Navy Military Career

 Here is my dad in a hard hat dive suit. His last hard hat dive for fun was at age 70.









Very good looking young man I think!

 

He was also trained as a Navy pilot.

   GFM first ship was the USS Medusa, the Navy's first purposeful built repair ship, in Hawaii in 1940 and a little later transferred to the USS Okolala. December 7, 1941 after returning to Ford Island from being on leave the Japanese bombing began. He made it to his ship and with the rest of the gun crew started shoot at the Japanese planes. His ship the Okalala was struck several times and capsized. In a lull from bombing he dove into the ocean to help survivors and within a couple days was only helping retrieve the unfortunate soldiers that were killed. In January his commanding officer told him that based on what they observed during the Japanese attack related to his strength, swimming skill and ability to hold his breath they wanted him in the Deep Sea Diving unit of the Navy Frogmen. He was sent to Washington DC for training.
Ultimately he was used by the Navy and loaned by them to outside companies as a deep submersible vessel engineer and pilot. After he retired from the Navy he continued this line of work until he retired.  Ultimately in June of 1942 he was in the battle of Midway.  (This is a memorial article about my dad).

 A pilot was shot down and was clinging to his aircraft and was spotted by my dad's ship. "Forie" (my dads nick name) took a line and a flotation device and dove in to swim out to the pilot. Suddenly the ship cut the line and took a zig-zag pattern to escape the sites of a Japanese sub and left both men floating in the ocean. It was my dads 21st birthday. A lost in action telegram was sent to his mom. His ship returned the next day not thinking they would find them alive but they did (thank God) and picked them up when it was safe. Another telegram was immediately send to his mom again saying he was "safe". I cannot even imagine the scare that would have caused to his mom and my mom.

My dad, Glenn, was in every battle in the Pacific as a Navy Frogman. He swam with his team to lay explosives to blow up barriers so the Marine and Army troops could land on beaches held by the Japanese. Finally the war ended in 1945. After the war he was stationed in San Francisco. He helped change the radar warning lights in the Golden Gate Harbor for USA protection during hard hat dives. His career training in scuba diving continued and hard hat diving expeditions continued. He also trained as a Naval pilot and spent time as a motorcycle SP. He loved the military life.
 During his time in San Francisco he also worked with Sea World feeding sharks and putting on shows for the visitors. He also tested the first air tanks being developed for divers to use during "skin diving".

While re-stationed to Hawaii he taught submariners at the sunken submarine escape school the correct ascent techniques in a 100 + foot training tube (shaped like a silo) to prevent the "bends" or technically called caisson disease where nitrogen bubbles form in the tissues and blood. In 1950-1953 he fought in the Korean War and was injured during that time and recovered to continue his Naval career.

Eventually we moved as a family to Roseville CA. where he commuted to San Francisco to work. In 1953 in Levan Utah at the Sevier Bridge Reservoir the Naval Ordinance Lab and other federal departments had my dad with 2 other divers position 50 tons of TNT under water that was 15-30 degrees. They wore long underwear under their diving suits it was so cold. The peacetime blast was the largest in history at that time and spewed mud and water over a half mile high and shook and rattled homes and windows for over a mile. He was honored and thanked and was noted in these news articles.  

 In 1955 the Army was practicing ocean exercise maneuvers in a 27,000 lb amphibious landing craft called the DUKW worth one million dollars, in the ocean near Fort Ord. A huge wave took the 6 crew by surprise and overturned the craft. The Army requested the assistance of the Navy and my dad was sent along with 2 civilian divers to try to get tow lines attached to the vehicle. The smaller DUKW with the 3 divers and 2 pilots was quickly beaten under by the huge waves and was over turned dumping the men under and around the vehicle. With difficulty they made it to shore and my dad had to be upended to empty the ocean from his diving suit and mouth and lungs. It was a close and dangerous call. He was honored by the Navy for his effort. The smaller craft was finally towed in but the large DUKW remained upside down in the ocean!