From whom we received the invitation to have tea aboard the TCG Yücetepe (formerly USS Orleck) I know not. But we were aboard the ship for a “Ship’s Ahoy” afternoon tea event a few days before Yücetepe was due to begin its 39-day voyage from Tacoma, Washington to its new homeport in Gölcük, Turkey.
L to R: Ronnie, Nancy & Ron Geier, and İbrahİm Kasapoğlu.
Click here for the story of how the USS Orleck became the TCG Yücetepe.
Around mid-September, an article in The Tacoma News Tribune announced that the USS Orleck, a WWII era battleship, was going to be decommissioned as a US Navy ship and recommissioned as a Turkish Navy ship.
(Click any of the pictures for larger versions.)
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I’m not sure if we managed to wrangle an invitation or if the ceremony was open to the public. Either way, we were amongst the guests who were there to watch as the US flag was replaced by the Turkish flag.
From the decommissioning ceremony program:
The decommissioning ceremony marks the retirement of a ship as a unit of the operating forces of the US Navy. On 15 September 1945, when the order to commission this ship was given, a commissioning pennant was first hoisted to the forward truck. A pennant has flown there through 37 years of proud service. Today, when the commissioning pennant is hauled down for the final time, USS ORLECK (DD-886) will no longer be the responsibility of her commanding officer. Until this moment, he, along with the ship’s officers and men, had the responsibility of making and keeping her constantly ready for any service demanded by our country in peace or war.
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The commissioning pennant is said to date from the 17th century, stemming from an incident between the warring Dutch and English navies. In one particular engagement, Maarten Harpertszoon Troomp, the Dutch Admiral, hoisted a broom at his masthead to indicate his intention to sweep the English from the sea. The English Admiral then hoisted a horsewhip, indicating his intention to chastise the insolent Dutchman. Ever since that time, the narrow “coachwhip” pennant, symbolizing the original horsewhip, has been the distinctive mark of a man-of-war. This tradition of so designating ships of war has been adopted by all nations.
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The modern US Navy commissioning pennant is blue at the hoist with a horizontal red and white stripe at the fly and varies in length with the size of the ship. At one time, there were thirteen white stars in the blue field representing the original states, but in 1933 seven white stars became standard. It is a naval custom that when the commissioning pennant is hauled down for the last time, it is presented to the commanding officer.
The US Navy crew disembark the ship for the last time.
The day after the ceremony, the following picture and article appeared in The Tacoma News Tribune …
… followed by this article a few weeks later …
After serving in the Turkish Navy for 18 years, TCG Yücetepe was decommissioned and transferred to the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation in August 2000. The ship was berthed in Orange, Texas as a museum under its original name, USS Orleck. When Hurricane Rita struck the Texas coast in September 2005, the ship was severely damaged. Following repairs, the Orleck was moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana (May 2010) where it is now on display.
I remember we reserved the club house at the apartment complex to get together with a few friends.
I remember that Mui made ızgara köfte (grilled ground beef patties often referred to as Turkish meatballs). The menu also included pilav (rice) and cacık (cold yogurt soup with cucumbers).
I can see from the pictures that I set the table(s) with mismatched tablecloths — a yellow one that had a border that I had painstakingly cross-stitched; a blue and white plaid one that had been given to Mui by his maternal grandmother; a gold one that I had bought in a Turkish market. I can also see from the pictures that we used plates and bowls that were part of my trousseau and which we had brought with us from Turkey.
Here’s the sad part! I vaguely remember Bill, who was a neighbor of ours. Mui tells me that he was a butcher and worked in a meat processing plant. Grant was introduced to us by Randy, a USAF sergeant with whom I had worked in Turkey. And that’s it; that’s all I remember of our guests … the rest is all a blur.
Time and distance separate us and despite best intentions, relationships are severed and forgotten.
After we moved to the US, it quickly became apparent that a driver’s license was a necessity, not a luxury. Still, I dragged my feet as long as I could. As Mui’s departure date for USAF basic training drew closer, however, the choice was taken out of my hands. I would no longer be able to rely on him to drive me around; I had to be my own chauffeur.
After Mui gave me a couple of refresher lessons in an empty parking lot, I went to the DMV to take the written test. Passing that with flying colors, I proceeded onto the road test. Passed that one too; though I was told to practice my parallel parking skills I a bit more.
