One of the “fish” mentioned in the

article is USS Wahoo (SS-238). Built

at Mare Island and launched in 1942,

USS Wahoo, was one of the most

storied Submarines or WWII. She

recorded over 59,000 tones of enemy

shipping sunk before being lost with

all hands on her 7th cruise in the

waters of the Japanese home islands in

1943. Please see Farragut’s Press Issue 5

(March, 2012) for a review on the

book Undersea Warriors: The World War

II Story of “Mush” Morton and the USS

Wahoo (currently in the Mare Island

Museum Library)

1

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Not Enough Fish Capt. William F. Calkins USNR (Ret.)

When the Navy launches a new vessel, many people

have had a hand in the event: designers, engineers,

shipfitters, draftsmen, stenographers, welders,

bookkeepers, and accountants. Literally thousands of

civilians and naval personnel have made their

contributions to each new ship of the Navy. And at

some point along the line, somebody has to give her a

name. This is the traditional, official responsibility of

the chief of naval personnel.

For more than two years during World War II, this

was my job – dreaming up new names for naval vessels

so that the chief could recommend then to the

secretary of the navy for assignment to an endless

stream of new construction.

Now, compared with destroyer or advance base duty,

naming ships in Washington can be regarded as on the

plush side. There’s nothing to it, I thought. So the

Navy has another ship, so all I have to do is to think of

a word, and that’s that. Hah! Little did I know.

Although I was a sedentary sailor, not to be confused

with the forces afloat, I came to live amid peril of a

most peculiar sort. I almost gave a general-stores issue

ship the name of a star which had been named by the

astronomer who discovered it after his mistress’s pet

poodle. I did name a submarine after a sea slug with a

most unmentionable seagoing nickname. What it cost

the Navy to occasionally burnish the names off all the

equipment on some ship where I had goofed and had

to rename her hurriedly, I’ll never know (and would

Farragut’s Press NEWSLETTER OF THE MARE ISLAND MUSEUM, 1100 Railroad Ave, Vallejo CA 94592

December 2013 A 501(c) (3) Charitable Organization

rather not.)

Before the Navy entrusted me with one of its reserve

commissions as lieutenant (j.g.), it made certain I was a

college graduate. Then, by assigning me to the ship-

naming detail, it gave me the opportunity to acquire

another liberal education.

Like everyone else in the Navy, I knew that each

category of naval vessel is assigned a general category

from which the names of all ships of that type are

drawn: states for battleships, cities for cruisers, and so

on. But this is only an easy beginning. There are

many classes of ships, I learned. I soon found out that

the Navy had more ships than I had names.

Submarines are named for fish or “denizens of the

deep.” At the peak of the shipbuilding program, the

Navy had around five hundred submarines afloat, a-

building, or a-planning. And that’s a lot of fish, I can

testify. There are nowhere nearly as many fish as you

may think there are. More particularly, since

ichthyologists seem to prefer Latin names for fish,

there are even fewer fish names that the average

citizen-sailor can (a) pronounce, (b) spell, or (c) even

recognize as belonging to a fish.

The reasonable names like Trout, Bass, Salmon and

Shark were used up long before I appeared. I was

reduced to scrabbling around for names like Spinax,

Irax, Mero and Sirago. You never met any of these on a

shoreside menu.

It takes some long stretching to hook other than the

most common fish names to submarines and have

everyone know you are naming them after fish. Even

Farragut’s Press December 2013

the so-called common names can be rough. Here are

four: tenpounder, red squirrelfish, shiner, big-eyed

scad. Nobody could possibly name a U.S. naval vessel

the USS Big-Eyed Scad. Nor can you use their real

names – the ones on their birth certificates, so to

speak – which go something like this: Elopsmachnata

(Forsskal) or Holocentrus diameda (Lacepede).

