Jim Huisken, one of the nine children of Bill and Jessie Huisken, served in the navy inactive reserves from September 1966 to February 1967. He was in active duty from February 1, 1967, to December 1, 1970. Here is his story in his own words:

When my friends and I finished our studies at Nettleton College in Sioux Falls, S.D., we went and applied for jobs. I had receptive interviews, but they wanted to hire for a six-month trial basis. The war in Vietnam was escalating and my draft status went from 2 to 5 to 1A, making it hard to find a good job, given that information.

I knew that I probably would be drafted, along with three of my classmates: Ron Berghorst, Gary Pranger, and Ron Van Berkel. Keeping that in mind, we went to talk to military recruiters. Ron Van Berkel and I enlisted in the Navy. Gary Pranger went to the Air Force.  A little later, Ron Berghorst joined the Navy also.

Van Berkel and I went to Great Lakes Training Center, north of Chicago (Waugekan, Ill.) on the Buddy System. I had received a tip from my cousin, Denny Kooiman, to try out for special units. So, I tried out for the Blue Jackets Bootcamp band and choir. I was accepted by both. There was an opening on the Blue Jackets Drum & Bugle Corps. 

I played a baritone base bugle, and we performed in dress blues and leggings every Friday for eight weeks for the graduation ceremonies. Bootcamp for me was easy. I never carried a gun and instead of drills, we practiced for our performances. We had “head of the line” mess hall passes, and were heckled and called “Tweety Birds.” We had more recreation time and were in one unit with the choir, band, drill team, drum and bugle dopers. Good tip, Denny! Thanks!

After bootcamp, I was stationed in Key West, Fla., at Naval Ordinance Unit, where I needed a secret clearance. I was chosen for the electrican’s shop, and given an E-2 rating. We worked on small watercraft torpedo retrieving. After the torpedoes were tested, our small craft would retrieve them. The torpedoes were not exploded, but were tested for direction, etc. We also had to maintain the silver cell batteries from the torpedoes, and recharge them for the next test run. While I was in Key West, I did a lot of snorkeling and scuba diving, and I collected conch shells, and cleaned them. I still have some, which my wife displays on a shelf.

Our electric shop was next to the Navy diving shop. At times, I would go along with them when they speared big fish – yellow tail, grouper, snapper, etc. We would take what we wanted to clean and eat, and then give the rest to the civilian Cubans who worked on our docks. 

I then worked on my rating, and took the E4 Electrician Mate 3rd Class exam. I passed and was promoted to Electrician Mate 3rd Class. I was accepted to Electrician Mate A School, which meant I had to go back to school at the Great Lakes Training Center. After I passed my E5 EM2 Class exam, I was assigned to serve on the USS Waccamaw AO109. This ship was an oiler that carried 8 million gallons of black oil and diesel fuel. It refueled other ships, including carriers like the USS Independence, USS Forrestal, USS Enterprise, and others.

I reported to Norfolk, Virginia, and went aboard ship. The next Monday, I was officially promoted to E5 Electrician Mate 2nd Class. I made E5 in 18 months from the time I enlisted, which was the most you could advance on a four-year hitch. Normally, one would have to wait between ratings called “time in grade.” Since an electrician mate was a critical rating during the war, my time in grade was waived. 

I was aboard ship 24 months, and 19 of those were at sea, in and out of ports. I went on a three-month Caribbean Cruise, a six-month North Atlantic Cruise, and a nine-month Mediterranean Cruise. In the Caribbean, I got to spend time in the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In the North Atlantic, I spent time in London, England, Scotland, Brest and Paris, France; then in Bergen, Norway, a beautiful country with fjords and towns built right in the mountainside. 

Our ship pulled into Bergen and anchored in the harbor, as the water was too shallow at the dock. When we had liberty, small craft boats took us to and from the ship. When ashore, three of my friends and I went right to the cable car to take us up to the top of the mountain. While sightseeing up there, we got back to the cable car and it was already shut down for the day. 

We had to climb down the mountain, and when we got into downtown Bergen, every sailor was gone. We finally saw a couple of other guys. A lieutenant approached us and said that our ship had an emergency pull out for surprise wartime maneuvers. Nine of us were left in Norway. We were put up at the Norwegian Naval Base and were free to sightsee until a Navy plane from Scotland could be sent for us. 

For six days we went to the airport all packed and ready to go. Then there was a call each day that it was too foggy to fly out of Scotland. So each day we would put our things in a locker and head for downtown. We quickly ran out of money. I went to a bank and asked the bank if they could get me $100. In turn, I would give him a universal check on my dad’s checking account. I assured the banker that my dad would honor it. He felt bad for us for we were all broke and stuck in their country. I shared my money with others, and we were good for a few more days if need be. I called my dad and he had honored the check. 

When we got back aboard ship, many of our friends were jealous because they didn’t get on a liberty boat quick before the call out. They had to bust their butts while we were having the time of our lives in Bergen. They were even more upset when they found out that we got paid hazardous duty pay. This is a true story!