My Adak Story by Ray Heid

I left NMCB 7 after my second tour in Vietnam and had orders to NAVSTA, Adak (summer of 1970.  Now, you want to talk about a Climate change!  WOW

My ex-wife and I had a son only two months before I returned from Vietnam, so before I left for Adak, I purchased an old Chevy Station Wagon and drove it to Seattle, Which I put on a ship and sent it to Adak.

The next day, I boarded a plane from Reeves Aleutian Airlines and was headed for Adak.  I looked out of the window as we approached the island and saw a dot in the water, well, the next thing I knew, the pilot was flying low over what I thought was a mountain and doing a downward flight fast, I thought I was back in Vietnam (Combat Landing).  We landed safely and I entered the terminal.  I hadn’t seen such a small terminal in my short life (I was 21).

I looked around and saw a sign that said, Comsta, call a phone Number, I did and about a half hour later I was picked up and transferred to Comsta.

I made CE2 about 3 months before I left Vietnam, and was assigned to a Room with the CE1, who was also waiting for housing to bring his wife to Adak.  He was much older and snored to an unbelievable decimal.

During the time before my Family were able to come to Adak, I learned of the GREAT HUNTING that was available on Adak.  Shortly after I arrived on Adak, I was joined by a couple other Seabees I served with in Vietnam, one of which was the Chief cook and his second class!  (Big Grin).  Anyway we would have a SEABEE party once a month at the SEABEE Hut, on the road just above Maintenance, well, we had an in with the mess cooks, so we would line it up, They would get some Beef from the Galley, to make a stew, BUT, they always wanted a couple of Ducks and Ptarmigan, so I would get my shotgun from the armory and conveniently provide the wild game.

One Friday night, we were having a Party on top of a hill, between comsta and downtown.  This old abandon WWII hut was unclaimed, but we were able to use the old stove for heat, BUT it was in a location, you had to abandon your cars and walk up to get to it.  Well, about 11:30 at night, we hear a car engine and can’t figure out how in the heck.  Then the car engine got quiet and all of a sudden, a new person joined us.  Right after he joined us, he left and came back, then the Engine sounded again and all of a sudden, a horrify crash and we looked around and Jeep was inside the Quonset hut.  It seems my Vietnam buddy Bruce, decided to make a Grand entry into our Party!  LMBO

While still in the barracks, it was so cold, the heating system didn’t work worth a darn, so I went to one of the old WWII Quonset huts and got a sheet of Asbestos and when to the Maintenance carpenter shop and  using a clothes dryer element mad a space heater for my room.  Of course, after I was there a while and met a UT1, we repaired the main heating system in not only or wing, but in all the wings (We did most of that work after hours and weekends).

Finally my family came to the island!  At the time, the Navy Lodge was ½ a Quonset hut right next to the old Bowling Island.   Well, after we got settled in the Navy Lodge, we decided to show my family around
Adak, at the time, there really wasn’t a place to take the family to dinner (Before the Acey-Ducey Club).  We got back to the navy Lodge and shortly after the Bowling Alley burnt to the Ground.  LOL

Finally, we get our house on Kulak Drive, it was the second house in from the main road.  Straight across form us was an ETC and we became friends along with becoming friends with the people living next door in the same duplex and only the garage and laundry room separating us.

First, I’ll start with the Chief across the street.  One day he called me at work and said “Ray, there are two WWII Weasels on the island (Track Vehicles), with that we can go ANYWHERE on the Island, can you just think of the places we can hunt, want to go together and buy the only one that is for sale, the other  one belongs to NAVSTA, well they wanted $1,000 for it so for $500, I said sure, I’m excited, let’s do it.  So, we bought it. (1945 Weasel)

Well first time out, we went up the road, going uphill from the new Acey-Duecy club under construction above Bering hill, we had a case of beer and all the camping gear for a weekend in the Tundra.  Everything  went great, until we got to the top of the mountain and had to turn back!  I was driving and told Bob, no problem, we can go back down and select a new route.  So, I turned it around and headed down hill, in high gear, high range, little did I realize, there were no beaks!  We were headed for a 45 degree sharp turn, I tried to slow it and couldn’t, that is when I learned, we have no breaks!  I was pulling on the left lever to turn right, NOPE, it wouldn’t do it, I again pulled on both levers to stop it… NOPE  (have I mentioned, right after the left was about a 300 foot straight down hill rolling hill). By this time Bob is yelling “Turn it, Turn it”, I am yelling back “I can’t, I can’t”  then Bob yells “Stop it Stop it”  I yelled back “I can’t, I can’t”  As we hit the turn, I was pulling on the left lever and it hit something and turned a hard left and came to a Stop.

