The cat, Bozo, sat at the double doors, almost always open, as it was the morning, the cool breeze wafting in across his short, scarred by still strangely soft body fur.
He looked out, although, what with the solid wood railing between him and the more distant outside world, he couldn’t really see much of anything. Still, he peered out, blinking only occasionally, thinking whatever cat thoughts might go through such a creature’s seemingly limited but definitely walnut-sized brain.
Great alternate plan. So simple and reducing opportunity for error. One additional proof question – “The rest of the class was about getting into and out of the rigs and listening to both men carry on about the fact that the new bouncy compensator vests were there because it wasn’t like regular diving. “. Did you mean buoyancy?
Yes, Jim, my sentiments at the time, and with great relief. Of course, things don’t always work out as
simply as they are provided for or planned, as you will read.
Appreiciate the great comment and support on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Was the rebreather a Drager? By coincidence I was talking to a guy that was throwing one away yesterday. Had the BC and everything. Went back to save it already gone. Great story.
Yes, Don, they were Drager’s to my memory. I think at ht time that they were the only ones approved by the Navy but don’t hold me
to that. Although I went on to become a Dive Master through NAUI and dived recreationally for many years, I never had the opportunity
nor felt the need to use a rebreather. Thanks for the great comment and the interest.
Semper fi,
Jim
Know I did this once but must have gotten confused with coffee and not sent it!
Did not see this in other comments so TOE is Table of Equipment not Organization (picky, picky)
Rest of comment had to with comparing Watergate chaos to today and wondering if one would have found the number of willing conspirators you brought together.
TOE correction is spot on Colonel and I appreciate the help, especially from such a close friend.
Yes, I think it would be tougher to assemble such a crew today, although I haven’t thought through the complexities
of such a thing today. Thanks for the introspective but objective comment.
Your friend,
Semper fi,
Jim
James, Both you and Homan are correct. Each has contributed half of the wording of the acronym TOE.
“A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units.” From Wikipedia
You could expand the wording in the Chapter.
Marines wanted things to work according to the TOE, the table of organization.
Reword
Marines wanted things to work according to the TOE, the table of organization and equipment.
Thanks DanC, and I feel a little better. We always used TOE and never stopped to think about how Homan
put it, that the E was all wrong. There was a lot of stuff like that in the Corps of the time. The colonel and I
were both right…now that’s hard to believe!
Semer fi,
your friend,
Jim
The Muse strikes again
Great chapter-I look for things that resonate with me to comment upon. Since we were both trained in the Quantico method of situational analysis, I knew that you would not attempt to destroy a car underwater since it might not work, might nor produce the desired result and would raise attention. So you final plan will result in a rescue rather than search ands destroy. Cant wait to see what you rescued. The next that struck me was the unique memories of a Marine base, the range, the O course, the armory and walking away with C4 not recorded. The good old days. No questions asked. Those memories sound romantic but dig deeper and we know they are not – they came at a great price. Driving down Basilone road is neutral memory of eucalyptus in the air, but not the reminders of what we trained to do- kill.
Paul IS A MOST Interesting “coincidence ” in your life. I had many therapist over the years but one didn’t try to tell me I didn’t respond well to criticism was that my father could be an asshole or I wasn’t Brest fed enough. She told me as Paul did with you- here is the situation, here is what you need to do. Too much therapy gives us causes not direction. Paul is wonderful gift. And you listened which is hard to trust a non- Marine at that stage in your life- or at least it was for me. “go get the package and give it to Mardian. He’s as likely to believe you didn’t look inside as he is to believe you if you say you blew it up. And don’t forget what he said. If you do look into the box, then please remember the story of Pandora. Pandora let all the evil out of the box when she opened it against instructions. She did get it closed, but she closed all hope inside. There’s your advice and that’ll be twenty dollars for the time. Simple, direct and it worked since you are still hear.
I cannot wait to see what you actually did.
Richard! What another tome of great worth and deeply expressed thoughts.
I cannot thank you enough for digging into the chapter and using your dedicated and sharpened blade of a mind to take things apart and
really consider them.
I much enjoy first reading and then waiting a while to reread what you write.
You are a perfect example of what this site the way we have somehow constructed it, mostly through serendipity,
can do.
Semper fi, my friend, and thanks,
Jim
You still may use the rebreathers. Or are they off the table now?? Seems they would be of value? Keep the chapyers coming James.
No rebreathers Harold. I wisely, with Elwell’s wise counsel, decided to go simple and less hardardous. I also was put off by
the dangers I considered inherent to the system at that time…now discovering I was exactly correct. Today’s technology has made things
much safer but still…anyway thanks for the compliment.
