The ocean's bottom is more interesting than the moon's behind.

The Trieste in the process of being launched by the White Sands with the Apache in the distance.

The USS Trieste (DSV-1) at sea in the mid-Atlantic during the summer of 1969. In the distance is the USS White Sands (ARD-20).

Unless I'm mistaken, that is Beau Myers standing on the White Sands' bridge wing.

Talk about delicate! Keep in mind that while the sea might look clam, there was always a constant roll that make this maneuver extremely difficult.

A happy crew on Trieste, as they surface after another successful dive.

The USS Apache makes a rather wide approach on White Sands as it tows Trieste.

Getting ready to pass Trieste's towline to the White Sands.

Oh to be so young again.

In the distance, the USS Ruchamkin, an unnamed supply ship, and the USS White Sands on station in the mid-Atlantic, summer 1969.

A picnic on the Apache.

What a long beauty she is . . . the USS White Sands.

In the well-light galley of the Apache, another masterpiece is created by CS1 Bagnas, who kept everyone's moral high by making great dishes out of 30 day old food.

Obviously this was in the days before Martha Stewart taught us to use a knife to cut birthday cake.

Chief Snipe, Dave Haughland at the peak of his physical perfection I assume. :-)

I wonder if we even bothered to have a shark watch that day.

As hard as it may be for people to believe today, this was the high point of our 60 days on station as far as "fun" was concerned.

Dick Hill and someone who looks like Sean Penn playing a tough sailor in a movie. . . . Actually, it is BM3 O.L. Headrick, and he certainly LOOKS like what a real sailor should look like.

You know, I really had no business being in the Navy. My role model was Mr. Roberts. . . . My dad was an enlisted man in the Navy during WW II, and he told me that the @$!$%!%$ officers always had it easy. . . . He was right! :-)

Another beautiful sunset in paradise.

The USS White Sands (ARD-20) . . . beautiful mother-ship to the bathyscaphe Trieste.

Trieste, back on top of the beautiful Atlantic with the White Sands in the distance.

This is a shot from the Apache as we are making an approach on the White Sands to hand off Trieste's tow line when we brought her back home after a dive.

Here's a not very good picture of one of our mail drop planes flying over our on scene support ship, the USS Ruchamkin.

It looks like Captain Lonnon and Bill Wadsworth are heading over the the White Sands . . . for cocktails, no doubt :-).

I figured that if I was only going to be acting C.O. for a few hours I might as well start by sitting in the captian's chair. That gun behind me (covered in canvass) is on the opposite side of the bridge from the one where two little birds landed and sat out a storm for several days on our way across the Atlantic. There is a picture of them in the "At Sea" section of this site.

Hooking up the Trieste to take her back to the White Sands after a dive.

This picture was obviously taken on a different day from the one above it . . . just look at the condition of the sea.

Does anyone remember the name of the supply ships who stopped by? This one looks like it is tryting to get away from that barge heading toward it.

I'm not positive, but I think this is EN1 V.E. Walters shipping over with a silent White Sands looking over his shoulder.

One of many major repair jobs successfully completed by Apache's excellent engineering gang.

What do you suppose these guys are in line for?

This was my one attempt at taking an "artistic" shot, and it obviously didn't work very well :-(.

Now here is a real artist at work. Larry Lonnon carved this figurehead out of a piece of driftwood we picked up one day. This figurehead actually was mounted on our bow in Panama.

The ever-popular "Junior" Smyth. The happiest guy on the team.

What's this! Is that the crew from the White Sands giving some Apache sailors a tow?

It looks like Dick Hill and some of his deck gang can use a little engineering help.

This is the USS Ruchamkin (APD/LPR-89), our on scene support ship that was always ghosting about the scene.

This sure beats another tour of duty off the coast of Viet Nam.

One of those magical evenings when the Atlantic was like a lake.

Chief Handrix and BM2 Murphy take a well-earned break.

Getting ready to pass Trieste to the White Sands as seen from the deck of the Apache.

The White Sands signaling that Trieste is in tow.

A view from Apache's fantail as we were bringing Trieste back home to the White Sands. While this maneuver might look simple and easy, it was anything but. The crews of all three vessels had to work in close synchronization to complete the hand-off of the ever-so-delicate T II.