The problem is, it came to a stop with the right side hanging over the edge, and we were teetering.  We both moved to the high side, looked at each other, shaking, we said let’s have a beer (good thin it was our younger days)  We had a couple beers and decided, Bob would get out first, he got out and with the door open, held the door for me to get out.  Now we are both out safe, but had to figure out, how to get the damn weasel back on the road, the right track not only was off the track, but was hanging  in mid air!

So, we decide, I would go back to Downtown and see if I could get some help.  Well about an hour later, I get down to where the Seabees where Building the new Acey-Ducey Club.  It turned out, I recognized an EO that I was with in Vietnam, and He got a Heavy Duty Wrecker and took me back to the Weasel.  The put slings on it, picked it up and lifted it back on the road!  Of course, it cost me two cases of beer.

Well, that was the day Bob and I learned to put  the tracks back on the weasel.

I could tell a few more stories about Old Blue, but that is for another day.

At Comsta, you could pick up a telephone and maybe or maybe not, you would get a dial tone.  We had a 1944 0r 45 Telephone system with Line Finders, Connectors and Selectors, which had not been maintained.  Being the second Senior CE, I used to sneak down to the Comsta  Phone exchange to try to learn a little more about telephones, well, one day I was sneaking and playing with the system and I’m be darn it the Comsta public works officer didn’t walk in and catch me!  All he had to say is can you fix it?  I said, I have no idea, I have never had any training on it.  Well, he said, Petty Officer Heid, you are now assigned to the telephone exchange.  YIKES I said.

Well, I learned allot about Selectors, Line finders and Connectors!  I also learned on heck of a lot about cable splicing!  I also me a Civilian, which ran the Telephone Exchange “Downtown”  he had been there a while!  The story was, he was there because he could get away from a Divorce!  LMBO.  But the man was always ready do help this rookie.

Comsta went a week with no phone service to “Downtown”  There was a bad line in front of the phone exchange, so I went down to help them repair it.  I had never been so cold in my life, we would go out and splice for 15 minutes and go inside for 30 minutes to warm up and do it again.  Needless to say, after 14 hours, everything was back up and running just fine.

Oh, so I thought!  But then there was an EACN, Bruce Thomeke!  We had a Poker at my house on Friday night, Well, being a telephone guy, I had a real telephone I had converted with a battery and it had a dial tone.  Well Bruce, when I wasn’t looking, exchanged it with my house phone, then he encouraged me to call another Seabee to get him into the game!  Well, I took hook, Line and Sinker…. Well, needless to say, I was so embarrassed, I still to this day hold it against EACS Thoemke!!  Geesh  Remember, back then Bruce was a EACN.

One day, you will have t ask Bruce if an aircraft was landed on and Aircraft Carrier which was sitting on his desk by a couple of E-5’s.

Now, let me set up another situation.  In Public Works Comsta, the  OIC had his office all the way back, One door out of it, then to the left of it was the Senior Chiefs Desk, then the Clerks desk (EACN Thoemke) Ok for being a Clerk and an EA, h was a good guy. 

I was in the process of Rewiring the phone system in the Public works office and had ripped all the wires just outside of the Public works officers door, so I taught Bruce the color code and when the Publc works officer walked back in, he stooped and studied the situation, with his CLERK, cutting wires and in a startled voice, said, “do you know what your doing”, well Bruce said “NO, but Petty Officer Heid” said it was ok for me to try.  Well, Once Bruce was done, the phones worked Great!

I can and may tell more Stories of my experience on Adak, including the stories We used to tell the CT’s at Comsta about us Hunting in Adak National Forest!  Grin..  Oh yea, and about the time EACN Bruce Thoemke (Retired as a EACS) had an aircraft land on an Aircraft Carried, which was on his Desk, just outside of the Company Commanders office3 and just in front of the Senior Chiefs Desk.  Well, the flight deck did a great job!  The problem is, later that night, the enemy  sunk the Aircraft Carrier, and it burnt until it sunk!  Ask Bruce, he is on hear!

More adventures to come my Fellow ADAK Brothers and Sisters!  Remember, I am Old School and female Navy came on the Island only a couple days before I left the island!