photos contributed by Carl Swepston and Dennis Mc Cormack
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on photo to see movie
Coronado, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2012) Rear Adm. Sean A. Pybus, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, renders a salute during the parading of the colors at the Naval Special Warfare 50th anniversary celebration held at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Pybus was on hand to commemorate the Jan. 1, 1962, establishment of SEAL Teams ONE and TWO. Over the course of fifty years, the SEAL Teams have grown from 2 teams with 20 Officers and 100 Enlisted Sailors to 10 teams with 600 Officers and 1,900 Enlisted Sailors. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Luke J. Perry)
Coronado, Calif. (NNS) - In response to President John F. Kennedy's desire for the armed forces
to possess an unconventional warfare capability, the SEAL Teams in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets
were officially established, effective Jan. 1, 1962. SEAL Teams ONE and TWO were commissioned
with 10 officers and 50 enlisted men each. Since that time, the SEAL Teams have grown impressively in number and capability.
"Over the past 50 years, Navy SEALs have become one of the finest irregular warfare forces in the
world today," said Rear Adm. Sean A.
Pybus, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command. "From the Mekong Delta to the Hindu
Kush, deep at sea or far into the desert, Navy SEALs have proven themselves to be tough, versatile,
and successful. Forged from the same steel as their predecessors, today's SEALs will continue to adapt, evolve, and win, as our Navy and nation need."
January 13, at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, distinguished guests joined with personnel, past
and present, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Naval Special Warfare Community.
20120113-N-EC992-007 Coronado, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2012) Retired members of the Naval Special
Warfare
community, to include Rear Adm. George Worthington (center) and Rear Adm. Cathal "Irish" Flynn
(right), came together during the 50th anniversary celebration held at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado to commemorate the Jan. 1, 1962, establishment of SEAL Teams ONE and TWO. Over the course of fifty years, the SEAL Teams have grown from 2 teams with 20 Officers and 100 Enlisted Sailors to 10 teams with 600 Officers and 1,900 Enlisted Sailors. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Luke J. Perry)
Hosted by SEAL Team ONE, the ceremony recognized 50 years of dedication and selfless service that
members of the Naval Special Warfare community have volunteered to their country. Capt. Collin P.
Green, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, gave the opening remarks and shared his
thoughts about this prestigious organization.
"I haven't felt like a new guy in a long time, and I'm just hoping that nobody makes me go get wet,
" said a smiling Green. "It's great to be together as a family to celebrate such a significant
milestone in our history, and it is a real honor to be up here in front of so many distinguished
Naval Special Warfare operators."
"Let today be a catalyst for us to rededicate ourselves to learning more about the individuals
here today and the events that populate the chapters of our great history. Take the time today to
meet the forefathers of Naval Special Warfare."
Green introduced Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Mike Thornton, who shared his memories of
his teammates and his life as a Navy SEAL, "One thing I do know about the Teams of yesterday and
the Teams of today is that we don't go to battle for accolades or for medals. We go to battle for
the greatest nation in the world. We go to battle for the man on the right of us and the man on
the left of us, we go for the man in front of us and the man behind us - our comrades-in-arms.
We go to battle for each other because we want to sustain freedom as we know it, and we want
to sustain that same freedom for the future of America."
Coronado, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2012) Mike Thornton, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and
past member of SEAL Team ONE, shares his experiences about being a SEAL during Naval Special
Warfare's infancy at the 50th anniversary celebration held at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
The ceremony commemorated the Jan. 1, 1962, establishment of SEAL Teams ONE and TWO. Over the
course of fifty years, the SEAL Teams have grown from 2 teams with 20 Officers and 100 Enlisted
Sailors to 10 teams with 600 Officers and 1,900 Enlisted Sailors. (US Navy photo by Mass
Communications Specialist 1st Class Scott Taylor)
To commemorate this day, former SEAL Team ONE veterans and Vietnam Veterans, Mr. Louis Mcintosh
and Mr. Phillip
"Moki" Martin, presented a plaque showcasing the history of SEAL Team ONE to Rear Adm.
Pybus.
"When you think about 50 years and a unit like SEAL Team ONE that has done so many things, I am
just in awe of what we have accomplished," said Martin. "I've watched these young guys today,
and I see where they are in terms of how they train, how they are equipped, and what they are
doing. I'll tell you that they have come a long way, but I sure am glad that I was part of the
path that led them to this point."
"I saw a lot of good friends (today), some of which I haven't seen for over 40 years. The
ceremony was a good time. It was a good, emotional time, but it was certainly a good time."
As the colors posted and the benediction was read, former and current members of the Naval
Special Warfare community came together, sharing a common thread that withstands the test of
time.
Coronado, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2012) Guests attending the Naval Special Warfare 50th anniversary
celebration held at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado browse through a book about Vietnam-era SEALS.
The ceremony commemorated the Jan. 1, 1962, establishment of SEAL Teams ONE and TWO. Over the
course of fifty years, the SEAL Teams have grown from 2 teams with 20 Officers and 100 Enlisted
Sailors to 10 teams with 600 Officers and 1,900 Enlisted Sailors. (US Navy photo by Mass
Communications Specialist 1st Class Scott Taylor)
"Although all of us here have served during different times, we all have experienced the same
sacrifices to earn our place in this community," said SEAL Team ONE Command Master Chief Jason M.
Tuschen. "These sacrifices have forged a common bond throughout all generations of Frogmen.
We are witness to that bond here today, exemplified by the wide range of guests gathered here
to celebrate the significance of this event and this brotherhood that was born 50 years ago."
http://coronadocommonsense.typepad.com/coronado_common_sense/2012/01/
naval-special-warfare-commemorates-50th-anniversary.html
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Here's a great picture of Pete's work of art at the quarterdeck ceremony for ST-1. Pictured are John Swider, Dennis McCormack, Art Abbett, Gary Fraser, and Rusty Campbell. ROY, I ALSO HAVE A 10X13 PHOTO COPY OF THE ORIGINAL PLANK OWNERS LIST THAT WAS USED TO CONSTRUCT A REPLACEMENT OF THE QUARTER DECK DISPLAY MADE UP BY DAVE WILSON. THAT LIST IS WORKING LIST WITH CHANGES MADE FOR DECEASED, NAMES WITHOUT E-MAIL ADDRESS’S AND/OR OTHER CRITICAL INFORMATION. THANKS FOR THE OFFER. Pete Slempa
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| SEAL Team ONE, Plank Owners at
the 50th ST-1 Anniversary Celebration: Looking Great !
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Larry "Seadog" Lyons UDT/SEAL operator Capt. Jim Anderson USMC Helo Pilot Lt. Mike Thornton UDT/SEAL operator, M.O.H. Winner Danny Cain USMC Just can't go wrong, two Marines and two SEAL'S at Snowball Express Dec. 2011
| About the book: SEAL Doc,
Pure Fiction!
from :Jim Madison ExecDirectorUDTSEAL Assn
A TRUE STORY: The year 1999 I met a man in Pearland TX by the nickname (not his real name) of "Elf". He was carrying a Regular Membership to the UDT SEAL Assn and was receiving "The BLAST." I told Ty Zellers about this new found SEAL brother. Ty wrote back that he was not on the database. I informed the Elf that he was not a Navy SEAL and that the men at SEAL Team FOUR that were in the Panama fiasco said that Elf was a "wannabe." I immediately informed our President, CDR Tom Hawkins. Tom without any hesitation wrote the Elf to destroy his membership card and to write a letter to the Assn of apology. Tom also told him that he would not get a refund on his membership fees. Elf was a Navy Veteran and served with the SeaBees but was not a Navy SEAL. He apologized to me and we stayed friends for about one year after that and our friendship fizzeled out without any hard feelings. Those were the good old days when none of us even dreamed of "political correctness." Back then it was black or white and none of this modern politics to form democratic committees and vote on something that is "cold turkey" WRONG. The Webmaster: Erasmo Riojas
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Story of a U.S.Navy "DIVING Dicksmith" and NOT a Navy SEAL Corpsman 23DEC2011 Men, I am getting emails that HM1 Davis DID NOT call himself a U.S. Navy SEAL in his book. Even the village idiot can interpret that the title of the book "SEAL Doc" means that this guy calls himself a U.S. Navy SEAL ! Even his email address is: Sealdoc@aol.com Is Davis insulting your intelligence? Why do you say he never called himself a Navy SEAL? Read my lips: He is a SEAL Wannabe and an insult to all of us SEAL Corpsmen.
