Maverick movie played at a high volume of the IMC. I wanted to instill in the hearts and minds of the officers and enlisted of Austin that we were ready to meet any challenge on deployment!

Picked up Marines at Moorhead City, North Carolina (June 16th)

I'm not sure how long it took to achieve the load aboard of the MAU-24 staff aboard USS Guadalcanal LPH-7, the BLT staff aboard USS Spiegel Groove LSD-32 and the marines and their equipment on the five ships.I think it required two days before we were ready to leave on deployment on June 18th.

Austin's Team For MARG-3-87

Executive Officer
LCDR Norm Phelps


ABFCM (AW) Veneble Command Master Chief	LT Goverard Executive Assistant

LCDR Kurt Garbow, Air Department; Lt Steve Sterrett, Supply Department; and LCDR Al Maskeroni, Dental Department;
completed Northern Wedding but got relieved prior to our MARG 3-87 deployment.
CWO4 Grimme may have been relieved as the OE Division Officer prior to our MARG 3-87 deployment but he was still aboard during the in port period in Haifa. I have have included him as the Electronics Officer. He was very important in our success.


Operations Officer LCDR Hutson	Chief Engineer LT (LDO) Pete Kemp	First Lieutenant Lt (LDO) Jim Peed	Air Department LT Hewitt	Supply Department Lt Avram

LT Offerman Medical Department	Lt Dave O'brian Dental Department	Lt Kimport Navigation Officer	LCDR Ramsey Chaplin	MACS Black Master at Arms

Navigation Officer LT Kimport	Navigation Chief QMC R.Englin	CWO4 Grimme Electronics Officer	1st LT Barker USMC Combat Cargo	LCU-2 BMC Carlson

Operations Department Junior Officers


LT Olsen OE Division	CWO 2 Utter OE Division	ENS Boone OI Division	LTjg Schultz OC Division

Deck Department Junior Officers


LT Terrell Deck Division	LTjg Patrick 1st Division	ENS Pace 2nd Division	LTjg brown 3rd Division

Air and Supply Department Assistant Officers


LT Van Hassent Air Department Flight Deck Officer	LTjg Dolasse Asst. Supply Officer	ENS McDaniel Asst. Supply Officer

Engineering Department Junior Officers


CWO2 Douglas DCA/Repair Officer	LTjg Rivera MPA	LT Dail A Division	ENS Deighan E Division	ENS Webster P-1 Division	LTjg Otero P-2 Division

The USS Austin Organization Consisted of 33 Officers who Coordinated the Ship's Operations.
But most of the actual work was directed by a talented group of of dedicated Chief Petty Officers and First Class Petty Officers.
(2 Master Chief Petty Officers, 4 Senior Chief Petty Officers, 17 Chief Petty Officers and 33 First Class Petty Officers)

USS Austin-MSSG-24 Team
MSSG-24


LTCOL Robert Buckley MSSG-24 Commanding Officer	Major Robert McMahon MSSG-24 Executive Officer

Began Mediterranean Deployment as MARG 3-87 (June 18th, 1987)

Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group (MARG 3-87)

PHIBRON Six (Amphibious Squadron Six) and 4th MAU (Marine Amphibious Unit) staffs


Captain Andrew Fosina PHIBRON 6 COS	Captain Jerome Murphy Commander PHIBRON 6	Colonel Gordon Kessler Commander MAU 24

Ships of Amphibious Ready Group (MARG 3-87)

USS Guadalcanal LPH-7
PHIBRON 6 and MAU 24 Embarked


USS Austin LPD-4 MSSG-24 embarked	USS Spiegel Grove LSD-32 BLT 1/2 Embarked


USS Saginaw LST-1188 BLT 1/2 and vehicles embarked	USS La Moure County LST-1194 BLT 1/2 and vehicles embarked

Our Route to Rota, Spain for the Turnover with MARG 2-87

Naval Station Rota, Spain (1-4 July, 1987)
Turnover with MARG 2-87

MARG 3-87 Route from Rota to my Change of Command in Sardinia

The Straits of Gibraltar

Austin approaching the Straits of Gibraltar

Midshipmen Swim Call

We most likely picked up our portion of the Midshipmen (both male and female) on their summer cruise in Rota.
We had a swim call for them on our way to the PHIBLEX off of Sardinia. We flooded the well deck so they could walk down the vehicle deck in to the water. The crew manned the well deck wall to watch them especially looking at the females in their bikini swim suits.

