This is a story about a boy who became a man. Growing up on a farm in Illinois, then as a teenager he moved to small town USA. In spite of his objection to war, he was called for duty and he chose the Navy. Dale was about to embark on an experience of a lifetime. Dale was assigned to a magnificent aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War, from 1967 to 1970. His story begins pre-Navy, continues with his time in basic training, class A school, and on to the Navy man's adventures, concluding with life after honorable military discharge.
Dale shares the history of the ships name starting with her service in the Civil War, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnamese War and to the final days of the proud mighty vessel of the American Naval fleet.
Follow Dale on various maneuvers and liberty calls in Far East ports. He meets interesting influential and sometimes silly people throughout his journey. Find out how he rocks a 31,000-ton ship from side to side.
The author shares amusing encounters...
The first stop we made was at the Australian carrier HMAS Melbourne. A drunken American sailor started to go up the ladder. Everyone yelled, "Hey buddy, you are getting off at the wrong ship." He turned around and yelled back, "Hey mate, this is my bloody ship."
Dale explores Nagasaki, (life after the bomb) Japanese lifestyle.
We went to a mountain top where we could see the entire city from a higher vantage point. After seeing all of this he is convinced we should try to never used these weapons again.
He denotes the 4A.M. disaster at sea...
The ships HMAS Melbourne and USS Frank E. Evans have a collision which results in the Evans being cut in half just aft of the forward stacks. At 04:00, He is awakened by public address announcement requesting for emergency blood donors.
He shares mindless activities he and his friends ventured forth...
We tied our end of the rope to the catwalk and lifted the box over the rail. I said, "Are you ready." He said, "Yea." So, we let it go. The idea was to let it down slowly, but the handle was not strong enough to hold its weight and it broke off and the unit slammed into the water. The impact on the water surface was deafening like that of an exploding bomb.
The experience of Dale's journey delivered important lessons for living life...
When you are cold and tired and all you get are chunks of rust, you must keep diving until you get a piece of silver.
This incredible exposure to Navy life has entrenched Dale's patriotism to his country and the military...
My Heroes are not Superman or Brett Farve, but the Men and Women of the United States Armed Forces.
About the Author: Dale was born in a farmhouse in Ohio in 1947. Within a year, his family moved to Illinois where he spent his grade school years on a farm. By the time, he became a teenager his family relocated to a small farming town. He attended the local high school where everyone knew everyone else. After high school graduation, he enrolled into an electronics school to learn radio and TV repair. Be-fore completing school, he enlisted into the US Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. These experiences inspired Dale to write "Mil-lion Dollar Experience." During his navy days, he was an electronic technician and was exposed to computers for the first time.
Upon completion of his military service, he returned to John Deere and became computer systems analysts. After four years in computers, he left John Deere to become a feed salesman in North East Iowa for Agri-King, Inc. Eight years later he became the Vice President of Sales at Maddy Nutrition Consulting Corp in Clinton, Iowa.
During the years with those two companies, he continued to learn all he could about computers and programming. In the mid 1980's, when the microcomputer was just getting started Dale opened a computer consulting business and serviced many businesses who were getting their first computers. One of his larger clients hired him to become their Executive Vice President, to handle the computer systems, and because of his sales background, manage the entire business.
After 20 years as EVP., Dale retired. In retirement, he started organizing his many photographs taken throughout his life. Photography was Dale's hobby and there were thousands of them. As he thought about the many stories that went along with pictures taken during his Navy days he started writing them down. The result is "Million Dollar Experience."