D.R. Davis states: "The story of the First U.S.Navy SEAL Team in Vietnam" That is total B/S ! There was never a SEAL Team in Vietnam, only Platoons deployed to 'nam. The MTT is NOT a SEAL Team! ----- Original Message ----- I always thought it ironic since first class diving school has a long segment on explosives and their use in demolition; I was NOT excluded from that phase of the training because I was a corpsman. First class diving school, although not BUDS, is no cakewalk for a corpsman. The survival rate among corpsmen in that training was small. Several started out in my class in that school, we were intermingled with seagoing rates who were already second class divers, at the end of two weeks I was the only one who survived. When I graduated from diving school and the subsequent med. diving tech. portion I was told I was number 60 on active duty in the whole Navy...there were more than 200 billets for diving corpsmen in Pac Flt alone. When I arrived in Da Nang and discovered what unit I was to be working with, my teammates filled in the blanks in my training with a lot of OJT, including jump training. While not a BUDS graduate, I consider myself a "close
brother" to SEALs I think I earned that for the service and
support I provided to our mission and to my teammates. I look
forward to meeting the members of the NW SEAl group and to your
response.
Gordy
He was an outstanding Corpsman and I heard via the Grapevine, back in late Jan 62, he departed Camp Pendleton in the middle of the night (secretly) and went to Vietnam. When his tour of Duty was over, he got out of the Navy and went into Ranching in either Montana or Wyoming. Doc Williams used to keep in touch with him. I had his phone
number, but could never get in touch. I bring this up for two reasons
#1) I believe he was the first SEAL to go to Vietnam and 2) I would
like to know if anybody can shed some light on where he is. As I
said he was a superior individual in all respect. Thanks Franklin From: Jerry Hammerle
Dec2011 I received the book from Rich Young, an associate member of the UDT-SEAL Assn. I read it and made notes on some of the pages. I then snail mailed it to the President of the UDT SEAL Assn so they can read it and make their comments on the next BLAST magazine. In NO WAY is this book a historical addition to the History of U.S. Navy SEALs. As PT Schwartz wrote, this man wants to sell books and make $$$$$. I doubt it would have sold very many if he would have named his book DIVING Doc. At least it would have been an appropriate title. Erasmo Riojas, SEAL Doc
In the book he never classifies himself as a SEAL but that he operated with SEALS. His memory has to be the worlds best to be able to remember word for word some of the things in the book. The wife and I are doing real well, both healthy. So is our 1 year old spoiled rotten dashound I play golf 3 times a week. Not bad for a 76 year old f**t Sorry to hear about dickie Cyrus. wish I could help out. Keep in touch. PT Schwartz, Navy SEAL QUESTIONS about the book "SEAL Doc" by HM1 Davis; FACT? vs FICTION?
SEAL Doc: The Story of the First US Navy SEAL Team in VietnamDoc, Carl,
from: bburbankca Doc; Lennie and I was the first MTT team in Danang in 62 ithink it was 10 you sent me a picture with Lennie and I holding Carbines. I dont remember this guy either. BIlly
Doc, Good move. There was a book published a number of years ago "SWIMMERS AMONG THE TREES" by "SEAL Corpsman" Joel Hutchins. As soon as I read the book I called the publisher and told him it was bogus. All the photos were generic USN public affairs types and the stories were suspect or taken from other "real deal" books. Turns out the guy was a phony and they stopped publishing the book. jchalus On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 Doc- My Responses follow in red, within your email. Alan The book SEAL Doc. A novel based on fact. D.R. Davis , HM1 deep sea diving Tech. There is an article in the last issue of the BLAST. It mentions the CO of an SEAL MTT to Vietnam to train the Viet Hi and the LDNNs. The BLAST wants us to believe that it is a TRUE history of the MTT. (Note: Although Davis has some fairly accurate info, this is not true history of MTT 10-62 and the names are fictitious. I was OinC of MTT 4-63, which relieved MTT 10-62. We had considerable discussion with members of that MTT (as well as others) when the book first came out – some things are reasonably accurate (or close), some are not. Nobody knows or directly recalls Davis. In a separate email., I will forward two FEB/MAR emails (one to you) on the subject. They are “in-house” pieces