We were ballasted down further than in this picture with the stern gate up to prevent unwanted marine life from joining them!

Sierra de Ru tan PHIBLEX (05-07 July, 1987)

I followed the precedent I set with previous amphibious exercises by delegating the conduct of the PHIBLEX to my Executive and Operations officers. They were graduates of Amphibious Warfare schools and had spent most of their careers aboard amphibious ships and were way more qualified than me. I was of course still responsible for the safe conduct of the exercise especially weather and sea conditions at the landing beach.
They kept me up to date on the progress of the exercise and I was well briefed so I could personally answer any questions that came from the Commodore.

This gave me the opportunity to concentrate other aspects of running the ship. This was especially important in this case as we were experiencing some boiler tube leak issues that would repair in Naples.

Naples, Italy ((13 July-1August)

As soon as we were successfully "Med Moored" in Naples, I was summoned by the 6th Fleet Engineering Officer to report to 6th Fleet headquarters at Gaeta to explain our boiler difficulties to VADM Kelso.
I felt that this was another case of a surface warfare Captain attempting to discrace an aviator ship Captain. What he didn't know was that I had a very positive professional history with VADM Kelso and his Chief of Staff RADM Bobby Lee.

I got in my red Alpha Romero and and enjoyed the drive northwest along the coast to Gaeta. I was met by Bobby Lee who then escorted me in to VADM Kelso's office.
VADM Kelso was mostly interested in asking me about the Achille Lauro incident and my time off of Lebanon with BGEN Carl Stiner and Delta and Seal Team Six. The boiler tube failure issue would depend on the findings of the 6th Fleet inspection team which was already aboard Austin inspecting the damage, interviewing our boiler technicians and reviewing records.

As I was enjoying the ride back to Naples, I wondered how our new Supply Officer, Lt Avram, knew that my vehicle of choice was a red Alpha Romero. It must have been included in Steve Sterrett's turnover briefing.

The findings of the 6th Fleet inspection team were that the damage to the boiler tubes occurred previous to my time on Austin, that our boiler feed water program was outstanding, and our senior boiler technicians were exceptionally knowledgeable. A repair plan was established and contacts signed to repair the damage. The repairs were estimated to take 10 days.

Alphonso Maglia

There were two significant matters that involved Alphonso during this Naples in port period!

1. Although Alphonso wasn't involved in he actual boiler tube repairs, there was a lot of work he volunteered to undertake. The removal and replacement of lagging associated with the boiler tube repairs was not part of the 6th Fleet contract was left to the Austin to accomplish. Alphonso offered to accomplish this task at a fair price and we accepted his offer. He also volunteered to repaint our bilges and to prepare and repaint most of Austin's external hull. There was no charge for this extra work but there was some line and brass which changed hands in the process. I knew that Alsphonso's contractors would do excellent work because it was a matter of respect between Alphonso and myself. He would be embarrassed if any of his work was "shoddy".

Having Alphonso tackle the lagging and bilge painting work allowed us to concentrate on other work in the engineering spaces. One of these jobs that tuned out to be very important during Exercise Bright Star was that we made a major improvement in the efficiency of our evaporators by using a commercial grade of caustic soda to remove corrosion of the evaporator tubes that was superior o the Navy caustic soda were using previously.

2. Toward the end of our in port period, one of our "steller" Boatswain Mates had taken the ferry to the nearby island of Ischia, rented a motor bike (a violation of 6th Fleet rules), had an accident and was in jail.

I was discussing the progress of Alphonso' work in my in port cabin when I mentioned that one of my sailors was in jail on Ischia. He said that one of his cousins was a policeman on Ischia and he thought he could get my sailor out of jail. Alphonso offered to take the ferry to Ischia himself and get my sailor out of jail. He needed about $200 to accomplish the mission.I gave him the $200 from welfare and rec funds. He returned the next day with our seaman and we got underway before the 6th Fleet lawyer showed up on Ischia

Rome

There was enough time for the USO to sponsor several tours to Rome.


The Colosseum	St Peters Basilica and the Vatican	Trevi Fountain

A very special aspect of one of the tours to St Peters Basilica and the Vatican was that our Chief Engineer, Lt (LDO) Pete Kemp was able to present an Austin plague to Pope Juan Pablo II during a special audience.

