,

Fred Langbein, whom you’ve met on the VR-24 page, rescued these photos when one of our personnelmen was going to throw them away. Fred sent them to me in early October 2007 and I will scan them and put them here as quickly as time permits. Most of these are "Official U.S. Navy Photographs" and therefore are of events rather than candid shots of people. However, some of the less formal occasions did squeak through.

Thank you, Fred.

 

Fred Langbein makes 3rd Class Petty Officer. I have no idea who the officer is shaking his hand, and I remember the CPO next to Fred warmly but cannot recollect his name. We wouldn’t have this photographic collection were it not for Fred.

Commander Wisendanger gives Jim Quinn the oath as Jim ships over (reenlists) for another 4 years in the Navy. Jim wanted shore duty in Japan and this was the only way to do it. Is it just me or does he have a "What have I done?" look in the right photo?

July 17, 1965. Commander Wisendanger, Patrick Kiernan, and Scott Burgett. Scott and I became close friends and have kept in touch over the years. He now lives in Ohio.

Cdr. Wisendanger congratulates Dan Toberny on making 3rd Class Petty Officer. Watching is Master Chief Orville Tolley, VR-24 Detachment Leading Chief. Dan was another close friend, originally from Dallas, TX.

Jerry Fluette looks like he’s wondering what the skipper is thinking.

Cdr. Probyn was the Executive Officer. For those who don’t know all the military stuff, the XO is the conduit between the commanding officer (CO) and the rest of the crew, especially the enlisted men. Cdr. Probyn was an excellent XO. He had been in fighter squadrons during WWII and Korea and was the recipient of the Navy Cross TWICE. The only medal higher than the Navy Cross is the Medal of Honor. The EMs all respected and liked him.

On one memorable evening a bunch of us walked into one of the more seedy dives in Napoli (which had a plethora of seedy dives!) to find the Commander and LCdr Gianetti holding court at the bar. They immediately invited us to join them, which we did. Maybe I shouldn’t have said "memorable" as that’s about all I remember of that night. But the gesture was typical of Commander Probyn.

I have no idea where this was taken, and the only two people I recognize are Commander Probyn holding the glass, and LCdr "Corky" Millner holding the cigarette. Cdr Probyn wanted very much to be the CO of VR-24 Det. He was passed over for the command, and passed over for the rank of captain. Soon after that (after I had left the squadron) Commander Probyn was asphyxiated from the fumes of a small heater in his closed room. RIP.

Cdr Wisendanger congratulates Daryl L. Pazel upon making 3rd Class Petty Officer. 4th from the right is Bosun 3rd Donovan. 2nd from the right is Norman Straight, and on the far right is Jim Yates, but although they are all familiar, I cannot put a name to the other three men in this photo.

Washing down the hangar deck. We must have been preparing for ComFAirMed (Commander, Fleet Air, Mediterranean: the Admiral!) inspection since we rarely pulled everything out of the hanger and got the tank truck (from the crash crew) in to really scrub the place out. The only door you can see in this photo is the Line Shack, domain of Chief "Buffalo Bob" Daniels.

                                

This is Ricardo, the Italian national who ran our coffee mess. He brought in huge pastries which he sold for fifteen cents as well as dispensing coffee from his little corner room in the back of the hanger. If I ever knew it, I do not remember Ricardo’s last name. One always had the feeling that he was pulling something off. We teased him unmercifully and he never got pissed, at least openly. I really liked him.

 

I don’t remember Perkins, but the other three guys are all good friends. Frank lives in Georgia, Scott in Ohio, and Henry in Florida. this was taken at an All Hands Christmas Party, Note that Scott is wearing Frank’s name badge and I’m sure Frank is wearing Scott’s.

I like this photo of Lee undergoing bag inspection.  I can’t tell who the inspecting officer is, but I’m almost positive the officer behind him is Lt Al Fry.  But the real real reason I like this photo is that it illustrates our personal world somewhat. Lee is in front of his bunk. Directly behind him is his locker. Next to his locker is the locker of the man on the right side of the "cube" or cubical. Note the classic  tile floor (I think it was an off-green with flecks). Behind the men in the photo you see the other side of the passageway is a mirror duplicate of what is in front of you. Through the window is the runway for Naples International Airport and beyond that the suburb of Capodichino. Note how freaking close the runway is to where we slept!

 

Commander Wisendanger is followed by Lt(jg) Carlson and "Ham" Hamilton during inspection. Delacono and Quinn are in the first rank and are both E-3s, so this had to be 1964.

Commander Fleet Air Mediterranean checks us out. I have the inspection party detailed below, in this one I note the men I remember.

The Admiral went on to become Chief of Naval Operations, which is rather like the Pope if you’re a Catholic.