Thought some of you might appreciate this photo of my late grandpa that just resurfaced in my family. He spent 31 years in the Navy and this pic was towards the end of his service, as the commanding officer of the USS Vesuvius in the Coral Sea in 'Nam. He lived for the Navy. It was his life. Early in his career he was a fighter pilot, finally ending up as a commanding officer.

Awesome, I love those old pics. Wish they could all talk. I have a lot of pictures my grandpa took while "on maneuvers" in the 30s in the Army.

When I seen the photo the first thing notice is of the replenishment ,I was part of that on my first ship when I was in,

Awesome picture W_I and very cool connection coydog

My brother served on the Coral Sea.

Nice !

Very cool

Brief history of the ship during that period

"The year 1967 found the ship berthed at Mare Island preparing to undergo her first major overhaul since 1962. Following completion of overhaul at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard and underway training, Vesuvius departed for the western Pacific on 15 July 1967, bound for Subic Bay. Except for brief periods in Hong Kong, Vesuvius came off the line in the South China Sea only long enough to fill her hold with more ammunition.

Near the end of January 1968, Vesuvius sailed to Yokosuka on her return trip to the United States, only to be recalled to the seas off Vietnam following the Pueblo Incident. Vesuvius finally returned to the San Francisco Bay area on 17 March 1968, offloaded, proceeded to the Naval Shipyard at Mare Island and, on 4 April, entered the Triple A Shipyard in San Francisco for extensive repairs and upkeep. Repairs were completed on 10 May, and the ship began refresher training in June. Following inspections and loadout, Vesuvius deployed again on 31 July 1968. She reached Subic Bay on 20 August for receipt of ammunition, then began operations in the Vietnam area. She remained on line through 3 December, when she left for a period of rest and recreation in Hong Kong. She departed there on 10 December to return to Vietnam.

Vesuvius remained on line through January and February 1969. In late February, she sailed into Bangkok, Thailand. From Bangkok, the ship went to Subic Bay to commence her final loadout before heading home. After a brief stop in Hawaii, Vesuvius arrived in Concord on 1 April 1969. In late April, the ship underwent six weeks of restricted availability at a commercial yard in San Francisco. Late in June, she steamed for San Diego and refresher training and exercises. By 23 July, she had returned to San Francisco and began three weeks of loadout for yet another deployment. Vesuvius departed for the western Pacific on 17 September 1969. After stopovers in Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka, she touched at Subic Bay for a few days before starting her line period off Vietnam. "

Very cool connections guys. Small world. Saskfly that's some great history on the ship. Thanks!

The brown shoe navy.

Very nice picture again great story on the ship there was a incredible amount of history that was never shared about the war years for what ever reason and it seems that schools don't think it's important now day's.

Wow! thats is super cool-love the history and the picture of your grandpa.Always love the history etc. from those times

Did two tours to SE Asia on destroyers, was in Subic Bay numerous times, Hong Kong twice, Yokusuka, Japan multiple times, etc. Spent a fair amount of time in the Tonkin Gulf.

Participated in many UNREPS throughout both tours over there. Might have even hooked up to the USS Vesuvius one or more times.

Great pic and family history. Thanks for sharing.

Like I said, very cool connections and this thread shows me what a small world this really is.