Admiral Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr., USN

                                         
Z-grams  
Photographs of Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. 
Biographical Summary

Full Name: Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr.
Date of Birth: 29 November 1920
Date of Death: 2 January 2000
Prominent Assignments:
Nominated on 14 April 1970 by President Nixon to serve as Chief of Naval Operations. Became CNO with rank of Admiral from 1 July 1970 to 1 July 1974.
Served as Commander U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam and Chief of the Naval Advisory Group, U. S. Military Assistance Command , Vietnam , from 1 October 1968 to 15 May 1970.
As Director of the Chief of Naval Operations Systems Analysis Group from August 1966 to August 1968, he organized and directed the Systems Analysis Division and served as Deputy Scientific Officer to the Center for Naval Analyses.
Served as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla SEVEN from July 1965 to July 1966.
Education: Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr.
Date of Birth: 29 November 1920
Date of Death: 2 January 2000
Prominent Assignments:
Nominated on 14 April 1970 by President Nixon to serve as Chief of Naval Operations. Became CNO with rank of Admiral from 1 July 1970 to 1 July 1974.
Served as Commander U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam and Chief of the Naval Advisory Group, U. S. Military Assistance Command , Vietnam , from 1 October 1968 to 15 May 1970.
As Director of the Chief of Naval Operations Systems Analysis Group from August 1966 to August 1968, he organized and directed the Systems Analysis Division and served as Deputy Scientific Officer to the Center for Naval Analyses.
Served as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla SEVEN from July 1965 to July 1966.
Education:

Thank you very much. Erasmo "Doc" Riojas SEAL Team TWO notoriaty 
"NO" class number; My hell weeks in the korean war as USMC "Leg" 

Thanks doc RIojas www.sealtwo.org 

From: "Doc Rio" <docrio@warpspeed1.net>
To: <ahoyxfrog1 [at] netzero.com>
Subject: Re: Emails that have come my way from these folks. Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:00:57 -0500 

LOL! sure, my web site is unclassiefied. so is my email list. don't give anything if you feel unsecure about it. 

Jack Schitt (you smell like that too?), you may already be on my web site www.sealtwo.org I got so much shit in there i can not remember who or where. 
respond with REMOVE in subject line and i'll paint you gone. 

no problemo, 

Ahoy X Frog 1 if you are a SEAL: HooYah 

doc Riojas retired ST-2 'nam war games
bio on navy Log, usn Navy Memorial ,
search Erasmo Riojas -----

From: Robert Berry
To: Doc Rio
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:07 AM
Subject: Re: Emails that have come my way from these folks. 

Mi..o..mi..o...I am the one that lives down the bio.....My photo is in the Navy Memorial Log, also. Been there nylon 20 years now. I am the only son of Awe Schitt. You see, Awe Schitt was the only ferilizer magnate in the south that was knee deep in the business. So it was only natural that he would marry, Noe Schitt, the daughterof O. Schitt, owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They got together to keep the dynasty heir strong. They had only one son, Jack. Thanks to my genealogy efforts to provide you with "clues" ---you can now respond in an intellectual way. ~Jack 

ahoyxfrog1 , "A 50's Frog"

From: "Doc Rio" >
To: <ahoyxfrog1 [at] netzero.com>
Subject: Re: Emails that have come my way from these folks. Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:51:20 -0500 

http://www.navylog.org/Default.aspx?&gv380__gvac=2&tabid=58&gv380__gvff0=Schitt&gv380__gvfl0=4&gv380__gvff1=Jack&gv380__gvfl1=5 
Jack Schitt is not enrolled in the Navy Memorial's Navy Log. 

Adios and Up yhour ass with mobile gas and happy motoring. 

doc Rio 

 From: ahoyxfrog1
To:  Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 10:22 AM
Subject: Re: Emails that have come my way from these folks. 

Thanks, Rio.....I try to be nice to you and this is what I get back. I'll try a little harder next time. By the way, it's MOBILE EXXON now....merged a long time ago. I liked your website. I know it took a lot of doing on your part to get it up and running. You get lots of Yahoo's for that. It'll a nice thing that will keep you busy for a long time. Most of your friends will tell you that the Navy didn't know Jack Schitt back then. That's why the name isn't there. But the creator of the character is and he was one of the first on the log many years ago when the log was first established. Lighten up a little, Rio, else you'll get old fast. Losing your sense of humor has caused your San Antonio memory to fade a little. You see, a sense of humor will keep your memory sharp...take me, for example, I remember you very well...I pulled your rip cord every once in a while back then but your chute never opened...you didn't seem to be offended by it on the surface. --Of course, you were younger then. I can't hep it, it's the Irish in me...that's just the way it is.