Carney Park Picnic

We were also able to arrange a picnic at Carney Park for Austin and MSSG-24

	Carney Park is located in the crater of an extinct volcano near Naples. It has all kinds of athletic facilities including baseball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts, and everything you need to have a great picnic.

George and Dal Tedsco

I sent George to Dal Tedesco for the in port period where he received more training and he and Trudy paid a visit to our galley storeroom to do some restocking. They stocked up on plenty of fresh frozen Spanish calamari and made sure we had plenty of cans of pealed tomatoes on hand. We also stocked up on some Italian egg plant for dinners for the first week out of port.

My visit to the 350 BC Greek Settlement at Cumae and Gifts from Trudy at Dal Tedesco

We had enough time on this trip to Naples that I was able to make a day trip wth Manuel to the Greek Settlement of Cumae near Naples. Manuel had been to Cumae many times so he was an expert tour guide!

When we returned to Dal Tedesco, Trudy had a surprise for me. Because I had arranged when I visited Dal Tedesco when I was XO of Saratoga, Trudy presented me with two beautiful and extremely valuable artifacts. She told me that I could buy a new house with these artifacts!


This is a ceramic dish from Cumae. Instead of selling it, I am giving it to my daughter Heather and her husband David.	Instead of selling it, I am giving it to my daughter Jessica and her husband Tom Scangarello.

Tennis at the Circolo Tennis Club in Naples

I had plenty of time to get in some tennis at the Circolo Tennis Club.

Because I didn't have any skilled tennis players aboard Austin that I knew of, I was on my own at the club.

I had been there many times during my many visits to Naples and the members there always enjoyed matching me with players as skilled or superior to me.

When our boilers were repaired and our Naples port visit complete, we were on our way to our next adventure, Operation Bright Star in Egypt.

Operation Bright Star (17- 21 August) (5 days/4 nights)

Once again, I followed the precedent I set with previous amphibious exercises by delegating the conduct of the amphibious aspects of Bright Star to the XO and Operations Officer. I was of course still responsible for the safe conduct of the exercise especially weather and sea conditions at the landing beach. They kept me up to date on the progress of the exercise and I was well briefed so I could personally answer any questions that came from the Commodore.

Ausin remained ballasted down during Bright Star amphibious operations two support two primary missions; Conduct LCU and helo operations.


Ballasted down for LCU Operations	Austin has two LCUs from LCU 2	Ballasted down while conducting helo ops

I spent most of my time on the starboard bridge wing with Jim Peed, my First Lieutenant observing our boatswains mates do their thing or with Norm Phelps, my XO, discussing the progress of the exercise.

But Norm and I did take a break occasionally to relax and enjoy a coke.

I learned a lot about how to be a good Executive Officer during my tour on Saratoga.

Norm was an exceptional Executive Officer for me on Austin. He was dedicated, loyal and a total professional but he was also a friend.

I would have liked to go ashore (by helo) and see the marines in action. However, I didn't ask LTCol Buckley, CO of MSSG-24, to set it up as I thought it would be too much of an imposition.

Pictures of Bright Star from the cruise book

Having the XO and Operations Officers run Austin's part of the exercise (LCU and helo air operations gave me the opportunity to concentrate on other aspects of running the ship. This was especially important in this case as we we were assigned to leave our Bright Star anchorage every night and join up with Spiegel Grove to replenish their fresh water supply and return to our Bright Star anchorage before daylight. This effort required that I get some sleep during the day during the amphibious operations.

I also needed to spend some time planning the upcoming mini-SRA with the Chief Engineer, LT (LDO) Pete Kemp). We really didn't need an SRA type availability but VADM Kelso had nominated Austin to be the first US ship to have a repair availability at a new commercial shipyard in Haifa. RADM Bobby Lee had given me a heads up that we would need to complete the mini-SRA on time with no "issues" as VSADM Kelso wanted to use our success to encourage future work at the Haifa commercial shipyard. So, we had to put together a work package that could be accomplished in the 14 days of the availability. RADM Z. Almog Ret., the President of the shipyard, had been given similar instructions from the Israeli government.

In Port Haifa, Isreal (27 August-13 September) (18 days)

Note: I don't know when the PHIBRON 6 and MAU 24 staffs came aboard Austin. I think they were initially aboard Guadalcanal off Egypt probably in helo range of Cairo. The LSTs had port visits to Alexandria. I don't know where Sgiegel Grove was. I think the Egypt port visits lasted only 4-5 days and then the MARG minus Austin was underway waiting for Austin to finish our mini-SRA. I think the staffs cross decked to Austn in Haifa toward the end of our port visit. I know they were with us when we left port.

