3 APRIL 1961
VOLUME VI NUMBER 14
I
i CRUISE OF THE CLOVER (Finis)
Cooperating with the State of Alaska
we loaded on board a 11 ton water
drilling rig for transportation to Yak
utat. The earthquake of 1957 had caus
ed a shift in the sub-strata,consequent
ly the village wells were gradually
giving out.Since commercial transport -
ation was not available it -was your
friendly Coast Guard to the rescue.
Departing Juneau at 1530, Wednesday
the 8th, we arrived at Dutch Harbor on
.the 15th, via Yakutat, Cape St. Elias,
Cape Hinchenbrook, Cordova, and Kodiak.
The weather was with us all the way,
I although a considerable amount of ice—
was picked up between Cordova & Kodiak.
: landing conditions at Priest Rock
-Light*were, idealand the 3right*'was re
lighted. The batter box was found to
have been damaged, in manner unknown,
and it was a six hour job to replace
it. Since the box is of steel, and
weighs 100 pounds, it required consid
erable effort to haul it over the rocks
and up the light tower.
We departed Dutch Harbor at 2200,
Wednesday and arrived home at 1215 Fri
day. Enroute we accomplished the ann
ual servicing of Seguam Is. Lt. and the
Swallowhead Lt. (Great Sitkin Island),
I our motto being "Work the lights while
you may, it might not be nice another
day". Perhaps you heard our theme song
"1% looking Over a Four Leaf Clover "as
we approached the fuel pier. We were
graciously presented with a " WELCOME
HOME " cake which was enjoyed by £23?
HANDS.
During the trip the following off -
icers were detached: LTJG CARL W.
SNYDER, LTJG EDWIN J. CUSTER, JR., B0SN
FREDDIE J. TURL0. The following off
icers reported: ENS HOLLIS G. DUENSING,
ENS PAUL 0. IARSON, CHB0SN (W-3) EARL
H. MC DONALD.
In addition, Myron A. HAINES, ENC, .
was detached and Lee WARD, Jr., BMC, and
Robert L. SAUNDERS, Jr., EMC, reported
on board. :
On February 24th Vicki KOHLHEPP ,wi’fe
of James J* KOHLHEPP, SK2 and their 3
children, Billy 8, Debbie 4, and Brenda
I, arrived on Adak.
A LONG WAY FROM HOME
For .some South Pacific means Mary
Martin; for WWII veterans it means the
steaming jungles and coral atolls; but
for long before the two world wars it
meant, for- Navy men, American Samca
the only U. S. possession in the South
Pacific.
For Tiiavo Toese TAULA, SN, who works
at Special Services, Samca means home.
From the village of Ta'o in the Manu'a
Island group some 67 miles from Pago
Pago, Samoa*s capital on the island of
Tutuila, TAULA paid his own way to
Honolulu some 2,676 miles away in order
to join the Navy.
TAULA hasn't been home since he . left
in *57 and you can readily see he misses
village life when j^qu speak a few words
of Samoan to him.* .American Samca is
comprised of a group' of islands which
total only 76 square miles in area and
are populated by some 20,000 pure Poly
nesians whcs e life today is a curious
mixture of . American Democracy and the
ways of the south pacific islander.
Navy life is. quite different to
TAULA, who works;.at the Bowling Alley
and Skating Rink, from that of life in
Samoa.
At home, heading •■each family is a
nMatain- a chifef accorded high respect
who supervises the daily work of each
member - be it fishing, taro-planting—
or the gathering cf copra,. Their harv
ests are given to him(the Matai) but in
return it is his responsibility to see
that all. • members are fed, clothed,
sheltered and protected.
Now under the Interior Department
with a Governor and Legislature and a
new Constitution adopted last April the
Samoans are being encouraged to self
sufficiency and self-government.
If you're interested in what life in
Samoa is really like you might talk to
TAULA or the library has just recently
received a book on Samca written by a
retired Navy Captain who was the Med
ical Officer at the Station Hospital
at one time before the Interior Departs
ment started helping the Samoans and
the Navy moved out.
Faa'a Samoa.