 ~O'Berry 

btw: I sent you a few names of frogs who have passed over the past few years...some of them, you may remember. 

From: Robert Berry
To: Doc Rio
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:07 AM
Subject: Re: Ryan Job, WIA, SEAL, Dies after surgery

Thanks Rio. That was a terrible way to die. Bet it was the onset of Staph infection that did it. Here are the names of several original " 50's Frogs" web footed friends who have passed over the previous three(3) years. Bobby Dalrymple
Trevor "Moose" Heard
Steve Bourecsky
Bob "Frogfoot" Weller 
* John Hebert 
* Billy Hilton (Team 3) Rick Waller None were SEALS. All were graduates of UDTraining Classes 4,5 and 6. and assigned to West Coast Teams. 

There are several others who have passed whose names are not coming to the fore of my mind at the moment....I'm having a Senior blank moment. I believe Don Marler (dcmsmm@consolidated.net) has a complete list. 
* = Recently.

Call me corpsman, call me ‘Doc’

By KEITH POUNDS  Saturday, February 13, 2010 

Perhaps to the surprise of some, I won’t blast President Barack Obama on his 
inability to pronounce the word “corpsman” (which he pronounced “corpse man”). 
Instead, I’d like to take the opportunity to give much-needed praise to 
Navy/Fleet Marine corpsmen who are, as you will see, a special breed of 
warriors.

During my own service as a corpsman, I served at the Naval Hospital, Camp 
Lejeune, N.C., as well as onboard the USS Joseph Hewes (FF-1078) home-ported in 
Charleston, and with the 4th Marine Division, New Orleans, La. My specialties 
included combat casualty care and nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. It’s 
fair to say I know what I’m talking about.

After initial basic training (boot camp), perspective corpsmen are sent for 
medical training at the Naval School of Health Sciences in San Diego, Calif. 
From there they can specialize in any number of medical ratings including X-ray 
technician or pharmacy technician.

Corpsmen act as health advisers and emergency first responders for the Navy and 
the Marine Corps. They treat a variety of illnesses from the common cold to 
decompression sickness requiring hyperbaric treatment.

Many attend Fleet Marine Service School, where they are trained in all aspects 
of Marine Corps operations. From there, they can further specialize as a Special 
Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman or FMF Recon.

Corpsmen stationed with a Marine unit or far out at sea on a Navy warship often 
find themselves in volatile, life-threatening emergency situations. There are 
often no sterile operating rooms and equipment. Doctors and nurses are often 
miles, if not hours, away. As one author wrote, “Bunkers become operating rooms, 
shirts become tourniquets, and corpsmen become miracle workers.”

For a corpsman, being stationed with the Navy means serving in a Navy hospital 
or clinic or onboard a U.S Navy ship. We call this being “on the blue side.” For 
corpsmen stationed on “the green side,” it means serving as a specialist in 
emergency medicine and combat care with the Marine Corps.

Ask almost any Marine who has been in combat what the phrase “Corpsman up!” 
means and he’ll tell you it’s a cry for what the Marine Corps calls the “angels 
in green.” These are U.S. Navy hospital corpsman specially trained for combat 
medicine.

Combat corpsmen are trained in patrols, tactics and navigation and wear the same 
grungy, dirty, sweaty uniforms as Marines and serve as the front-line emergency 
medical response personnel, very often under enemy fire with little regard for 
their own safety.

As many corpsmen share a space on memorial walls with the Marines they tried to 
save, they have adopted as one of their mottoes, “Where angels and Marines fear 
to tread, there you’ll find a corpsman dead.”

In World War II 1,170 corpsmen lost their lives. In Korea it was 108. In 
Vietnam, 638. Fifteen died as a result of the bombing of the Marine barracks in 
Beirut in 1983. Seven corpsmen have been killed in Afghanistan and 31 have died 
in Iraq.

As further testimony to the bravery and commitment of our corpsmen on the 
battlefield, they have received 1,582 Bronze Stars, 946 Silver Stars, 31 
Distinguished Service Crosses, 174 Navy Crosses and 22 Medals of Honor.