The 18 days in port Haifa not only included the mini-SRA but also gave us plenty of time for the USO in Haifa to arrange tours tours for the crew of Austin.

Geila Gerson

Geila was in charge of the USO team in Haifa. She had an amazing story.

Geila was born in about 1950. She was one of 13 children born in a Jewish family who decided to leave Russia to avoid the purges of Joseph Stalin. They traveled south through Persia through Mesopotamia (today's Iraq) in to Saudi Arabia. Geila's father did not make it through Persia (I don't know why). Once in Saudi Arabia Geila's family traveled with Bedouins through the Saudi Arabia eventually arriving in the Negev Desert.

Geila joined the Israeli Army at age 17 and was assigned as an intelligence operative crossing the front lines into the Egyptian forces gathering critical intelligence.

Next, Geila immigrated to the United States, got married in California, and became areal estate agent. After her husband died or they got a divorce, Geila returned to Israel.

In 1972, Geila was once again in the Israeli Army bringing supplies to the army in the Golan Heights. She became famous for that service earning the title of the 'Florence Nightingale" of the Israeli Army.

Eventually, Geila left the Israeli Army to join the USO and was the head of that organization in Haifa when I met her in 1987.

Geila introduced herself to me when we first arrived in Haifa. She explained that she would work with me to coordinate Austin's USO tours. She was augmented by several other USO representatives in Haifa as well as some from Naples as we would be requiring numerous tours during our lengthy stay in Haifa. She also introduced me to other important contacts that would be beneficial during our stay.

The Artist Colony

One of the first things that Geila did was to take me to the "Artist Colony" outside of Haifa toward Tel Aviv which was an entertainment venue not only frequented by artists and musicians but also by government officials and Israeli military officers. The first one of these VIPs that I met was dancing on a table wearing a T shirt which read "Don't drink the water, fish F..k in it". It turned out that he was a General in the Israeli Army responsible for the defense of the Golan Heights. During my stay in Haifa, this General took me on a personal tour of the Golan Heights which I will describe later. These contacts established at the "Artist Colony" also lead me to other contacts which resulted in a two day visit to a Kubutz near the Jordan River and another tour of the Golan with the President of the Kubutz and a veteran of the 72 war.

Map of Israel indicating key locations of our visit

Golan Heights

Acre

Sea of Galilee

Kubutz

Jerico
Allenby Bridge
Palestinian Refugee Camp

Dead Sea

Masada

Special Tour arranged by Geila

A group of Jewish Austin sailors requested to be reenlisted in Israel when they learned about our Haifa port visit. This is one of the first things I mentioned to Geila when I met her. She arranged to have the sailors' enlistments take place on the patio of a hotel on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. We took two vehicles to the Sea of Galilee; Geila rode in a small bus for Austin officers who went along to observe the enlistments and see the Sea of Galilee. The second vehicle was a large Chevy conversion van for the enlistees, a USO lady and me. I rode in the passenger seat next to the driver, His name was Oded Ham. I knew we would become friends when he put in a cassette of American country music enroute to the hotel. There will be much more about Oded and our friendship later.


Enlistees and the USO lady in Oded's Chevy van.	Geila leading the tour at the Sea of Galilee

We managed to swim in the Sea of Galilee before dinner.
They didn't tell us though that the the St Peter's fish that patrol the Sea of Galilee bite!
We go our revenge though at dinner at the hotel; on the menu; St Peter's fish!

The Sea of Galilee enlistment tour was a real morale booster for the sailors who reenlisted on the tour and for those of us who participated in the tour.

It was the first of many successful events that Geila arranged during or Haifa visit.

Geila visited me for breakfast on the Austin on several occasions. She thought George was cute and he loved to make breakfast for her. Of course, our galley wasn't kosher but she didn't care. She had bacon or even ham unless another Israeli was present.

VIP Reception on Austin's Flight Deck

We hosted a reception aboard Austin for US and Israeli embassy and consulate VIPs, Israeli military officers, and a variety of otherdignitaries. Geila coordinated the guest list, gave advice on various aspects of receptions for Israeli VIPs, and was helpful in advising me the "orthodox" Jewish protocols about women shaking hands with strangers. If it were "that time of the month, orthodox" women couldn't touch any man's hands. In fact, in very orthodox houses, she slept in a different room than her husband during "that time of the month"! It turned out not to be a problem though; if it was proper for the woman to shake my hand, she would stand next to her husband/escort. I made the mistake of having shrimp available at the reception. Also, it is not "kosher" for Jews to eat any marine animals that have fins (pelagic); invertebrates like shrimp which are benthic feeders are off limits. I was concerned that all those shrimp (which were expensive) would go to waste. Geila told me not to worry, the shrimp would disappear quickly; she was right!


Our Reception Line Left to Right: PHIBRON 6 Officer escorted by Israeli Army junior officer, PHIBRON 6 Chief of Staff Captain Andy Fosina escorted by Israeli Army junior officer, and me escorted by Geila	Reception Food area on the Flight Deck

Golan Heights with The General

I was privileged to get a tour of the northern Golan Heights with the Israeli Army General in charge of the defense of the Golan. He showed me the "tank traps" on the Syrian border. I was surprised to learn that the Israeli Army advanced almost to Damascus in the war in 1972. He showed me on a map the "Kissinger Line" established after the war. My impression was that it was very unlikely that Syria would attempt any serious incursions along this border. With relations with Jordan very stable at the time, it meant that the primary threat was from Lebanon.

I toured this "settlement" and observed that the farmers of the grape fields were all in their early twenties; obviously men and women of the Israeli Army. However, they were growing grapes irrigated from 10 large "basins" Israel constructed on the Golan Heights designed to collect the December rains and provide irrigation throughout the year.

On our way back from the northern Golan Heights, we stopped by a winery in the central Golan Heights.

The Israelis learned to turn the dry Golan Heights into growing crops by the use of constructing ponds.

After sampling some of the fine Israeli wine, we continued to the the high points on the southwestern edge of the Golan Heights where the Israelis have kept the remains if the Syrian gun positions from the 67 War (marked by an "X" on the map) above where they concentrated their fire on the Kibutz residents in the Jordan valley below (marked by a "Y") on the map.

Tour the Allenby Bridge and Palestinian Refugee Camp near Jericho with Oden Ham

Oded Ham and I became friends after the Galilee enlistment trip. He was qualified as tourist guide by the Israeli government so was an excellent source of information as well as a friend. One of our trips was the the Allenby Bridge and Palestinian Refugee camp near Jericho. We parked our car on a hill with an excellent view of the Allenby Bridge and the Palestinian camp.


The Allenby Bridge has become a symbol of improved Israeli Jordan relations. It has been a popular location for important political ceremonies. On the day we were there, there was a steady stream of Jordanians crossing the bridge to work on vegetable gardens on the west bank. The Israelis provided agricultural advice for the Jordanian gardeners as long as they sold their products in Jordan.	In 1987, there was a large Palestinian refugee camp on the west bank of the Jordan River at the Allenby Bridge. The Palestinians left their apartments in Haifa and other locations leaving them vacant to live in refugee camps hoping to be welcomed in Jordan. However, Jordan was reluctant to allow the Palestinians to immigrate to Jordan leaving the Palestinians in limbo.

Tour Jerusalem with Oded Ham

We stared our tour of Jerusalem by parking on the hillside facing the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. We got out of our car and sat on a flat rock with a view much like the image below.

Oded pointed out a section of rubble running down the hill from the southeast corner of the Temple Mount. He said they were the ruins of the City of David. I asked him if ruins of a church on the hillside were there in the times of Christ (2,000 years ago). His response was,"If you believe they sare, then they are"!

Our next stop was the western wall of the Temple Mount. We took a tour of the Temple Mount. The Golden Dome of the Rock where Muhammad supposedly landed was especially beautiful. In general, the Temple Mount which was impressive but it was today's Jerusalem not the Jerusalem of 2,000 years ago during Christ's time on Earth.

Perhaps the most disappointing tour was of the Holy Seplechre in the Church of the Holy Seplechre.


Church of the Holy Seplechre	The Holy Seplechre is supposedly that structure in the middle of the church. When I was there, I was able to go through the opening (blocked by the barrier in this image) and crawl through a small opening to what was supposed to be the holy seplechre itself.

This Holy Seplechre was clearly a product of the 15th Century or so of the Catholic Church.
I was so disappointed!

However, I was not disappointed by our visit to the western wall of the Temple Mount.