Semper fi,
Jim
I can’t wait for the next chapter. The suspense is killing me
Semper FI
Great compliment Russ, as TCL II get close to finishing…and TCL III begins.
Thanks for the great compliment…and don’t die while waiting. I am pumping the chapters out
one after another, driven by comments like your own and Jim Flynn’s and DanC’s non-stop and
overwhelming support.
Semper fi,
Jim
James these chapters, from chapter 1 of 30 days to now are just amazing and riveting. I am actually wondering if some of this information is still classified. You going to be able to hold your breath for over a minute on this little clandestine dive you and Bob are taking? When you talk to Bob please tell him thanks for his input and planning.
Actually, I gave up caring about classification. I’m old and if I’m to spend my declining years fighting with
the government over such things then so be it. I made a decision to not only reveal what I knew but also
to write using the real characters names. Almost nobody does that for obvious reasons, but some of htose
characters also have written comments and revealed confirmation of some of the unbelievably truths written,
which has been most pleasing.
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow, that got all tied up with a big red bow on it very quickly. So much for your proclivity to overthink things. There’s much to be said about running possible scenarios prior to starting, but the KISS principle can ease your troubled mind.
Another great chapter Jim. Thank you.Tim
Funny, how simplicity can be so elusive when planning for complicated results. Bob was, and remains, a master
at doing just that. I owe him and its been wonderful to remain close friends through all these years.
Chuck and Tom Thorkelson too. Thanks for the great comment, as usual.
Semper fi,
Jim
One of the most in depth chapters to date, no pun intended. The first few paragraphs where pure prose. Thank you LT, keep em coming!! Semper fi Sir!!
Thanks so much for your evaluation on here. Means a lot to me and others reading it.
Strange association I have developed, quite unintentionally, as this site and writing have
developed…like having lives of their own directing instead of being created…
Semper fi,
Jim
Bob is becoming more and more important in your telling! I’m hooked even more, and you’re playing with me!
Dear Batman:
Bob Elwell and I talk every Tuesday, as he likes to preview what’s coming in the chapter I’m writing and critique his part in it. Of course, that’s if I tell him, which I don’t always do. Bow has been as true blue in the remainder of time between those days when we both knew him (and, after all, when he took over my book of insurance, he went to work for you!), as have you. Thanks for your enthusiasm for the telling of this story and also the part you played in making many things in it come true.
Your friend, and,
Semper fi,
Jim
A difficult plan made easier just by talking to Bob, the lifeguard. I wondered throughout if there was any chance that the caper might even have a chance to succeed. Low and behold, Bob to the rescue. The plot thickens!!
Funny how being in circumstance such as the A Shau combat, can deaden sensibilities when it comes to using violent
materials, devices or sensibility. I would have had not problem blowing up the harbor! Now I wonder what was wrong
with my brain at the time, or why I listened and the went readily along with Bob’s simple but brilliant solution.
Thanks for the great comment and the compliment buried inside its wording.
Semper fi,
Jim
Mr. Strauss, Sir,
Gularte, Paul, Bob, Mary, Julie, and the cat. All very valuable teammates. I love reading about “the good guys” in your writing. You had me thinking with the paragraph regarding your place in the universe. While I have never experienced anything approaching intense fear, terror, or the horror of the valley, I never considered my place in the universe either – until now – reading this chapter. Looking back at my life, I think that I can now maybe suggest what my place has been so far. Thanks for a great read, and for giving me something to think about.
Keith, what a wonderfully interesting and complimentary analysis of the chapter, and your reaction to it.
I cannot thank you enough, of course, for putting this evaluation up on here for everyone to read.
One of the main reasons I work to get this all out here is to do exactly what you are writing about, to get
people to think and not simply to respond to the new tabloid style news reports.
There’s much more depth to human cultures, regions and social organizations all responding to the realties of
history and not just those made up because they seem more astounding than true.
Thanks so much,
Semper fi,
Jim
“Bouncy compensator?” I believe you mean buoyancy. I’m ex-Navy and that buoyancy stuff was kind of important to us. 😉
I kind of smilingly like ‘bouncy’ but you are exactly right, of course, and this is being changed as I write.
Thanks so much for the help.
Semper fi,
Jim
, wince I didn’t want to show up at the aermory* wearing almost nothing at all.
had no equipment or help except for my sister flaating* above with an inflated innertube
making the decision o* leave everything we’d picked up
his opinion aboiut* how a night dive
* Just a few spelling errors I noticed…
Why do I think there’s more to the man named Bob ?? Hmmmm..
Great read James, keep ’em coming !!