There have been 20 Navy ships named after corpsmen. Corpsman John “Doc” Bradley 
was one of the six men photographed by Joe Rosenthal raising the second United 
States flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.

As any corpsman will tell you, few honors sit on one’s heart as well as being 
called “Doc” by your Navy and Marine buddies.

Quoted in the Navy News Service article, “The Making of a Fleet Marine Force 
Corpsman,” Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Richard Lister said, “A doc is someone you 
can count on. He’s someone in your platoon that when something happens to one of 
our fellow Marines, you can call on him and not have to worry. He’s your buddy, 
a comrade in arms, a person who you count on to cover your back, to lay down 
fire, dig fighting holes or do whatever the hell Marines are doing. That’s who a 
doc is.”

As Herschel Smith wrote in “Captain’s Journal,” “they carry a rifle, they engage 
in combat, and they do all the things that Marine infantrymen do. When the 
Marines go on 20-mile humps with full body armor, backpacks and weapons, the 
corpsmen do all of that and more. The corpsmen take all of their medical gear in 
addition to their other load.”

In his 2005 book “Corpsman up,” Paul Baviello tells of the anguish that all 
corpsmen carry with them. He writes how corpsmen “journey into a living hell and 
experience the thrills and horror of combat, the agony of the wounded and dead 
and see foxhole relationships develop between blacks and whites, farm boys and 
city kids ... when friend after friend is wounded and he knows that their lives 
are in his hands and then wonder for the rest of his life if he did the right 
things.”

Yes! Our corpsmen are among the most respected, revered members serving in the 
U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps. If you know a past or present corpsman, call him 
“Doc” and thank him for his service. He deserves it,

Keith Pounds served as a hospital corpsman 2nd class (SW) during the 
Lebanon/Grenada-era. He is the author of “The Psychology of Management” and 
holds an MBA with a concentration in organizational psychology He can be 
contacted at Keith.Pounds@alumni.aiuonline.edu

CDR Don Gaither

Jake - So glad to hear from you. So far I have received two great responses to Doc's call to help us out. 

Don's widow's name is Burtis (Burt to some). I have attached a couple pix that were taken at the fifties frog reunion she attended in Louisville, KY in October 2009. Don Belcher put together a book of info about Don's navy career and made the presentation to her. She is now 88 years young and just as beautiful as ever. 

We would be so appreciative if you could jot down your memories of your time with Don. He was a man of few words and I think many in the family have found out the last few years what a great Navy career he had. And also if Jean has stories about Burt and some of the other team wives, I know she would love to get them. 

My home phone number is 295-2406. I usually get home from work around 6:00 pm. And weekends you just never know when you can find me home. 

If you would rather send pix and info via USPS, my home address is: 

Dawn Walton 
 Loogootee, IN 47553 

I would gladly reimburse the postage. 

A little background on Don: he was born and raised in Washington, Indiana (west side of Daviess County). He married Burtis who is from the east side of the county. They bought a farm and built a house just a couple of miles down the road from Burtis' mom and dad. Don's last shore duty was at Crane Naval Base about 20 miles north of there. After that, he worked as a civilian as chief ordnance officer at Crane. He later was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer and passed away in 1983. 

I married their nephew (my MIL and Burtis were sisters) in 1984. I did not know Don very well but my husband did as he and Don's son, Paul, are the same age so they spent a lot of time together and still do since he and his wife live next to Burt which is a few miles from us. 

If you know of others who could share their experiences, please pass their contact info to me. 

Thanks again for taking the time to write to me and also for your service. 

Dawn 


-----Original Message-----
From: Jake Rhinebolt 
Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 11:56 To: Walton, Dawn M CIV NSWC Crane; doc riojas
Subject: Fw: Info request on a CDR Don Gaither 


HELLO DAWN I SEE WHERE DOC RIO ASKED YOU TO SEND ME YOUR PHONE # .....I AM JAKE RHINEBOLT..... CDR GAITHER WAS KNOWN TO THE TROOPS AS THE BULL GATOR.--- AND WAS C. O. OF UDT 22.....OR 21 ......IN MY BOOK .

 I BELIEVE THE REST OF THE TEAM HE WAS THE MOST RESPECTED C.O.OF THEIR CAREAR AND WE ALL HAD SOME GOOD ONES.......MY WIFES NAME IS JEAN WHO REMEMBERS HIS WIFE BUT NOT HER NAME.

