Family Pride

The year was 1966.  I had just finished a tour of sea duty on the USS Shangri-la CVA-38.  I was a Lithographer (printer) 3rd Class.  My next tour was CINCLANTFLT (that is: Commander In Chief Atlantic Fleet) Headquarters.  We were down the road from the main base, Norfolk, Naval Station and the Naval Air Station on what they call a "remote station".  I guess that was just as well, as the traffic on NOB at rush hour was horrible!  We were tucked away, off the main drag, as I recall.  Nice and quiet.  There were of course the Admiral's office buildings, a couple men's barracks, the Flag (Admirals are called "flag officers") Unit Admin. buildings, a couple security administration buildings and the mess hall.  Oh, and the largest all Navy printing plant that the Navy had at the time.  I am not sure if it is even in existence yet, the way the printing trade has been taken over with high speed copiers, etc....but that's a story for another time.  The plant was a block long and had a good size crew from 3rd Class Petty Officers (E-4) to the Senior Chief (E-8) and a Lt. as the Officer In Charge.  It was a highly restricted access, because of what we printed.  In other words, no one that didn't have the proper badge didn't get to see beyond the office.  It was an interesting place, and I enjoyed working there.  I ended up working in the office, which was the best place I could have worked!  The Chief's and I got along very well, and I guess they wanted me there, as quite often before they put me in the front with them, they were often asking "Where is Petty Officer Saffell?"  I had been assigned a medium size, one man press, and didn't like presswork.  I am not all that mechanical, and I was miserable.  So I would roam around the bindery department, camera department, and the letterpress department seeing if they needed help.  So I ended up in the front office checking in jobs that were coming into the shop.  It was a job that required interaction with the unit that was getting their job produced, and it usually involved making sure every piece of paper was accounted for. The Chief's and the OIC liked what I did, and how I was doing it.  I really enjoyed the job, especially when the only window in the whole building was the glass front door!

The Shangri-la was in dry dock up in Philadelphia when I left her.  I was there over winter and it is COLD in Philly in the winter. If it wasn't that I was already used to it, living in Minnesota and all, I would have been totally miserable.  But I had fun while we were in Philly, because I found a coffee house that had folk music jam sessions in the evenings.  I learned a few good songs that I later sang to Pat while we were dating and subsequently married.  It was a pretty weird experience, as I was about the only short haired guy sitting around drinking coffee and learning the songs.  It was the time of the "Hippies".  I was treated like one of the musicians which were basically all who were there.  It was a wonderful time.  Then I got transferred to CINCLANTFLT, and as they say, the rest is history.  The fact that I had a four door car made me the "taxi" for my friends.  I knew I would be, which is why I bought a four door car, and drove it from Minneapolis to Norfolk on Transfer leave between assignments.

The reason for all this "history" is coming to the front, so hang in there with me.  I had moved off base after a while with a couple other guys from our barracks.  Can't remember why now, it was so many years ago, but I do remember the New Years Eve of 1966.  We couldn't find dates evidently, so we stayed at the apartment (second floor of a house with an outside stairway) until midnight when we heard a trumpet playing close by.  We barreled out the door and down the steps and homed in on the music.  I guess we scared the kid who was on his front porch playing as we came running down the sidewalk.  He dove back into his house and by the time we got to his house he was peeking out the curtains of his living room.  We tried pleading with him to come out and play more.  He wouldn't so we went back to the apartment, and I cooked some scrambled eggs and minute steaks, which we ate and sat back listening to the music which was on a low volume and guess we drifted off to sleep.  Shortly afterwards though there was a loud knocking our door!  Stan went and answered the door and it was the Norfolk Police!  As Stan opened the door and the Officer was walking into our apartment, I was sitting up from the couch rubbing my eyes, and Wendy was sound asleep on a bed. The cop said to Stan that there was a complaint that a wild party was going on up here and they were called to take care of it.  After barely able to hear the music that was still playing, and seeing one guy sleeping and two others obviously just waking, said they must be mistaken, and wished us a Happy New Year and left!  We are some real party goers and rowdy bunch of guys!!!!

It was shortly afterwards that I felt the need to take some courses at Old Dominion College (for whatever reason I couldn't imagine).  So I went over to the Personnel Office and put in a request for tuition aid as I was just a poor sailor and needed the help.  I was shown who I needed to talk to, to get the request forms filled out.  That someone was Seaman Patricia Todd.  I really liked what I saw, and after a couple false starts, and a couple turn downs, finally got a date with this fine looking and intelligent woman.  Our first date was a triple date with Stan, Wendy and their girlfriends from the Air Station.  I had forgotten to fill Pat in on that point. When I escorted her to my car, there were two sailors sitting in the back seat!  Everything smoothed out when we got their dates and off we went. We went to a coffee house named the Guilded Cage which was having a folk singer, guitarist, that I wanted to hear.   Wendy left early because he and his date were going to a unit party.  So that left Stan, his date and Pat and I.  We closed the the place and had such a great evening that I after I got Pat back to her barracks, I had to get to work as it was my duty day that started at 7:00 am.

We saw each other every day from that day forward until we married at the Base Chapel on March 18th, with a few of our friends which included Stan and Wendy, and a few others....I think 12 all together.  That was March 18, 1967.  What a life we have shared since then.  It turns out that what we did was, started a family tradition that continues now with one of our granddaughters, Jess Saffell.  Pat was the first lady Navy member, our Daughter in law Mischell, married to oldest David, and now her daughter Jess.  Isn't that was wonderful legacy?  I am so proud of them.

Personnel Seaman Patricia (now Saffell)

Petty Officer Third Class Yeoman Mischell (now Saffell)

Since Jess is still in Boot Camp, and is doing very well, I don't have a picture of her in uniform yet.  She is planning to be in the Medical Corps field.

I have been so blessed by having the ladies in my family stepping up and taking responsibility to serve their country in the military, which isn't an easy thing for anyone. I wonder how far this line will go, but it has a firm base to go for many years.  I salute all women who have served our country in whatever branch they have chosen.  I have a friend that was a Col. in the Medical Field in the Army, and many friends over the years in the Reserve Units that I have served.  All women of integrity and honor.  I thank them for their service.

The point of my story today:  A family based in the military is a blessed family because they are grounded in reality of life.  Not everything goes well ... all the time.  There are difficult times as well as the great times.  Being in the military for . . . I think most of us . . . gives us challenges that we go through together and THAT gives us strength to work through it.   If you know of or see a lady service member, PLEASE go up to her and THANK her for her service.

Keep singing, keep praying, keep smiling

Blessings,

Gary