Dancing Bear and the "Rat"

Since 12-18-04

From: Steve King [mailto:scooterkbs@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 8:15 PM
To: kshaum@yahoo.com
Subject: Dancing Bear and the "Rat"

Hiya Kenny!

The "Dancing Bear", was one Gardner Randall, Ltjg USNR, from Colorado, not sure what town. Yep! this guy was a class act from the get go! There were several unbeleivable stunts componded with you name it, crash and burns!

One cruise up to Frisco he managed to conk himself between the eyes with his binoculors as he was passing milk cans overboard as they were coming up from the conning tube, ( he was officer of the deck under instruction) he crashed into the dog house from the bridge! out cold!

One of the look outs reported a contact and kept reporting and figured the guy had fell overboard! So, man overboard was passed and the "Rat" went into a Williamson turn and finally Gardner was located and brought down below, he was a bloody mess!

Doc Ho'se stiched him back together, sortta pulled his eyebrows together, set off with a rather huge goose egg on his forehead, couldnt put his piss cutter on straight, had to wear it at an angle! Well theres many more!

The classic however was the change of command ceremony at Ballast Point. I think Admiral Eugene Flucky was retiring and another junior admiral was taking over Cinpac and ComSub Div, etc, etc. We moved eight boats alongside the newly finished pier. Rasher, Rock, Raton,Redfish,Razorback, Catfish, Bashaw, Pomodon, sitting side byside, there were some Nucs behind us, think it was Sculpin and Flasher.

Anyway, the pier was filled with folding chairs and Officers and guests, all crews were in dress whites in formation on decks all boats! Well, this lady is running down the pier yelling " Gardner, Gardner, where are you"? Its his wife! yep! here she comes down the pier, headin towards the chairs an the mass of you name its!

Well Gardner takes off yelling back "Honee, Honee, over here, over here'! (Honee was her name!)

Anyways, they get into the folding chairs and he wants her close to the Raton since we are pier side, needless to say his dress sword is swinging this way and that, he thumps! several people and swings this way and that only to cause more whaps and bangs!

Well, the both of em get tangled up and fall over this four striper! What a hoot! Right outta National Lampoon! Gads!

I thought Capt Bill was going south! Ah well, another day in the life! 1967!

Hope you feeling better!
Best Regards
Steve King
Raton 65-67

P.S.
Gardner Randall left the Navy and became a ski instructor, somewhere in Colorado!


Steve King
scooterkbs@earthlink.net
Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.


From: Bill Decker [mailto:bdecker@shentel.net]
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 5:43 PM


From: "Brenda Leslie" <jrapp@erols.com>
To: "Bill Decker" <bdecker@shentel.net>
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 8:31 PM

re: The Dancing Bear. If it's the same timeframe as when my husband was XO of Raton, you're talking about Gardner Randall, a young Ltjg from Oklahoma University. Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet, and could barely walk across a room without damaging himself and others. (Dick served under Capt. Bourne, and shared Bill's opinion of him as a super skipper.)

Brenda Leslie


On Thursday, December 16, 2004, at 10:51 PM, Bill Decker wrote:

Kenny, you keep amazing me with your memories. I will say that Captain Bourne was by far the best CO I ever had in the Navy. He cared for his men and wanted us to have a good time. I think his downfall was a junior officer named Furtaugh. He got in a fight at the Officers Club in Subic Bay and was shipped back to Pearl. Thats the last we ever saw him and I don't think Captain Bourne ever made Commander. When I left the Raton he was still the CO though. Bill

From: "kenneth shaum" <kshaum@yahoo.com>
To: "Bill Decker" <bdecker@shentel.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 4:55 PM

Dear bill:

When we were on the Raton. we were classified as a thin skin and our test depth was 312 feet. We had 5/16ths of old steel between us and calamity. I went to a nuc that had an inch of hy80 steel that translates to steel that can take 80,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. I felt safer, but it was not near as much fun.

Does anyone remember our journey into Viet Nam waters. Young and sweet as I was, I knew my jobs were E.C.M at periscope depth, Sonar deeper and radar in maneuvering. Lookout, not so long gone. Yea!

I as sharp as I was, I did not have a clue about what was going on. I reconstructed it years later. In 1967 I got a letter from the government that I had been in combat waters at the end of October and the first part of November and that was declared a war zone retroactive. Write your name and and we will send you the income taxes you paid for that 9 days that overlapped. They gave me 4% interest also. Zounds!

It was always tense. If I said something about a contact ECM, down we would go. I remember guys trying to light their smokes and not enough oxygen to do it. We had not an idea of the peril. I Doubt that our Skipper Billy Bourne knew much more than us.

There was an Officer. "I only remember him as "Dancing Bear" It was our "Nick Name" for him.

In 1964 the floating guy from the helm, stern and bow planes duty was to wake up relief. It was my turn. I shook D.B. and told him it was cold and wet on the Bridge. It was night and we were snorkeling.

To his credit we had been taking 30 degree rolls a few days earlier.

He was decked out. I had already been relieved. I always, always, woke my relief first. Ha.

I am in control room and watch him say Hi to the diving officer and nods to the planesmen. He goes up to the conning tower and I decide I must follow him, for this man is dangerous. He goes up the topside hatch and bonks his head. It gets better. He backs down a step and goes back up and bonks his head again. This guy was never Rickover material.

I thought I was in very big, big, trouble over this. I went to wherever I could find a place to sleep and there was never another word said about it. He was transferred or "whatever" shortly after and then the crew laughed about it. After. Tough guys we were.

Dancing Bear was observed by myself, and others, getting confused about going through a hatch. All those years on subs I never saw anyone end up back in the compartment he was trying to leave. He fell in battery well openings. We had no signs "battery well access open" You fall in you are going to get fucked up. You are not allowed to sue.

Actually, Dancing Bear was a very nice man. There was something in his mind that got him there. He just did not fit and we were, perhaps afraid of him and his mistakes. God bless him.


I am always,

Kenny

P.S. Bill! As Keeper of the Raton legend you have asked me why I remember these stories. I did not know why. I guess the only way I could explain it is that it had the most single hardest impact in my life. Old friends visit me and I tell them things they have forgotten for years. I am open and candid to dispute. I have got a driving desire to chronicle how it was.