of correspondence for your edification alone, and I ask that you not forward them further, although you can paraphrase the contents if you wish.) SEAL Team TWO sent an MTT and both the Corpsmen with it have never heard of this man Davis. He is not on the Corpsman Database for Vietnam era. (The initial Vietnam MTT was MTT 10-62 and consisted of 2 officers and 8 enlisted from ST-1 and 2 enlisted from ST-2; the follow-on was MTT 4-63 (for which Davis claims to have “stayed on a little while after the rest of the team had departed to orient the incoming corpsmen”) consisted of 1 Officer (me) and 2 enlisted from ST-1 and 1 Officer (George Doran) and 8 Enlisted (including HM’s Schwartz and McCarty, neither of whom has every heard of, or made contact with, Davis in VN) from ST-2) Earlier this year i got an email from Davis asking if I would put his name on the SEAL HM database. I dumped it without answering because i would have said a lot of unkind words. If that MTT was SEAL Team ONE's men, then perhaps some of you old 'nam vets may remember Davis, or the SEALs that he mentions. THe CO he wrote was a LT Evans, I do not know if his name is on the SEAL database. He mentions several other men, but i don't know if they are fictitious names. SOme names in his book: Chief Volkert Les Barter CHuck Ramsey ET3 John Smith RM3 George Soule ENS. Dale Shurburn (Yes, they are all fictitious names) Davis claims he was TAD in Hawaii to UDT-11. Maybe some of you guys that were in UDT 11 remember this wannabe SEAL Doc. He states that some of those men in the detachement were Operators into Cuba, Bay of Pigs. I don't know if SEAL Team ONE was involved in that, but I know ST-2 was standing by to go. (Yes, all of ST-1 not then deployed elsewhere were involved in Bay of Pigs) - -- - - -- - -- - - -- -- - - -- - -- - - - -- - - -- - - - - -- - - - -- - - - -- - - - -- - - -- - - - -- - -- - - -- - -- RIO, I can not recall any of the names you ask about but I can tell you that ST 2 was augmented by a ST 1 group during the Cuban Missle crises. There was an ST 1 Platoon with a ST 2 group in Europe on an exercise when the CMS went down they all returned to LC and where joined by a larger ST group. "Pete"
Peterson
Jim Cook answered via email:
"No Doc you No Submarine Doc." From: Runt324
[at] aol DOT com
We all lived in the
same house and I believe that I would have seen him around the
place. Doc Raymond were there before we arrived and was on a
different job with Chief Sullivan, (I believe that was his name)
both of these were SEAL One. We saw each other frequently.
from:
BBURBANKCA [at] aol DOT com Rio, But there was two other guys in country about the same time HArry Beal & Willie Lump Lump.. They did find two Viet who did some SCuba diving for the plumers, and they did blow up a PT boat, I am trying to get HArrys phone # I think Lump Lump is dead. But we never used demo, and sure never had them underwater. They would not go in the dragon or or something would get them. Just surface and no weapons of their own. I don"t know how he came up with such shit. But again we did have a German Shepard puppie even made a jump with him.. It was Bobby Pauls . he mentioned that? He must have talked to somebody and took notes not from me or Leenie so it had to be one of those movie guys from SEAL Team ONE. They should make him turn all profits over to the Seal Foundation for the wounded.. . The group here knows they screwed up in THE BLASAT. but that wont happen again. Things will work out. Billy B From: Doc
F. Mccarty Rio, Harry Beale
& Lump-Lump went to DaNang with the second Mtt with Schwartz
and me. I Don't know
if they did anything related to that put out in the "SEAL
Doc" book. They would visit our living quarters
frequently, but did not live with us or operate with us that I'm
aware of. Take care and have a good New Year. From: Dante I suggest we hold this guy’s head under water a few minutes. Please suggest to the BLAST that they do a MAJOR disclaimer next month, Then someone needs to write his publisher to set the record straight. Dante Date: Jan 4, 2012 , You are correct, Doc. The man is trying to make money off of
us. PLEASE approach him and tell him we won’t kill him if he
gives half his profits to our wounded warrior program. What is his name. I want to watch for him…give me his address
or email if you have it. Dante PS. Send your original email to
Larry Bailey. He loves to catch phony’s. Steve Robinson shadek [at]
tri-lakes DOT net , jagg, Doug, UDT, Don, Doc, Billy, Bo, Doc, Don, Franklin, Fred, John, John, Larry, Michael, PT, R, richard, Rick, RJ, Thomas, Tom, James |