We fudged a little and came around twice. There is a

USS Shark; there is also a USS Tiburon, which is shark

in Spanish. There was the gallant USS Wahoo and the

USS Omo – same fish. There were the Jack, Amberjack

, the Ulua – same fish. There were the Pampano and

the Pampanito, the Devilfish and the Diablo, the Chub

and the Hardhead (both minnows, but we couldn’t

name a fighting ship the USS Minnow), the Tuna, Tunny

and the Bonita (all kissing cousins if not the same), and

the Eel, Moray and Conger (which look remarkably

alike). We never figured that we could put Sardine on

the Navy list, but we named the USS Sarda – same

fish.

Naming a sub for a sea slug was a somewhat

unsuccessful action. The name Trepang sounded pretty

good to me. Maybe not as good as Salmon, but the

choice then wasn’t extensive. The book said it was

“any of the holoturians, mostly species of Stichopus

and Holothuria, esp. H. edulus.” I didn’t know what all

that meant, but what the heck. It lived in water, so it

was a denizen of the deep. Somebody should have

told me it was a sea slug (with an even ruder

nickname) – and he did, but not until after she was

afloat. Once a ship was afloat, it was even harder to

rename, so, as far as I know, somewhere at sea or in

mothballs, there is a USS Trepang, probably

affectionately known to the underseas Navy as the

USS Sea Slug, if not something worse.

One of my fondest memories of Washington is when I

went over to the National Museum to bid goodbye to

Dr. Alexander Wetmore, the director. He and his

corps of scientists had contributed to the war effort

above and beyond the call of duty. As we parted, Dr.

Wetmore said, “Calkins, you have been an amusing

fellow to work with. You know, in the early part of

the war, you were naming your submarines after our

fish, but I learn lately that we have been naming our fish

after your submarines.”

And that is exactly what happened. When the going

got really tough, I tried a new tack. I would read the

dictionary until I came across a name that sounded

sort of fishy. Then I would ask one of Dr. Wetmore’s 2

ichthyologists if he had a fish by that name, knowing

darned well he didn’t.

When he had checked his card file without finding the

name, I would ask him if he could find me a blank

card. The taxonomists are constantly finding new

subspecies, differentiating them by minor features

from their near relatives. The scientific name is fairly

automatic – genus, species, and subspecies, which may

be the name of the discoverer. But often no one gets

around to giving them popular names.

So the ichthyologist and I would thumb through the

cards until we found a likely blank one, add the name I

had devised, and there was the Navy’s newest sub,

named after a perfectly bona fide fish, with its name

properly listed with the U.S. National Museum.

Supply and demand, that’s all it was.

It wasn’t long before the sub skippers started asking

for pictures of the fish for which their new boats were

named. I do not recall which fish started it, but by

then we were at the bottom of the ocean, grabbing

anything. When the National Museum fellow showed

me the picture, a horrible nightmare haunted me. It

was a sub skipper about six feet tall, a former tackle at

the Naval Academy. He had red hair and he wore the

Navy Cross and a flock of battle stars. He came

stomping into Arlington Annex and draped that,

Another “fish” in the article is the Mare Island built USS Trepang (SS-412).

Shown on the left below the battle flag is what a “Trepang” looks like (a very

tasty sea slug, as our volunteer Tony Liang can attest to!). This is certainly not

as sleek as its submarine namesake, shown sailing off of Mare Island in the

photo on the right, below the battle flag.

Farragut’s Press December 2013

picture, frame and all, around my neck – from the top.

In short, this particular fish from the bottom of the

depths didn’t look impressive or gallant or remotely

like a submarine. It was mostly all head and had stupid

looking popeyes and a skimpy tail. Furthermore, it

didn’t look as if it would be attractive to the female of

the same species. You couldn’t even have used it for

bait.

What would happen to the very happy ship spirit of

the USS What-Ever-It-Was when that monstrosity

arrived aboard? Quickly I reached a command

decision: In the highest tradition of the naval service, I

sent him a picture of a trout.

Thereafter I kept a handy file of pictures of trout

salmon, barracuda and similar fish for such inquiries.

The picture on the wardroom bulkheads may have

occasionally confused visitors who really knew fish,

but I couldn’t help it. The war had to go on.

A brief note from the Newsletter staff: This newsletter does not have a policy of copying

articles from other sources, but a number of staff read

this in a book given to us and written by Paul Stillwell

entitled Submarine Stories: Recollections from the Diesel Boats. We thought it was so amusing it

needed to be shared, especially since Mare Island had

built many of those diesel submarines. Stillwell gave

us permission to reprint it as did The U.S. Naval

Institute where it was originally printed - Reprinted

from “Proceedings” with permission; Copyright 1958

U.S. Naval Institute/www.usni.org. Of the boats

mentioned Mare Island Naval Shipyard built the

Pompano, Tuna, Tunny, Bonita, Wahoo, Bass and the much

maligned Trepang. The Trepang was sunk as a target in

1969 so the author does not need to worry that there is

a USS Sea Slug lurking in waters somewhere.

Sometimes fact is funnier than fiction!

3

Mare Island Museum Hours 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Weekdays

10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. First and Third Weekends Tel: (707) 557-4646

Shipyard tours by appointment, please call: (707) 664-4746 or (707) 280-5742

Preserving the history of Mare Island

During WWII, the entire nation participated in the war effort,

Disney Studio artists were no exception. As Captain Calkins

struggled with the proper naming of the submarines, Disney Studio

artists were designing cartoon images to go with their possible

future namesakes

Visitors Mare Island Museum had a busy fall quarter. We had

visitors from thirty (30!!!) different states as well as

visitors from Canada, Germany, Territory of Guam,

Guatemala and The Netherlands. Recently we had a

visitor whose great, great, great, great grandfather

owned the shipyard that was to become the Boston

Navy Yard, Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard. She came to

the museum to see the figurehead of USS Independence which we have on display.

Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard was where one of the first

six frigates that would birth the US Navy was built.

That frigate was none other than the famed USS Constitution (1797). Also built at Hartt’s Shipyard

was the frigate USS Boston (1799). In 1801 Hartt’s

Shipyard became the Boston Navy Yard, where

Edmund Hartt, now the yard foreman and not its

owner, built the brig USS Argus (1803), and the first

“ship of the line” commissioned by the US Navy, the

90-gunUSS Independence (1814). She was (1836)

converted to a 54-gun frigate and ended her career as a

receiving ship here at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Mare Island Bridge Logo In 1993 Tom Watson, a Mare Island employee

submitted a suggestion that they repaint the logo on the

smokestack on Bldg. 121, the Power Plant. He was

told that it would not be cost effective as the

smokestack was going to be torn down. As we all

know, that smokestack still stands, but Watson has a

new project for repainting a logo.

He has recently petitioned and received approval from

the Board of Directors of MIHPF for them to set up a

separate fund to receive donations to remove, restore

and reinstall the Mare Island logo on the eastern

approach to the causeway lift bridge. The project would

be entitled “Restore the Logo” and the target date

would be sometime during the 2014 City of Vallejo’s

Public Works project to repair and repaint the western

approach to the causeway lift bridge.

Watson is presently in the process of soliciting

restoration bids and presenting the idea to the City of

Vallejo. His goal is to save a tangible memory that

there was once a very important shipyard over there

across the river.

Watson and the former employees and members of

the 12 blue collar workers and the 4 white collar

affiliated unions of Mare Island will solicit donations

and gifts from all the labor organizations in the

California Bay Area Labor Council and the national

labor organizations to help pay for the restoration.

Donations from individuals will also be greatly

appreciated.

Watson also stated that he was still looking for former

union members, stewards and officers to bring

memorabilia, cups, buttons, protest pins, union cards,

withdrawal cards, Collective Bargaining Agreements

(CBA) and pictures with names, to add to the

collection at the new Labor History Display at the

Mare Island Museum.

Please contact Tom Watson at (707) 507-5249 or

portlandtx@gmail.com for more information on the

logo project or the labor history project.

4

Farragut’s Press December 2013

The weather worn and sun bleached Mare Island Naval Shipyard logo over looking the western

approach to the causeway lift bridge. Lets rally together and restore this logo to its former glory!

Farragut’s Press December 2013

5

The Navy Wife, Ca. 2013 Several issues past we had an article on The Navy Wife, the handbook for Navy wives during WW II,

which described in much detail how a Navy wife was

supposed to behave and what her responsibilities were

to assist her husband in his career. We received more

responses to that article than any other previously

written. And so we wondered, how have things

changed between 1941 and 2013?

First and foremost, the guide is no longer entitled The Navy Wife; it is now called Navy Spouse’s Guide. In her preface to the first edition, the author, Laura

Hall Stavridis, points out that the demographics of the

Navy have changed radically. The Navy is now all-

volunteer and there is a much higher percentage of

married enlisted sailors. There are also many more

women in the Navy, both officers and enlisted, thus

there are a great many more male spouses. And now

the majority of spouses work because of the need for

dual-incomes to support families.

She also points out how communications have

changed. While it once took weeks perhaps, to send a

letter and receive a reply, now it can be almost

instantaneous since most ships are equipped with the

capability of handling email though some of the

smaller vessels use a batch method called USOGrams.

And, of course, there are cell phones, but these only

work when a sailor is within a reasonable distance of

shore according to the author. And while not

mentioned in the book, another method commonly

used today is Skype where the people communicating

can see each other on their computer screens. A

definite plus for families with children.

In the 1940s and for several decades thereafter, the

social aspect of Navy life was crucially important.

Today, because so many spouses are working, it is now

a violation of evaluation rules to mention the role of a

spouse in a fitness report. And now there is almost no

1 2

“command pressure” to go to social events, help raise

money or volunteer if you are a spouse. The author

suggests, however, that the spouse may want to get

involved, because half of his or her life will be spent

without the Navy person who will be on a ship at sea

or on an unaccompanied tour. Secondly, the spouse

on land might find it fun to be involved, because there

are people who understand the problems faced by the

spouse left behind and it gives them the opportunity to

have special activities with others such as going to an

amusement park or having a potluck. And if you

choose to volunteer, you may find you GET more out

of it than you PUT into it.

Dress is still a topic of conversation - for formal

parties, a nice cocktail dress or a business suit or

tuxedo. (The latter suggestion caught this reader off-

guard when she wondered why he would wear a

business suit and not a uniform!! Perhaps you can

guess I am not thirty anymore!) It is highly

recommended you not drink too much, and if it is at a

hotel, that you consider getting a room and spending

the night there –obviously not intended for junior

enlisted! For summertime parties or picnics, casual

wear is correct, but “nothing too revealing or over the

top.” Shorts, a nice top and/or casual athletic wear is

recommended.

If you are invited to a reception for a dignitary, there

will be a receiving line. You will provide your name to

an aide and make only a short polite remark to the

dignitary when introduced and don’t bring food, drink

or cigarettes into the receiving line. Men should wear

a coat and tie and women a nice dress.

Remember the old calling cards – well, they are still

around as a formal custom, but almost no one makes

calls anymore. If you are employed and have a

business card, they can be used as a replacement for

the formal calling card. If the host or hostess wants

you to leave a card there will be a tray near the front

door. The old custom of one for the husband and one

1945 1968 1998 2002

Farragut’s Press December 2013

6

for each female member over eighteen still applies to

the male visiting. The lady visitor only leaves cards

for the females, though no one should leave more

than three cards.

In this book there is an admonition that there is a

custom that should “always be honored,” and that is

sending a hand-written thank you note after attending

a social event. The reader is reminded that the note

should be mailed no more than a day or two after the

event. It need not be more than two or three

sentences

thanking the host or hostess and complimenting them

on the food, the company and/or event. Phone calls

are appropriate and a nice touch, but they are never a

substitute for the written note.

The old idea of officers’ or enlisted wives club is long

gone. They have been replaced by family support

groups usually organized around a command and

include spouses of all levels. They usually meet once

a quarter and the meetings usually are informational

which may include a speaker or a briefing on an

upcoming naval commitment, safety or services

offered by the local Naval Family Service Center.

Refreshments are usually served, brought on a

rotating basis by the members, and baby-sitting is

often provided. There are no bridge games, high teas

or fashion shows!! The primary idea is to give the

command’s extended family additional support and

fellowship.

