Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

Having a parent who had served in the US military (Navy) for over 30 years would have an influence on a young man. Upon graduation from high school, William Simmons (Bill) pretty much knew what he was going to be doing the next few years. He had listened to his Dad's advice and stories most of his life. He knew what to look for and what to expect.

After passing the usual tests for entrance into the US Navy, Bill flew from Denver to Chicago. A military bus awaited new recruits who would need a ride to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. In that the arrival time was late, the new people were put in a condemned building until the next morning when things would get underway (Navy term).

Bill recalled that when he went to the clothing issue point, he was provided a stencil set. Once the letters and numbers were arranged per the specific user, all items of clothing would be personalized with the sailor's name, etc. "W. Simmons ..." would be permanently inked on every item of clothing -including the skivvies!

This was a measure used when large batches of clothing were washed and dried. The items usually reached the owner after the cleaning process.

During boot camp, however, there was an "RTC washing machine". This was a Recruit Training Command bucket, where brand new sailors got to wash their own clothing! Due to the freezing temperatures in northern Illinois, wet clothing left outside usually froze instantly. There were large facilities that were out of the weather and useful for this piece of cleanliness.

Bill got through boot camp by meeting all the standards in a timely manner. In that he had joined the US Navy Reserve, once he completed boot camp, he returned to his Reserve Unit in Cheyenne, WY. Bill worked in the unit for a couple of years but it would be time for him to do some active duty aboard a ship. His Dad's advice, "don't get on a bird farm (air craft carrier) or a battle wagon (battleship). He selected the ATF section.

ATF is Attack Fleet Tug. This tremendously powered ship had the capability of towing the battleship USS New Jersey! It had four diesel engines in sync with one another. There were 85 personnel aboard. The ship had the usual accommodations of a galley, hot showers, and good hard work.

Aboard this ship, there are so many tasks to complete that all hands do work that is out of their official rating. Bill was an enlisted sailor who worked on the clerical level, the mechanical end of towing or lift suspension, and laying beach gear.

As orders go, Bill was sent to NorthPac (northern Pacific) where their ship was needed. Once this mission was completed, the sailors aboard the USS Tawasa ATF92, returned to Bremerton, WA.

If a Navy tug isn't being used to move ships about, it has other uses. One of them is pushing targets from one place to another so that destroyers and battleships get zeroing and target practice.

On one occasion, as the Tawasa was at sea, waiting to move a target to another place, the crew notices a ASW plane flying above them. (ASW is Anti-Submarine Warfare). Soon, the Tawasa felt the blows of a missile that had gotten way close to them. In the after-action review, a US Submarine had positioned itself under the Tawasa and mirrored its movements. If the ship went right, the sub went right and so forth. The plane crew detected it, but failed to let the Tawasa sailors in on it. The sub surfaced and showed its position as things came into focus.

In time, the USS Tawasa was part of a group going to colorful Southeast Asia. One of their jobs was to be positioned between a Russian trawler and a US Aircraft Carrier. The generator on the Tawasa was powerful enough so that it jammed all communication on the Russian ship so that the Carrier could operate as planned.

When the tug wasn't real busy, crew members were sent to different ships to learn other skills. Bill learned how to be a diver during this time. Once trained, the divers would be taken to other destinations to perform various underwater tasks - including establishing radio communications for war efforts. During some of this work, Bill's dive partner was doing work that brought him too close to explosives/wire. The proximity was lethal.

In off time, Bill was part of a small group of men that enjoyed getting to a new port of call so that they could go out to eat in a fine restaurant. In the currency exchange rate at the time, the guys ate very well, for much less than expected. In addition, Bill had a couple of custom-made uniforms. He also had some "sneaky" embroidery done on the underside of sleeve cuffs and under the back flap of uniforms!

Bill was among a group that was assigned to stow steel cable on the ship. The work involved carefully feeding heavy towing cable under the ship's deck. As the winch retracted the cable, some loops in the line formed. Bill was on the next level down when several loops fell on him, breaking his shoulder, injuring his back and neck. Bill was sent on the medical care in San Diego, CA. Due to the injury and manpower cutback, Bill's Navy career was to end. He was sent back to the Reserve unit in Cheyenne, WY to process out.

As he was just about out the door, the Unit Commander had a sense that Bill had more to give the Navy. He encouraged Bill to pursue becoming an Officer in the Navy. Shortly, Bill was sent to San Diego to Officers School. Because of his enlisted service, Bill completed the training and was promoted to Lt. Jr. Grade.

Bill returned to the Reserve unit following the course. There was a significant clash with the full time officer in charge of the daily operations of the Reserve unit. Bill opted to leave the unit and joined a USMC unit in nearby Fort Collins, CO.

Bill served until 1987, working in various capacities as time moved on. He earned the Bronze star, the Viet Nam Service Medal, the Viet Nam Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. In addition, he is an expert with a rifle and a pistol.

Good job Lt Cdr Bill Simmons! Thank you for your service!