Semper Fi
Bob Elwell calls me every Tuesday afternoon, just as he gets his hot off the keys issue of a new chapter.
Every Tuesday now, and thankful that I’m writing a chapter every week. Bob is truly an amazing man.
He married my secretary (still married) and took over my insurance business (still runs it) and continued
to distinguish himelf in the San Clemente community (elder at the church and big wig at
Rotary). Yeah, he’s a special guy and his wife a special woman…and his daughter something else indeed!
Semper fi,
Jim
SEALs come from Coronado; Miramar was for Naval aviators.
SEAL members flew in from Miramar by chopper for the ‘training session’ that really wasn’t.
Coronado didn’t have a chopper landing pad.
Semper fi,
Jim
I was an Army DUSTOFF medic but I can relate to the jeep full of ice. Ours was full of beer and soft drinks. I tried to include the picture but it won’t copy & paste. I’ll submit the picture to your email site.
Much appreciate your photo when it comes.
Hard to put photos up on this site. Chuck Bartok can do it, he’s the I.T. guy. chuckbartok@gmail.com
Semper fi,
Jim
Lt, you lead one complicated life. I can only imagine how this turns out. Other then a couple of misspelled words, everything is as usual, great.
Thanks for the great compliment Mark!
Semper fi,
Jim
you never cease to amaze me
Much appreciate that direct and meaningful comment Sam, and I shall endeavor to persevere!
Semper fi,
Jim
The Devil is in the details, Thank you so much for your service and your story. I remember very little of the news at that time other than the “I am not a crook” speach. I am amazed at the details you use to weave the narrative together. You do a masterful job of telling a gripping story. I am addicted and have eagerly awaited every chapter. I hope that we eventually find answers and resolution to the many open questions of that time.
I have come to a point that I will question every bit of news that I hear and wonder as I hear the latest spin just which one of these jokers I would trust to wash the horse shit from the mushrooms I want for my breakfast omelette.
I hope it was not too long from this point that you were able to settle down in peace with yourself and your wonderful family.
John, I write a weekly local newspaper and have done so for going on 15 years now.
Writing the truth, even about things going on only locally, is extremely painful in
many different ways. I still have a next door neighbor who will have nothing to do with
me because “you wrote bad things about my friends,” as he put it one day. I told him
that his friends needed to stop doing bad things, but that made no difference.
I have bullet proof windows in my car because, now infrequently, some people have
tried to take things out on my car instead of me. The windows cost ten grand, for God’s sake
and I don’t have the money to spend on such things…even though necessary.
The national news is a product of something I’ve avoided. The national news is
almost wholly governed by advertisers. I pay for the paper myself. I have total editorial
control…and so the public here gets the straight skinny as best as I can discover and write about it.
Very truthfully, early on, I wrote the phrase that has become so filled with veracity: “the most dangerous
newspaper in America.” It’s called the Geneva Shore Report and it’s also online for free on its own
Facebook page.
Semper fi, and thanks for the great comment John.
Jim
John, incidentally, every new chapter of the Cowardly Lion, appears in print in that paper which comes
out every Wednesday. If there are vets or other readers out there who will only read hard copy then they
could subscribe to the Geneva Shore Report by sending 57.00 a year to 507 Broad Street, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.
That copy is not as well edited because DanC has not gone through it before it comes out, however, but at least
it’s in quality hard copy. Thanks for caring.
Semper fi,
Jim
Another enjoyable chapter! Although wondering about the number XLX, which to me reads 40+10. Or “L”.
You seem to get really complex plans sometimes, but you are considering effects on other people.
When the Ensign saluted you, I was reminded of my father’s funeral. The Color Guard folded the flag, then the leader marched over to me, presented the folded flag, then saluted me. In Pavlonian reflex, I popped to Attention, and returned a very crisp salute.
You must have had fast reflexes to not do the same!
You ae exactly correct. The proper usage of the Latin is “L,” and I missed it. Jeez! I’ll get better, but thanks
for the most proper correction. XLX is not acceptable as an alternative and it was nice that you avoided pointing that out!
Thanks for that and the ‘reflex’ thing. When saluted it is hard not to salute back…as it seems to trivialize the show of
respect the there is extending by the gesture.
Semper fi,
Jim
James,
BRAVO!
Seems like lots COULD go wrong in the original plan.
Something smells fishy…
Trusting people you really know nothing about concerning the procured explosives, detonators, being sure of what gas is really in the tanks…
Seems like a BETTER plan is coming together, with your “A” team.
In playing bridge,
If there is a way to play the cards to make a contract succeed WITHOUT having to take a questionable and risky finesse–THAT is the far superior option.
