Ditta Dah Dit

During June 1986 I was traversing the Caribbean seas on the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, a 270-foot Medium Endurance Cutter. I was a Seamen, and my job was a lookout above the bridge of the ship. I was to watch for any other ships or boats that may contain drugs, illegal immigrants, etc.

This was our job. We conduct patrols about four times a year. Each time we would be underway for two or three months. We would make port stops at different locations to take on supplies.

If we found certain boats that were on our hot list, we would stop them and board them to see if they had drugs, guns, migrants, etc. The Coast Guard is constantly doing this every day all around the world.

I did like being in the Coast Guard, but I hated being on that ship. I was not a born sailor and that is why I never joined the Navy.

I had put in for Radioman School before we got underway in April of 1986. Our patrol would last until mid-June. I was excited about getting orders so I could get off the ship and go to school. As a Seamen, you must put in for a school to get your training in the Coast Guard. There are many schools to apply for, but I applied for one that would get me off that ship fast.

Radioman School was a fast-moving school, so that was why I chose it. The school was tough. It was 53 weeks long, so it was considered a transfer move. The school was located at the Coast Guard Training Center in Petaluma, California. It is a beautiful base located in a lush valley with grassy hills surrounding it.

So, while I was waiting on orders for this school, I had to complete this last patrol. We were in the Caribbean waters south of Puerto Rico when we got caught in a fierce storm. The ship shook violently. The bow would rise out of the water straight towards the sky and then slam down into the sea. Where I was standing at my post, I could see the bow of the ship disappear under water. This went on for hours. Every man on that ship got sick that night. Even the most experienced sailor was puking over the side of the ship. Our mast got struck by lightning twice that night. It was a terrible storm. I didn’t think we were going to survive through that storm.

The following morning, we sailed into San Juan, Puerto Rico to get supplies. Our beautiful white cutter had puke running down all sides. It was an awful sight. We had to clean the ship while we were in that port.

We got underway the next day and sailed back to our homeport in Portsmouth, Virginia. I couldn’t wait to get home to see if my orders had come in. We got back on June 14, 1986. I went to the Radio room to see the Radioman on watch and see if my orders were there. They were not.

However, four days later June 18, 1986, I received my orders for Radioman School, and I was prepared to leave the ship after being onboard for 13 months. I loaded my Toyota van and headed west to California! I was very excited.

I reported to Radioman School on July 27, 1986, my 27th birthday. We met our instructors, and they gave us a tour of the facilities. There was one door they told us to never open. We would not be able to open that door until we graduated. Well, that made me very curious, but of course I never opened the door.

We were issued some books for the class and went over our syllabus as to what we would be learning. The school consisted of typing, Morse Code, Satellite training, various communications techniques, etc.

There were 18 of us in the class. The following day we were all issued a desk with a computer. The computers were different types for learning Morse Code. When you pushed on a key it would light up. We had to wear headphones and listen to Morse Code and then push the correct key.

I did not know what I had got myself into, but Morse Code was one of the toughest things I have ever had to learn. It is a rhythm, and it takes a while for your ears to understand it. When you listen to it through the headphones it would sound like ditta dah dit, dit dah dah, dah dah dit, etc. It would drive you crazy!

We started copying two words per minute and it would take about three weeks before you could recognize what was being sent. If you passed, then you would start the following week at four words per minute. This would continue until we could copy 18 words per minute. That is why school was so long. It would take that long to learn this and the other parts of the curriculum too.

Well, it was a real struggle. After three weeks, there were still five of us trying to learn two words per minute. It took me another week to learn it, but I got the hang of it and moved on to four words per minute. However, we lost two people who could not advance, and they were removed from the school and sent back to a unit. They would have to apply for another school. I did not want that to happen to me. So, I started coming to school on the weekends as well, to listen to Morse Code. The instructors would allow us to attend on the weekends if we wanted.

There were some students who wanted to party on the weekends, and they did. Most of them failed the class. I studied very hard to learn Morse Code. It was like magic. One day you would listen to the code, and you could not understand anything. Then the next day you might come to class and voila, just like magic, you would advance to the next number. The instructors were on headsets too and they would test you before you could advance to the higher number.

This went on for 53 weeks. The day finally came when I got off 18 words per minute. We also had to learn to send 16 words per minute. So, we were learning to copy and send at the same time, not an easy task.

During that school we lost 12 classmates who could not figure out code and were dismissed from the school. We had six students graduate and I by the grace of God was one of them.

When graduation day finally came. The instructors called our names and issued our diplomas. We were promoted to Third Class Petty Officers too. We were now Radiomen. At the end of the graduation ceremony the instructors led us to that mysterious door. They lined us up and told us to enter through that door on our way out of the building. We each started through the door and above the door, were the words in big bold letters, Through These Doors, Walk the World’s Finest Radiomen.

The Coast Guard had the highest standards of learning Morse Code than any other branch of the military including the Navy. The Navy only had to copy 16 words per minute and send 14. I felt like that was one of my greatest achievements for the hours and work it took to master Morse Code and the ditta dah dits…