On March 28, 1981, I stood in the hot tropical sun and watched as the USS Whipple moored at Subic Bay Naval Station, Republic of the Philippines. As a PNSR straight out of PN "A" School, I had no idea what a Whipple or a FF was and certainly had no idea that the next couple of years would so drastically change my life.
I, like many young men in the navy, grew up on my first ship. I'd like to say it was all fun and games but I can't. There were bad times, worse times, and terrible times. Most of which were caused by my
immature attitude and disregard for the rules. There were good times too and I got to travel to places I had only dreamed of seeing. I only wish that I knew how much fun I was having back then. By the grace of God I survived and became the man I am today due to a large part by the leadership I saw (and didn't see) on the Whipple.
What follows is a condensed version of the USS Whipple's 80-81 cruise book set in cyber-space history. I have tried to keep it true to the original as possible but I couldn't scan and prepare all 72 pages of pictures. Even with a reduction in photographs, expect long downloads on some pages. Pictures of individual crew members are small due to space restraints. If you desire a better scan of anyone, email me and I'll send you a larger version.
Putting this on the web was a much larger project than I originally thought. It's taken me quite a few hours to scan and set up the site. Hopefully, I have left the essence of the book for you to experience as the original designers wanted it. Their names and contributions on the original book are listed below. I would like to thank them for preparing the original cruise book; without it I wouldn't have these memories twenty two years later. Please sign the Deck Log and let me know what you think.
Raymond "Buzz" Garvey
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SN Theodore Ostenson