“I pity the fool” (as Mr. T on the TV action show would say)
who tries to outsmart and thwart your mission plan.
Keep ’em coming, LT!
Trust is a funny word, mostly because entire philosophy courses could be taught about what it really means. It can mean almost anything,
depending upon who is doing the evaluating. Some trust of those around us has to be given, whether we’ve been burned time after time.
We must ‘trust’ that the pilot of our airplane does not fly the plane deliberately into a mountain. We must trust that our own family members will act in our best interest, even after drinking and other actions. And so on…we make judgements all the time while telling most around us that we are not judgmental. If you are not judgmental on this planet then you are not long for life on this planet. Thanks for an interesting “Walter Duke” kind of great comment. You make me think which also makes me write.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
If my comments make you want to write more. then GOOD!
I am ALWAYS searching for a new chapter to lend light on the saga.
The Walter Duke! I think I surprised you with my response. I’m not a ‘normal’ writer, as everyone here must have figured out by now.
So, I am not necessarily motivated by what would be considered normal motivating events. I don’t care about the number of sales.
I get it…that I need the money and stuff. I care much more about what goes on right here than any of the numbers. It makes Chuck
Bartok frustrated and sometimes angry at me. It’ just how I am built, and many of the people on here have become sort of a family
of friends here…and through all the during and post Vietnam years I never had that from other veterans…at all. Yes, your words
do, indeed, cause me to write more….and thank you so much for the writing on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, I only had time to do one read. Maybe I’ll recheck in a day or so.
Sequence of parts about Bob seem to not fit.
Bozo is a clue that cats can be far more than we suspect. I know of two cases where it appeared a cat took on a disease their human would have suffered from; but didn’t.
So who took the Polaroid pic of you in the ice trailer? If Mary, then she was along for at least the party if not the armory trip.
Hoppes #9. A smell never forgotten.
This might all fall into place… or not. We shall see.
Some minor editing suggestions follow:
Roman numeral for fifty = L Not XLX
double doors, almost always open, as it was this morning,
Maybe “the” instead of “this”
double doors, almost always open, as it was the morning,
wince I didn’t want to show up at the aermory wearing almost nothing at all
“since rather than “wince”
“armory” rather than “aermory”
since I didn’t want to show up at the armory wearing almost nothing at all
I wondered if Paul would be in or not tied up
/ Since Paul’s car was there he was in. The question is – is he free?/
Maybe “and” instead of “or”
I wondered if Paul would be in and not tied up
the training dive with Bob Elwell
/Seems out of place. Later you confide with Bob supposedly for the first time about the mission./
in case something expolosive went wrong inside the plant.
“explosive” instead of “expolosive
in case something explosive went wrong inside the plant.
I had no need to stuff toilet paper into inside the blouse.
“into” and “inside” are redundant. Drop “into” Keep “inside”
I had no need to stuff toilet paper inside the blouse.
/Last chapter you specified TNT as the desired explosive. Here they are providing C-4./ Context later in chapter indicates it doesn’t matter./
whatever effect you feel you might need2.
Drop the numeral “2”
whatever effect you feel you might need.
simply no accepting that part of the withdrawal
“not” instead of “no”
simply not accepting that part of the withdrawal
the ordnance box, googles, snorkels and underwater lights
“goggles” rather than “googles”
the ordnance box, goggles, snorkels and underwater lights
but making the decision o leave everything
“to” instead of “o”
but making the decision to leave everything
kitchen, which was more the center of the downstairs socially than the living or dining rooms
Maybe rephrase
kitchen, which was more the social center of the downstairs rather than the living or dining rooms
I walked to toward the pier with Bob
Drop “to”
I walked toward the pier with Bob
I think asked for his opinion aboiut how a night dive
Drop “think”
“about” rather than “aboiut”
I asked for his opinion aboiut how a night dive
We wear the wetsuits because their black
“they’re” instead of “their”
We wear the wetsuits because they’re black
we won’t have communication once were at the bottom
“we’re” instead of “were”
we won’t have communication once we’re at the bottom
Ten seconds to get to depth, one minute to do find the car
Drop “do” before “find”
Ten seconds to get to depth, one minute to find the car
Early in the morning hours would be just asking for curious minds to follow up on if get spotted
Add “we” before “get spotted”
Early in the morning hours would be just asking for curious minds to follow up on if we get spotted
high risk to a simply dive into the harbor
“simple” instead of “simply”
high risk to a simple dive into the harbor
Blessings & Be Well
Thanks DanC, the fixes have been made and the commentary analyzed for the worth of it…which is always considerable.
Thanks DanC for helping to keep all of this going.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim