Email From Jim Vause
This is a email from Jim Vause who was
on the Blue the same time as my Father
January 3, 2004
Just located your website from SDZ Sam Zaccharo.................I remember your father...........he was in another divsion on the ship, but some guys you always remember and I remember him distinctly..............I have to get off line right now, but I will get back to you after I have time to check over your pictures and website....it looks like one of the best sites I have seen......I have a lot of those pictures.......................we had a ship's journalist and that was his job to sort of record our voyages and military activities ......he made some great pictures for us and all hands were given a chance to buy all of them...........................I still have all of mine.............later.......thanks, Jim Vause.
Email # 2 From Jim, later that day:
I just re-visited your website....................and viewed the pictures.....the picture of the corpsman and the two sailors........they were prisoners of war......or North Korean Communist soldiers that we captured in a small boat........they had been surrounded by the U S Army during a battle and had escaped...............we had about 10 of them..........we had to delouse them..........after they had stripped.......and de-fumigate them to make sure they didn't give all 330 of us some rare Asian diseases.................I thought the most interesting picture was the picture of the bearded sailor, bare from the waist up; with one foot propped upon something , looking back at the camera...............he would go back there; to the back or rear of the ship; the fantail; everyday; and just look out at the wake of the ship or waves being made by the rudder..........and just stare and stare out into outer space.....all the time when we were in Korea during our first cruise..........I asked some guys about him....and they said: Oh, him..........................his wife is divorcing him..........he just goes back there and stares out into outer space and never talks to anyone.
Your father had the best time in his life the four years he served in the Navy............We were all just like him........we were bullet-proof....not scared of anything.........we were free.....none of us were married or engaged....most just out of high school.....18, 19, 20, 21..............some even 17.....I was 20 and just turned 21 when we shoved out for Korea on our first cruise of 9 months........we were all good looking and handsome.....and we knew it.....strong.........ready to fight anytime anyone looked wrong at us or said something we didn't like.........crazy......wild.......but we were intelligent.....highly intelligent.......Don collins or Hambone, is now a lawyer.....and a lot of the guys I have been in contact with, went on to graduate from college, under the G I Bill...........I have a B A Degree plus two Masters Degrees.............................but we had no worries and we all believed nothing could hurt us and we would live to be a hundred and that life would always be just like it was at that present time.....and we would be footloose and fancy-free forever.........we never foresaw the future heartbreaks, disappointments, sorrows, deaths of loved ones......romantic breakups and disappointments........but it was the 4 greatest years of my life and it was for your father.......................................and don't believe all that info that Hambone gave you {Darla's note, Hambone did make it seem like it was easy, However I knew it had to be hard on-deck}:......................I was a Radioman, in the radio shack just below the bridge and we worried about those Quartermasters freezing to death all the time we were in Korea.................it was 65 degrees below zero off Siberia just north of Korea and one of them almost froze to death while he was outside just only five minutes on his watch.......they were relieving the QMs every ten minjutes because of the 65 degree weather and they hollered out to him after 5 minutes and they went outside to check on him and he was frozen stiff and could not move his arms to bring down his field glasses .......and in a coma and they just got him inside just in the nick of time or he would have frozen to death in ten minutes according to the corpsman............................thanks......later..... Jim Vause; Radioman Second Class........Sept. 1950-to -June 17, 1953 aboard the Blue.
Email # 3 From Jim,:
Thanks for your answer......I was not sure my email made it through or that you were still on line.................................Your dad would have been thrilled by the website........I really mean that he would be thrilled; especially in his older age........................I think it is the greatest possible thing that a daughter or son could have done for their dad.........you have done him and his memory a great honor.........At the Blue Reunion in Dallas, Sept 15, 2000, a son attended the convention with his father who was using an aluminun cane sometimes for assistance and his son was right by his side helping him through all the activities and tours.....and they did not get involved too much with the other veterans , but stayed mostly by themselves, enjoying each others company......... It touched all of us to see a son so dedicated to his dad, that he would spend the time to spend four days with him at his dad's ship reunion....................I also think you have done great honor to our ship, the USS Blue, DD744 with your outstanding website......I am passing it on to my shipmates who may not know about it.................thanks, I will try to keep in touch, Jim Vause
Email from Jim, about the photo credit
Yes, he is Don Heyer.........Des Moines, Iowa........who was with me in the radio gang during the 2nd tour in Korea and we went on liberty together in Hong Kong , all over Japan......Pearl Harbor......and he is the main friend I have now from the Blue..........he even visited us here in Texas driving from Des Moines in 1999.......and came by in 2000 and we attended the Dallas Reunion Sept , 2000........he has some great pictures from the Blue and of some of the crew on liberty...............I have already emailed him 2 minutes ago about your dad's picture and me sending it to you and I told him that I gave him the credit and also told him about your great website dedicated to your father and the info that he did not have, I believe he didn't know that your father was dead..............I did not know it............in fact, you are an official member of the crew of the Blue............we even have widows, sons, daughters and I believe grandchildren.......no, I know we have widows who attend the Blue Reunion after their husbands die..............and sons and daughters and grandchildren and daughters in laws and son in laws attend with their Blue veterans at the Blue Reunions.............It is amazing how much sons and daughters and grandchildren want to know about their dad and grand dad's military service; where they served; what ship they served on and they want to know all about the ship and what duties and actitivities their father did....................there are two Blue Reunions.............we broke away from the larger Blue Reunion , begining in 2002 at Las Vegas.......but at the larger Blue Reunion there were a lot of relatives attending with their Blue veterans. Jim Vause
Web Author: Darla Vanderlip
To reach me by E-mail: Darvee729@aol.com
Web Site: The Military Page
Page Created: January 9, 2004
Revised: January 9, 2004
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