 JEAN JUST FOUND A GOOD PICTURE OF HER WITH TWO TEAM WIVES ....OUR PHONE # IS 389-1195....SEND US YOURS AND WE WILL GET YOU A PICTURE AND THERE ARE SOME TERRIFIC STORIES OF THE GATOR WHICH I NOR ANY OTHER TEAM MEMBER WILL EVER FORGET.

.IF IT AS ANY HELP I CAN SEND YOU A LIST OF NAMES AND ADDRESES WHO HAVE GOOD MEMORIES OF HIM........JAKE 

From: Doc Rio 
Subject: Fw: Info request on a CDR Don Gaither
To: "UDT-SEAL Association" 
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 


DOes anyone know him and can answer this woman?> 

thank you Rio 



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Walton, Dawn  
To:  Doc Riojas
Date: Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 11:31 AM
Subject : Info request 


I am married to the nephew of CDR Don Gaither. I am trying to help his widow with locating information or pictures of Don during his Navy career with UDT. Just wondering if you crossed pathes with him either at Little Creek or Coronado? 

Thanks for your time. 

Dawn Walton 

Billy B  Boy GAither sure shook some ghost up.. That was Team UDT 21 there should be some more guys around..  That knew him Officer types.. they take pictures.. Funny I forgot to ask Rudy..  He has a ton..     

HELLO DAWN I SEE WHERE DOC RIO ASKED YOU TO SEND ME YOUR PHONE # .....I AM JAKE RHINEBOLT..... CDR GAITHER WAS KNOWN TO THE TROOPS AS THE BULL GATOR.---   AND WAS C. O. OF UDT 22.....OR 21 ......IN MY BOOK AND I BELIEVE THE REST OF THE TEAM HE WAS THE MOST RESPECTED C.O.OF THEIR CAREAR AND WE ALL HAD SOME GOOD ONES.......MY WIFES NAME IS JEAN  WHO REMEMBERS HIS WIFE BUT NOT  HER NAME......   JEAN JUST FOUND A GOOD PICTURE OF HER WITH TWO TEAM WIVES ....OUR PHONE # IS 389-1195....SEND US YOURS  AND WE WILL GET YOU A PICTURE AND THERE ARE SOME TERRIFIC STORIES OF THE GATOR WHICH I  NOR ANY OTHER TEAM MEMBER WILL EVER FORGET.......IF IT AS ANY HELP I CAN SEND YOU A LIST OF NAMES AND ADDRESES WHO HAVE GOOD MEMORIES OF HIM........JAKE

From: "William R. Daugherty"
To: "Doc Rio"
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 5:25 PM
Subject: Re: Info request on a CDR Don Gaither

 Oh yea. My 1st udt CO. We called him obstacle course pine cone lunch. 
He ran the o course every day and those who pissed him off had to go 
with him.
Bill

Sent from my iPhone

Rogueman Don Gaither is old history  may be the 50 frogs might have something.. I knew him but never got his picture.. He is the one that took us on the death run over the mountain in St T. and made Rip Collins and me go the obsticle course with him every lunch break..  also a keeper of the ladies in St T..  Tough guy but squared away..

Bilklya burbank

when you left Team 21 was the C.O. Don Gaither. I remember a
LCDR Gaither in "60 when we were in St. T. was this him?. I remember
CB Thomas being locked in a conex and Sam B reporting him AWOL to the
C.O.                                                     Gerald T. (Jerry) Hammerle

Posted by Gerald T. (Jerry) Hammerle on Thursday, February 11, 2010 

Kerry, when you left Team 21 was the C.O. Don Gaither. I remember a
LCDR Gaither in "60 when we were in St. T. was this him?. I remember
CB Thomas being locked in a conex and Sam B reporting him AWOL to the
C.O. while CB was hollering the whole time from in the box but no one
would acknowledge him.
This was also the year someone nailed his wood shower shoes to a 2x4
to keep him from making so much noise at night when he was up walking
around.
There are many more CB stories out there, have any?

Jerry, 22 (EC)

Posted by Ken Abasolo on Thursday, February 11, 2010 

Check of the database shows that this man is among our ranks.

Gaither, Donald G, Lt - Lt. Cdr.
Class: 0 Early
Teams listed: UDT21, UDT5

Rio asked me to post this for him.

Ken.