“Confidential information on a need-to-know basis” is what our battalion commander said to my own company commander when he presented my theory to him at officer’s mess.
I talk about this story in my book Just Dust, but wanted to give you a brief explanation about how I made the navigational calculations. When aboard the USS Vancouver heading west toward Vietnam, I couldn’t figure out precisely where we were or where we were going since the ship appeared to be heading northwest (not southwest as logic might suggest). This was particularly disconcerting to me for a very good reason. You see, I have this head full of maps, I never get lost, and I have an uncanny sense of direction.
But not at sea!
And, I had no idea I was messing around with any sort of secret either. And, no one believed me.
The Pacific is one enormous place, exceeded by my eyesight’s capacity only by all the sky itself! …two vast, rather unmeasurable universes. Yet, I reached a point as I wandered around top deck when my inner sense of direction was telling me we might be going in the wrong direction; other marines thought I was crazy.
I bring this up in Just Dust because of how unsettling it was for this naïve marine who hadn’t experienced such a vast open, immeasurable place before. It was more than mere curiosity for me, mind you; it was more like not getting enough air at high altitudes as one’s lungs gasped for something so fundamental to sustain itself. After all, I breathed maps!
Oh, we all knew we were heading toward Vietnam, but how could one verify this true? No one particularly cared how, but the “how” mattered to me. Let me describe how my mind solved a riddle, revealing an actual military secret, using only two handy tools: a world map, and a blank piece of paper that I’ll call a paper sextant. In the book, I give the details. But to give a simplified notion on how to determine the direction the ship was heading, I used the daily setting sun to calculate a remarkably precise deviation from due west, and explained how I did this accurately without a real compass. I understood and accounted for how much the setting summer sun moved south daily, the June 21 solstice, and the July calendar, by simple paper and pencil calculations. I then plotted my results using that same piece of paper onto the world map displayed on Bridge Deck. Voila!
As unique as this otherwise trivial revelation might have been, it’s peculiarly odd how the event developed into yet another role yet to come; it plays out in an unimaginable way. Look for the “Parallel Lines” chapter in Just Dust as well as subsequent references to Parallel Lines in later chapters. Be sure to read about the history of our sister ship, USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) as well (for more information, go to this site: www.history.navy.mil/danfs/i3/iwo_jima.htm).
Finally, just for fun, you might want to check out the video too.
I really enjoyed reading that short story, I guess because I was in the military at that time and we never knew where we were going or where we were. It is really sad our grandchildren do not care about any history. I wish they would re-instate the draft, maybe they would have an interest.
Thanks for reading the story …and I hope you have the chance to read the others as well. I have found that the older I get, there is some serenity gained by putting down those “old thoughts” into words. And, if our grandchildren cannot completely grasp what we’re talking about right now, it’s my bet they will when they’re older. Thanks again.
Wes,
This is Larry Hilton from TWS. You have a great web page and stories. I have been passing your sextant story around, it’s very interesting.
Larry… I really appreciated reading your comment. I hope you get a chance to read the whole story in the book Just Dust, too. Sometimes we carry these stories around in our heads for years and years thinking no one would likely enjoy hearing about them. Now that I’ve written a few down, it’s very fulfilling to hear someone say they enjoyed them. Thanks again.