This author spends quite a bit of time suggesting

activities in which a spouse can engage while the

service member is deployed or on a cruise. Unlike

previous editions of The Navy Wife, these

suggestions do not revolve around socializing with

other wives. She suggests furthering you education by

taking a course or studying a language; learn a new

craft; exercise; read and use the base library, join a

church ; focus on your children; find a job; or travel.

With the support group organized by the command

she suggest group dinners or potlucks; tour another

naval activity in the vicinity; have a guest speaker on

history or art or something practical like simple auto

repairs, home security or job hunting. With the

children she suggest hanging up a map to show where

the other parent is and where the ship will be going;

plan menus representing the country where the sailor

is stationed or visiting; make paper chains with links

to represent days, weeks and months and have the

children remove the links as appropriate; sponsor

outings with other command families to parks, pools

or local amusements; and plan holiday parties with

other families in the command.

And as in the previous editions she gives suggestions

for making the many moves that the Navy family will

make in the course of a career. However, now that

list includes things like taking videos of your property

or home in case of damage or loss during the move.

She also advises that certain personal possessions like

airplanes, trucks, campers or vans cannot be stored at

government expense. You can ship unloaded guns,

but they must be completely described on the

inventory with make, model, serial number and

caliber/gauge. Boats can be shipped, but she cautions

that they will count against your weight allowance and

you need to make sure that the mover has been

advised and can adequately handling the packing and

shipping.

One other interesting aspect covered in this book is

what might keep a family from being assigned

overseas. First on the list is a special needs child who

has a set of circumstances which could not be met on

an overseas base. Today, however, most of the larger

bases have an EFMP (Exceptional Family Member

Program) where trained specialists like PTs, OTs,

child psychologists and medical personnel can meet

many needs. The overseas schools (DoDDS) also all

have special education programs and are governed by

the same laws as school districts in the states. While

they may not be able to provide services to all

children, many special needs children can accompany

their families to overseas assignments. Other criteria

which might restrict overseas assignment include,

substance abuse, lack of financial stability and

responsibility, family advocacy needs, medical or

severe dental conditions, psychiatric disorders and

pregnancy that could affect travel or assignments.

Obesity, disciplinary problems and lack of physical

readiness could also prevent an overseas assignment

though these can be waived by the CO.

And last but not least, in this new era, the Navy now

provides a week long Spouse Command Leadership

Course in Newport for all spouses, male and female,

in which they participate in a week of lectures,

exercises and team-building activities. The idea is to

improve communication and enhance team-building

within a command to benefit all family members.

COMPASS is another course, ten hours in length, in

which there is spouse to spouse mentoring and is

Farragut’s Press December 2013

7

open to all Navy spouses at the larger bases around

the US. The trained spouses then act as volunteer

mentors and teach the program which includes all

aspects of the Navy lifestyle including its mission,

history, customs, traditions, rights and benefits, pay,

deployments and relocations, interpersonal

communications and investment in self and

community.

The spouse in this Navy is a much different person

than we found in The Navy Wife. And the Navy we

find in the Navy Spouse’s Guide is a far, far

different Navy as well.

If you want to read the previous article on the Navy

wife in the 1940s go to

http://www.issuu.com/mareislandnavalshipyard and

click on the June 2013 issue.

18th Annual Christmas Concert One of the most anticipated events of any year is the

annual Christmas concert at the chapel. This year,

Mare Island Historic Park Foundation will be

presenting the 18th Annual Christmas Concert at St.

Peter’s Chapel on Sunday, 22 December 2013 at

2:00 p.m.

Once again we will be privileged to have the Vallejo

Choral Society under the direction of Andrew Brown.

The program will include traditional Christmas music

along with a few sing-a-long songs to really get one in

the Christmas spirit.

After the concert refreshments will be served in the

Admiral’s Mansion, Qtrs. A which is always

beautifully decorated for the season.

Tickets for the concert are $15.00 and may be

purchased at Mare Island Museum, the Convention

and Visitor’s Bureau in the Vallejo Ferry Terminal or

at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum on Marin

Street in Vallejo. You may also call the museum at

(707) 557 4646 and order tickets by phone. We regret

that we cannot take phone orders without a credit

card payment. Past experience has shown that people

place tickets on will call and never show, while others

are waiting at the door to purchase seats.

