Progress on My Project Goal, September 2009

One of the young marines who has passed through the Bartlesville recruiting system, completed basic training, and was briefly on leave before moving on to his next duty station.  I photographed him in several poses, most better than this one, and I gave him five or six 8 1/2 by 11 inch color glossy photographs, suitable for framing.  In my project of giving one hundred marine bibles to the marines, I have so far delivered twenty bibles and need eighty more to complete my first goal.   This particular marine, unaware of my project, had purchased his own marine bible.  

What do I mean by first goal?  I mean that my goal is to give the marines one hundred of the marine bibles; once that goal is accomplished, I'll continue to buy and give them to marines whenever I can.  I just may not have a number of them in mind; or I may set a second goal.  That is something I will see after I reach the first goal.

Staff Sergeant Ocasio told me that he had given one of the bibles to a retired marine, then as he talked more, he defined the marine as a former marine and a friend of his, from his church in Collinsville, Oklahoma.   I asked him if the marine friend had seen the marine bible before and he said no, that he had not.  He said a woman overheard them and told Staff Sergeant Ocasio that her son is a marine, so he gave her a bible to send to her son, stationed in Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Corps Base, California.  It doesn't matter because my goal is to get the marine bibles into the hands of marines, and I know that one marine will tell another, show his bible to others, and some of them will want a bible for themselves, or for a son or daughter, relative or friend.  My goal is just to get marine bibles into the hands of marines; it doesn't matter if they are serving now or have served.  They are still marines.

"To a Marine"

When I purchase the bibles, they are enclosed in a nice cardboard box and a cellophane wrapper. The store has a policy of imprinting the cover with someone's name or other. When the young sales lady offered this, I declined, not because I did not think it was good, but because I did not know the name of the marine to whom the bible was going to be given. On second thought, I accepted and had it imprinted with "To a Marine." All of them have been so imprinted, with the exception of my own Sailor's Bible, which I bought several years ago, but I asked them to place my name on it and since I bought it from them, they willingly did so. And, I bought a Sailor's Bible for my friend Jim Mosley and his name is imprinted. Staff Sergeant Ocasio told me that he had given one of the bibles we have stocked to a new marine recruit who did not have much of a family support system and the young man held it in his hand, looking at it, thankful for someone having given it to him. I was rewarded for I felt my small effort was worth while. There are many things to be done in the world and none of us can do all of them; each one of us can do something. It is a choice we make, what we do; it is a gift, what we can do. I am just fortunate that I can do this small thing. It is what I choose to do.

USS Point Defiance (LSD-31), My Ship

I enlisted in the United States Navy in March of 1961, with my mother's permission, as I was only seventeen years old. I went through basic training, which we called Boot Camp, in San Diego, and then I was sent to Radar "A" school at Treasure Island in San Francisco. After six months of radar school, I was assigned to the USS Point Defiance (LSD-31), named after Point Defiance, Oregon. Once in 1963 we steamed past Point Defiance, Oregon and that was the closest I came to it.

Of all the Dock Landing Ships, I liked the name Point Defiance best, so I was pleased that she became my ship, and my home for the next three years. The Point Defiance was a Thomaston class ship because the USS Thomaston (LSD-28)was the first ship of the class to be commissioned. My first time aboard was in late December, 1961, and I had not seen an LSD so I expected it to be like an LST. The LSD was much larger than an LST, had a normal bow in front rather than that of an LST, and had a large well deck. When I went aboard, I saluted the ensign (United States flag), flying aft, saluted the officer of the deck and requested, "Permission to come aboard, sir." "Granted," he said, and I offered him my orders. As he read them I looked at the gray monster around me and I thought there were two ships together for the deck I was standing on was duplicated on the opposite side of where we stood. I would learn, when daylight came, that the well deck was bordered by port and starboard hulls which held a large crane each and equipment lockers, tools and boats.

The image of the Point Defiance is from http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1231.htm and is credited to Hyperwar US Navy in World War II.