A lunch buffet for the Apache crew, while the Trieste team in the background races back and forth to the White Sands in a frenzied rush to get ready for the evening's dive.

The Apache barbershop.

This was taken during one of our on-station unreps. If you are that guy who was passing that big box over his head, you might want to use this picture to prove your claim for a service-related back injury. . . . Can you believe how hard our crews worked to make those nine dives happen?

I wonder if there are OSHA regulations about this kind of work?

I don't know why, but the wardroom always called Dennis Boggs "old Boggs". Maybe it was because he was more mature than us (except for the captain, of course :=).

Man, the Apache had the most geeky looking XO I've ever seen! He should have been court marshaled for impersonating an officer :-).

There were some incredibly beautiful sunsets out there. But if I remember correctly, we were on some kind of screwed-up "super daylight savings time" and these sunsets didn't take place until around 2300 . . . did I dream that?

When I asked these guys what the smoke was for, they just shrugged their shoulders, pointed to the bridge, and said, "Orders from upstairs, Mr. Hagerty."

Hey Dave, what's wrong with our engines this time?

It looks like all this red smoke is making someone sick.

And here is the guy who ordered the red smoke. Doesn't it look like he's smiling to himself about the whole thing?

We made so many approaches like this on the White Sands that I've got many dozens of different versions of this picture. The only thing that varies is the crew on deck at the time . . . thanks for adding a little variety to the exciting life of a fleet tug sailor guys :-).

Notice the "Gas for less" sign on the White Sands.

From aloft, the White Sands' barge looks like a toy.

The White Sands crew brings the fuel hose over to give Apache a little drink.

Refeuling as seen from aloft.

Whether it's a destroyer refueling in the Tonkin Gulf or the Apache refueling in the Atlantic, there is no way to accomplish that task without large amounts of muscle, experience, and seamanship.

Look up on the bridge wing. What do you want to bet that's Captain Lonnon telling someone he'd better get a hard hat on ASAP?

All hooked up. Nothing to do now but maintain station and suck it up.

Not only do we get fuel, we also get a surprise visit from White Sands' XO, Beau Myers.

Now that's what I call a FULL SERVICE gas station. Not only does the White Sands provide badly needed fuel for the Apache, she also sends her XO, Beau Myers, over to clean our windshield . . . It was definitely service above and beyond the call of duty, THANKS Beau!

Chief Hendrix was a "sailor's sailor", one of the best seamen in the navy back then.

Doesn't it look like Chief Allen is about to roll off a depth charge?

You know, I've already come up with about a dozen captions for this picture, but I'll let you think up one of your own :-) .

I have no idea what is going on here.

Young Lorenzo playing tourist on the White Sands. (Note the "cool" wheel book in the pocket!) Ah, to be so young and innocent once again.

G.D. Childs (San Francisco Naval Shipyard); H.H. Hemming (Westinghouse Electric Corp.); J.R. Smyth (San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard) . . . three of the mysterious civilians in our midst.

My good friend, LT Beau Myers, XO of the USS Whitesands (ARD-20) "lookin' good!" at the end of a beautiful day.

This was taken when Apache was towing Trieste back to the White Sands after a dive. From the look of Apache's waterline, I'd say she was a little light on fuel at this point.

This was one of those "hurry up" days when bad weather began to close in.

Talk about the high art of seamanship!!! This is how it looked at that incredibly delicate time when the White Sands flooded down to launch and retrieve Trieste. If you have ever been to sea you can truly imagine how unnatural it seems to intentionally flood your ship . . . and keep in mind that this was done in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

While it may look like he's giving the victory sign, the seaman in the yellow helmet is signaling the winch operator what speed to use to bring in the towline to Trieste. At the same time, the seaman wearing the sound-powered phones is relaying information to and from the bridge in this somewhat delicate maneuver that was performed quite a few times in conditions much less favorable than it was the day this picture was taken.

I still have a flag that went down with Trieste on dive seven. If someone knows of a good home for it I would be glad to donate it somewhere or to someone connected with this operation.