Watching the orthodox (black hats) and the not so orthodox Jewish believers say their prayers at the western wall and usually roll them up in a small piece of paper an put in a crack in the wall was inspiring.

The Israeli government has sponsored an effort in their sector of Jerusalem to excavate down to the level of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
The project was just beginning when we were there but I hope that these efforts provide some more valid information.

Jerusalem is not all visiting tourist spots. It also has many interesting restaurants. Oded enjoyed taking me to some of these places.
But the officers and crew of Austin also found merriment in Jerusalem.

Tour of the Dead Sea and Mosada with Oded Ham

Our first stop after along drive from Haifa was the Dead Sea where e enjoyed a swim (float) in the salty water.
You can see that the bottom is composed of black clay!

Our next stop was to take the tram up to the top of Mosada.

On of my first impressions was that I noticed that many of the Israeli tourists male and female (probably Israeli soldiers on liberty) had their weapons with them. This a was commonplace as most of the Israeli soldiers are reservists who may be called upon to respond to fight for Israel at any time so they are always sen carrying their personal weapon.

But my most significant impression was when I looked down at the land below, I could imagine seeing the Roman Legions camped below besieging the defenders atop Mosada.

While we were touring, many of the crew were going to Mediterranean beach near Haifa.

It looks to me like these guys are more interested in looking at the beautiful Israeli girls on the beach rather than swimming.

Others might be thinking about pressing their luck by renting a camel ride!

My Two Day Visit to a Kibutz

Geila made arrangements for me to visit a Kibutz near the Jordan River just south of the Golan Heights.

I spent two days at a Kibutz similar to this one pictured above. Each Kibutz has some kind of product that they produce and sell. The one I visited made black diamond edged saw blades. Also, each Kibutz has vegetable gardens that they use to produce to provide for their own consumption. The workers for both these endeavors come from the members of the KIbutz. Also each Kibutz has a laundry. Members of the KIbutz have their laundry marked for each family and put their soiled materials in a common laundry location. The laundry is run by female members of the Kibutz. Cleanesd laundry is folded and returned to each family. If the Kibutz has children (called a Kibutzim), there are schools and child play centers which are also run by female members of the Kibutz. Meals are prepared in a central location and the Kibutz members gather together for meals. There is also an area dedicated for entertainment where music and dancing is common.

I arrived at the Kibutz about 11:00am. My contact at the Kibutz was the President of the Kibutz who coordinated my stay there. I don't remember his name. But for the the sake of the story I'll call him Michael. The first event was a lunch where Michael gave me the itinerary for the visit. After lunch, I put my things in the room and assigned to me and then we toured the Kibultz which included a very interesting tour of the the saw blade factory. After the tour,I was given some free time before dinner. After dinner I was treated to some music and dancing where I got to meet with some of the Kibutz members.

After breakfast, Michael and another Kibutz resident who were veterans of the 1972/1973 Yom Kippur War gave me a tour of the area of the Golan Heights where Michael lost his left arm.

Michael (on the left) lost his left arm in the Yom Kippur War describes the action where he lost his arm.

The Syrians' surprise attack gave them the early advantage in he war (on the left) until the Israeli reserves joined the action (Geila included) and turned back the attack. They eventually forced the Syrians back driving them almost to Damascus.

It was primarily a tank battle.


Israeli Army tanks	Destroyed or abandoned Syrian Army tanks	There was close in fighting also

We returned to the Kibutz about 3:00 in the afternoon. We had a late lunch and met my diver who drove me back to Haifa.

Visit to Acre

Toward the end of our in port visit, Geila took me to Acre an evening visit of a display of the excavated Templar tunnels of the Crusades.

Excavated Templar tunnels of the Crusades

On our way back to the car, we were walking through a narrow alley toward our car when I saw a small girl sweeping the floor of the alley in front of a store. It was a great moment so I took her picture. When I took her picture, there were screams that came from the store. I left quickly and asked Geila if I had done something wrong, perhaps the people in the store were upset that I took her picture. Geila told me that it was probably more likely that no one had ever taken the girl's picture. Geila convinced me to return to the store. When I did the girl was with her family in the store and they were all smiles. They encouraged me to take a picture of the whole family.

Geila took my film and had it developed and printed and we returned the next day to the store and gave copies of the pictures to the family. It turned out that the father, Tony was born in Nazareth and they were Christians.

This story will continue in my next chapter when Geila and I returned to Acre to visit the family in Acre when I came to Haifa as the Chief of Staff of COMCRUDESGRU 12 aboard the USS Eisenhower.

Tel Aviv Concert

Tel Aviv Concert

I don't remember who accompanied me for the 100 km drive from Haifa to Tel Aviv for a concert by Bob Dylan but it was most likely Oded Ham.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from Gainesville, Florida was the warm up band for Bob Dylan. They were great and the crowd went wild with their performance.

When Bob Dylan finally took the stage, he was either drunk or on drugs and he was awful. The crowd booed him off the stage and Tom Petty returned to the stage an finished the concert.

Bob Dylan

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Successful Completion of the mini SRA

The Haifa shipyard Mini-SRA was completed on time. The quality of work was excellent.

I received a plaque which read on the brass "plate below the clock:

To Captain Smith
       USS Austin
                                 With Friendship
                                And Appreciation

                              RADM (Ret) Z. Almog

Both 6th Fleet and the Israeli government were pleased with the outcome of the Mini-SRA!

Our Departure from Haifa was Interesting!

We had entered Haifa Harbor and tied up in the inner harbor (indicated by the "X") bow in starboard side to the pier. It was in a great location with convenient access to the City of Haifa.

But it resulted in a tricky departure because there was not enough room to turn around because of ships on the opposite side in the narrow inner harbor.

So, we were forced to back out (which I didn't mind) but it was a tight squeeze to turn around (port turn) to head out into the outer harbor. There was normally enough room to make the turn but on the day our departure there was a large ship tied up on the opposite pier (indicated by the black line) which reduced the area to maneuver.

We backed out without a problem and almost completed our port turn to head out into the outer harbor when we experienced a combination of wind and current that set us in the direction of the large ship parked on the opposite pier. We managed to get parallel to the large ship but were so close that we couldn't make a starboard turn without having our stern too close or contact the large ship. I was located on our port bridge wing and I directed the helmsman to hold her course ("steady as she goes") and told the Chief Engineer, Pete Kemp to come to go ahead 2/3 as quickly and smoothly as possible. Fortunately, as we got more "way on" (increased speed) while holding our course, we manged to get by the large ship without making contact, But it was close, way too close for comfort; I'd say inside 15 feet or so.

I looked up at the Flag Bridge above me when we were clear in the outer harbor, and there were Commodore Murphy and his Chief of Staff, Andy Fosina looking down giving me a "Thumbs Up" for my handling of the situation.

Rehearsal for Exercise Display Determination (19 September-26 September)

Route from Haifa to Sardinia

We arrived off the coast of southern Sardinia at Capo Teulada on September 18th to be ready for the
Rehearsal for Exercise Display Determination on September 19th.

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Once again, I relegated the conduct of the Display Determination Rehearsal to my XO and Operations Officer. My relief as Commanding Officer, Captain Gastar joined them observing Austin's amphibious exercise performance as a part of our turnover.

I used this time to reflect on some of the highlights my time as Commanding Officer. Besides exercising the 3" 50 and 50 cal guns as often as possible and working with the Chief Engineer and Supply Officer to ensure we had the highest level of engineering readiness, two of the basic principals I always kept in mind were doing whatever I could to foster high crew morale and insisting that our navigation, seamanship, and bridge watch standing were of the highest possible standard.


Austin Gator Navy shirt	I used the Austin Gator Navy shirt as my way of telling the crew that I appreciated their dedication and loyalty that were responsible for Austin's success during my tour as Commanding Officer.	I emphasized the basics such as insisting on assigning the proper number of lookouts for the climate and sea conditions. I often tested the alertness of our lookouts during training.

Some Humor Never Hurts Morale

Turnover with Captain Gastar (21 September, 1987)


Tour of the ship	I introduced him to Austin's officers while	I thanked each officer for his dedication and loyalty.

Awards Ceremony (22 September, 1987)

I used time during Bright Star to work on Navy Commendation Medal (NCM) and Navy Achievement Medal (NAM) and recommendations reflecting Austin's accomplishments. We ran them by in one batch to the PHIBRON 6 Chief of Staff, Captain Fosina for their approval. I sent a private message to my good friend RADM Bobby Lee, Chief of Staff at SIXTHFLEET and told him that a had a big batch of awards that I was sending by message and I would appreciate VADM Kelso's approval in time to present the awards on September 22nd the day before my before my Change of Comand on September 23rd. VADM Kelso approved every award we submitted.

