The USS Salem
In 1956 - 1958, Dad was stationed in the Med on the USS Salem. (I can thank the US Navy for my being born in France.) I came across this family picture and wondered if it was the Salem. Googled the number and discovered, yes, it is. Not only that, I learned the Salem is alive, well, and open for tours in MA. One can even stay on it overnight. AND, according to the website, it is haunted.
This picture was in the same batch so I assume it was taken on the Salem. I'll have to ask Michael to see if the rank/ribbons correspond with that time in Dad's career.
Another family picture I think I can identify as Dad's stateroom/bunk/whatever it's called on the Salem. I can almost smell the gaggish ship paint and metal smell. There's a picture with a similar drawer/desk configuration on the ship's website. Not sure, though. Is that a map of the Med? Shouldn't there be a boot-shaped Italy? Maybe it's behind Dad's bathrobe.
I love the family portrait. The snapshot beneath it appears to be Mom and Dad standing behind the four little boys. There's a picture of Mom under the map. Pre-M Society. The Bad Old Days.
That's Donny, standing proudly, and Billy looking through binoculars. Adorable the way The Boys are carrying binoculars in so many pictures. Dad's doing, no doubt.
My glamorous mother, the Lieutenant's wife.
While Dad was on the Salem, he and Dr. Ralph Beatty, a civilian scientist assigned to the ship, developed what became known as the Haystack Theory. The Beatty families explored Europe together and became the best of friends during this time.
Read more Here.
My parents and the Beattys in 1957
Mrs. Beatty and my mother a few years later.
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