The concert is always sold out, so we encourage

people to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.

A limited number of seats are available.

Join us for a very special experience during the

holiday season!

Coming Events

MIHPF Volunteer Christmas Party

Dec 19, 2013

5:00 – 7:00 P.M., Quarters A

For volunteers and guests only

Christmas Concert

Dec 22, 2013

2:00 P.M.

St. Peter’s Chapel

Mare Island

Reception follows: Quarters A

POC: Museum, 707-557-4646 Tickets may be purchased

starting in mid-November

with credit card

For further information on any of these events contact the

museum at mihp46@att.net or call (707) 557-4646

Did you know? “Booby prize” is a term usually used for the award

given to the person who finishes last or gives a poor

performance. The term came from a tropical seabird,

the booby. They often, and accidentally, landed on the

decks or rails of ships while diving for fish, making

them easy catches for sailors and a fine meal for the

ship’s company. Due to the easy of capture, sailors

thought the birds stupid and thus the term “booby

prize” found its origin.

The original planned build out of the U.S. Navy was

for the shipyards of Boston, New York, Philadelphia,

and Baltimore to build the 4 larger, 44-gun frigates

and for Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Norfolk,

Virginia to build the 2 smaller, 36-gun frigates.

However, by special order of President Washington,

Baltimore’s 44-gun frigate was given to Norfolk,

Virginia to build. Baltimore would be responsible for

what was Norfolk’s 36-gun frigate instead.

Quercus virens, or southern live oak, from St. Simon

Island off the coast of Georgia was the material of

choice that was used to build the first six frigates of

the US Navy. It was said that properly seasoned

southern live oak was impervious to axes and saws.

Material taken from Six Frigates, The epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll (2006)

Farragut’s Press December 2013

8

To our dear readers of the Farragut’s Press, our fondest and most sincere

wishes for a pleasant holiday season and best wishes for the coming New

Year!

-- The staff and volunteers of the Farragut’s Press.

Mare Island Museum Membership 1100 Railroad Avenue, Vallejo, CA 94592

(707) 557 4646 mihp46@att.net www.mareislandhpf.org The Mare Island Historic Park Foundation keeps alive the history of Mare Island Naval Shipyard and chronicles its shipbuilding activities in the museum, as well as preserving the most historic buildings – St. Peter’s Chapel, the Shipyard Commander’s Mansion and Building 46, the oldest building on the island dating from 1855. The shipyard founded in 1854 by Commander David G. Farragut, first admiral in the USN, was the first naval installation on the West Coast and was an important contributor to success in World War II in the Pacific. It also played a prominent role in the Cold War by building 17 nuclear submarines. We invite YOU to become a part of this endeavor by partnering with the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation and supporting its work. Benefits of Membership:

Free Admission to the Mare Island Museum (Bldg 46) for the year of partnership 10% discount on purchases in gift shop Advance notice via email of new exhibits or events sponsored by the foundation Access to Mare Island Museum Library Free newsletter via email Helping to preserve the history of Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Partnership Levels: (All partnerships are for one (1) year and are fully tax deductible)

• Individual $25.00 – Admits partner named on card • Out of State $20.00 – Admits partner named on card • Family $40.00 – Admits two household members and their children or grandchildren 12-18 (under 12 are free) • Student $15.00 – Admits student named on card with a student ID card

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mare Island Museum Membership Application Name _______________________________________________________________ Date ___________________ Street Address _______________________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone____________________________ Email Address ______________________________________________ Partnership Level: ______ Individual $25 _____ Out of State $20 _____Family $40 _____ Student (with ID) $15 Visa_____Mastercard ____American Express____Card Number _________________________ Exp. Date ______ Make checks payable to MIHPF. Remit to: ATTN; Membership Mare Island Museum 1100 Railroad Ave, Vallejo, CA 94592 (For Office Use Only) ____L ____D ____E Received by:_____________________________ Date_______________

Farragut’s Press December 2013

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