Three Types of Medals Were Presented


Meritorious Service Medal (MSM)	Navy Commendation Medal (NCM)	Navy Achievement Medal (NAM)

Pictures of Some of the Awards Presented

One Meritorious Service Medal (MSM)


LCR Phelps- XO	MSM

There Navy Commendation Medals (NCM)


NCM	Lt (LDO) Kemp- Chief Engineer	Lt (LDO) Peed-First Lieutenant	CWO4 Grimme- OE Division Officer

There were more Navy Achievement Medals (NAM) awarded than the eight pictured below.

The NAMs reflected standout performances by junior officers, chief petty officers and petty officers in all the major departments.

I regret that LCDR Kurt Garbow (Air Boss) and Lt Steve Sterrett (Supply Officer) were not included in the MARG 3-87 awards ceremony. They they left the Austin after NATO Exercise Northern Wedding. I should have recommended them for Navy Commendation Medals when they left the ship!

Change of Command

(23 September, 1987)

Capo Teulada Sardinia

The Change of Command was held on Austin's flight deck while anchored off Capo Teulada, Sardinia



Presentation of the Colors	Officers on the Podium saluting the Presentation of the Colors	Austin and MSSG-24 Personnel in Formation	Bo presenting the officers and men of Austin to Captain Gastar


COMPHIBRON 6, Commodore Murphy accepting the Change of Command from Captain Smith to Captain Gastar and making his remarks	Making my remarks	Captain Gastar making his remarks


Commodore Murphy presenting me with the Legion of Merit medal	My Legion of Merit Citation

Text of My Legion of Merit

A Change of Command reception was held in the In port cabin.


Traditional Change of Command Cake	I'm relating a story about one of Austin's exploits with the Commodore and another officer while Austin's new Commanding Officer, Captain Gastar enjoys his cake.

My time as Commanding Officer of USS Austin LPD 4 was the best tour of my career!
It was a bitter sweet day when I departed Austin for my next challenge.

Naples after the Change of Command

As soon as I arrived in Naples, I went straight to Mergelina and checked in to the Hotel Vesuvio.
I planned to stay a few days in Naples to visit Dal Tedesco and maybe get in some tennis at the Circolo Canottieri Tennis Club.

As soon as I got settled in, I called Jo Di Martino and got the latest news from Naples since we left August 1st. I got two surprises; first that Jo Di Martino was getting married and was having her reception at Dal Tedesco and of course, I was invited, and second that there was going to be a COMSIXTHFLEET reception aboard their flag ship which was tied up in Naples. She told me that she was sure that she could get me an invitation.

The only problem was that the uniform for the reception was "choker whites" with ribbons. Fortunately I had my summer white uniform so had everything I needed except the "choker white top and trousers". So, I gave Ernesto Polidoro a call and arranged to meet him at dinner and told him about the SIXTHFLEET and my uniform issue. He said, no problem, they had all my measurements and the uniform would be at the Hotel Vesuvio desk by noon the next day.

COMSIXTHFLEET Reception

The Flag Ship was located in the lower left part of the image to the left by an "X". I walked to the reception which took about 35 minutes or so but was probably safer than taking a taxi.

The highlight of the reception was that I got to spend some time with RADM Bobby Lee and besides just catching up with him, I was glad to have the chance to thank hm for expediting our Austin awards so that I could present them personally the day before my change of command.

I was also able to spend some time with Jo Di Martino and learn that her husband to be was a policeman. I also got the specifics about the reception at Dal Tedesco.

I think I got a ride back to the Hotel Vesuvio where we had a small party at the bar.

Jo Di Martini's Marriage Reception at Dal Tedesco


The reception began with drinks and dinner inside	Then moved to the patio for music and dancing

This image from Google shows the traditional Tarantella dress.

At one point toward the end of the evening, one of the USO ladies who was sitting at my table got up and danced the traditional Tarantella.

I had spent some time with this particular USO lady. She was one of the group that participated in the Capri trip during our first Naples in port period.

She would be a factor in my next chapter about my tour as Chief of Staff of COMCRUDESGRUP 12 on the USS Eisenhower CVN 69.

I had a great time at Jo Di Martino's reception and getting to spend some time with Trudy, Wolfgang, Manuel and Roberto Rupelt.
But, it was time to leave Naples and fly back to Little Creek.

Next Chapter

COMCRUDESGRU 12

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