Putting the DL to use after the road test.
By the way, I still go out of my way to avoid parallel parking!
Located on one of America’s principal military bases (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord), the Fort Lewis Military Museum traces the military history of the region beginning with the 1803 Lewis & Clark expedition. Originally established in 1971 in a two-story barracks building, it was relocated to the Old Fort Lewis Inn in 1973.
Hey, soldier! How about buying a girl a drink?
Boys and their toys!
(M4A1 Half Track)
Mui went to buy groceries, and came back with something else ... a bunny that he’d found hopping around the neighborhood. I think he would like to have kept it as a pet, but that wasn’t an option since we were living in a no-pets apartment complex.
After asking around to make sure the bunny wasn’t someone’s pet, he sold it to a pet store for the grand sum of … drum roll please … $5. What can I say, a couple of penniless youngsters needed all the financial help they could get!
Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park is one of the largest urban parks in the US. On the grounds are a zoo and aquarium; several formal gardens, including a Japanese garden; beaches, trails, and a boardwalk; Fort Nisqually, a Hudson's Bay Company outpost built in 1833; and much, much more.
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So why would a couple of so-called adults check out a theme park designed for children? To relive happy memories of the stories that were read to them when they were children of course.
(The attraction, which opened in 1964, closed in 1985. Metro Parks Tacoma took over and tried to operate it for a while, but eventually all of the figures, except Humpty Dumpty was put in storage in 2001. Humpty joined his friends in 2004.)
Baa Baa Black Sheep
The Three Bears
Great memories of a place that still is; great memories of a place that is no more.
After four months of looking for a job that would challenge him, Mui had an idea. Why not join the armed services? “I’ve always wanted to serve in the Air Force,” he said to me as we sat on the postage-sized patio of our apartment. He hadn’t had that opportunity in Turkey, where he’d done his 18-months of compulsory military service in the Turkish Army. And so it was that Mui joined the US Air Force.
(Sorry about the blurry photo; it’s the only one we have from the swearing-in ceremony.)
The four-year enlistment paperwork was signed, but it would be another six months before he reported to basic training. He put the time to good use. He worked the odd job when the opportunity presented itself and took care of the household chores during the week so we could continue our weekend travels.
Wish we were … rolling in dough that is.
A more appropriate title for this one would be: “rolling out dough for mantı,” Turkish dumplings filled with minced meat. The miniature dumplings are boiled, strained, topped with yogurt, drizzled with red pepper melted in butter, and garnished with mint and sumac.
Chef Mui in action!
This is what mantı is all about.
[from Wikipedia]My contribution to dinner … setting the table and washing the dishes afterwards (no dishwasher, mind you).
Job opportunities weren’t as easy to come by as we had hoped; Washington was experiencing double-digit unemployment rates in ‘82. Nonetheless, I landed my first job in the US … as a receptionist for KCPQ TV, Channel 13, in Tacoma. Can you believe I told them that I’d take the job, but that they’d see I was qualified for more than answering the phones and promote me within three months? How cocky of me!!! I’m jumping ahead, but it turned out as I predicted. By spring, I was working as secretary to the station’s Chief Engineer.
Though Mui was still looking for an opportunity, the location of my job determined where we’d be living. And so it was that we said goodbye to the Haggs and moved into our first place … a one-bedroom apartment in the Forest Village complex on Phillips Road in Tacoma. Half my salary went to rent and expenses; we played with the remaining half.Next came transportation. We needed a car not just to get around locally, but also to explore all that the beautiful state of Washington had to offer. Enter into the picture, our first car … a ‘78 Mercury Zephyr. I didn’t have a driver’s license (never needed one in İzmir), so Mui did chauffer duty, driving me to and from work. When we went gallivanting on weekends, I reciprocated the favor by being the navigator.
First Place; First Car
We even have a swimming pool.
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Promoting the KCPQ Antenna for better reception.
(Left: Enumclaw Fair; Right: Western Washington Fair, Puyallup)
And so we found ourselves in a routine. During the week, I went to work; Mui continued his search for a job and took care of the household chores. When the weekends came around, we explored Washington State ... near and far.