I think that is SN J.R. Bates on the headphones and RD3 T.P. Moody with the clipboard.

This is an evening at sea that I'll never forget. I wish I could find more pictures taken then. For as far as we could see, in every direction, the sea was as calm as glass.

Does anyone remember what this was all about?

This is the view of Triest that the Apache crew had after each of the dives when we would come over to tow her back to the White Sands.

J.R. Smyth was by far the most gregarious of the civilians in the unit. I can't remember ever seeing him without that big smile.

Trieste being towed back home to the White Sands after another successful dive.

This is definitely not the vegetarian line.

This looks more like grazing to me :-).

I'm not positive, but I think this is LT J.B. Field, one of the Trieste pilots. What I do know for sure is that he is holding a styrofoam drink cooler that was sent down in Trieste's outside basket. I still have a styrofoam coffee cup that we decorated and sent down . . . it is now the size of a small shot glass.

This activity was taking place at about the same time as Neil Armstrong was taking his first step on the moon. Now let me ask you, would you rather be walking around on the dusty old moon or be one of these boys playing with their very expensive toys?

Look at that calm, beautiful sea. Keep in mind that this is in the very middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

This isn't a great shot, but it's the only one I could find that had the White Sands, T II, and our friendly mail plane all in the same shot. This was just before or after the plane dropped a canister with our unit's mail for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, outgoing mail to our families was even less frequent.

I've always liked climing things, and so I used some lame excuse to get the captain to let me climb our mast. This is looking down on the bridge wing from part way up the radar mast.

This is what the USS White Sands (with T II in her drydock bay) looked like from the top of Apache's mast.

Under the leadership of Captain Larry Lonnon, the USS Apache never missed a chance to use her 3" gun. I think we even tried to qualify on the shore bombing range at San Clemente Island, but that might be another one of those false memories I cherish :-).

Hunting sea turtles? (private joke)

I'm not sure exactly when we made the 100th hookup between Apache and White Sands, but I think it was sometime while we were in the Atlantic.

Am I the only one who wondered what those signalmen were REALLY saying?

I think the first two guys are PN2 T.D. Rhoads and WO-1 Dave Haughland. The guy with his back to the camera and holding a radio might be Captain Larry Lonnon. Does anyone know who the signalman is?

Now there may be some landlubbers who might say that she isn't very pretty, but to a fleet tug sailor, the USS White Sands is a beautiful tow . . . (most of the time).

I'll bet that you guys on the White Sands and Trieste didn't realize that over on the Apache we were constantantly fighting off pirates and all kinds of other enemies. And if you say you didn't see any bad guys out there, well, that's because we kept them at bay! . . . you're welcome :-).

I can't tell if that is a signal of surrender or that they had a successful dive . . . maybe a little of both.

A lot of things can be automated in the navy, but there are some things that only seamen can do. . . . and unfortunately, they aren't always fun.

If only I knew then what I know now :-).

LTJG William A. Wadsworth . . . smiling that goin' home smile.

Chief Quartermaster J.W. Houston . . . looking dapper as we head for home.

Do you recognize any of these guys?

Master Chef CS1 A.O. Bagnas with a cake he baked to celebrate the end of our on site operations.

Next stop, the Panama Canal . . . but this time we're heading in a better direction . . . homeward!

Heading toward the sunset . . . heading home!

And before we knew it, our memories of this grand adventure began to blur.

Dr. John P. Craven, Capt. Harry Jackson, and Captian Robert H. Gautier

Photo courtesy of: Stephen Johnson, author of Silent Steel : The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion

I'm not sure where this photo came from, but it is a good shot of the Trieste II in the drydock of the USS White Sands.

Photo courtesy of: Stephen Johnson, author of Silent Steel : The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion

The aft section of the USS Scorpion lying on the ocean floor. This photo was taken by Robert Ballard's navy-sponsored expeditions in 1985 or 1986.

Photo courtesy of: Stephen Johnson, author of Silent Steel : The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion

A photograph of the sail of the USS Scorpion that was taken by Robert Ballard's navy-sponsored expeditions in 1985 or 1986.

Photo courtesy of: Stephen Johnson, author of Silent Steel : The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion