Popeye's Sea Stories

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
With the recent death of boxing great Muhammad Ali I'm reminded that I was stationed in the Philippines when the "Thrilla in Manila" match took place.

I had been station in the Philippines for less than a month. We were given off work that morning so we could find a TV and watch the match. We went to the enlisted club in Cubi Pt. The Philippines was a buzz about the fight. This was and probably still is the biggest sporting event in the history of the Philippines. I remember Ali and Frazier pounding each other and dripping with sweat. It was more than likely about 50C in the ring at Araneta Coliseum...plus the humidity.

Wiki has an excellent account of the fight.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Yes, Muhammad Ali was..."the Greatest".

and I was always a loyal Frazier Fan, Joe will always be my man, though I liked Forman and Ken Norton, who was from Jacksonville, IL. Ken Norton was a class act, and a Gentleman. I'll always remember Cassius Clay!
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
and I was always a loyal Frazier Fan, Joe will always be my man, though I liked Forman and Ken Norton, who was from Jacksonville, IL. Ken Norton was a class act, and a Gentleman. I'll always remember Cassius Clay!

Muhammad Ali was a great fighter and a winner, but my heroes are guys like BD Popeye, Jeff Head, and my Dad, people who serve their country, and love their fellow man!
 

broadsword

Brigadier
Come to think of it, Ali was ahead of his time. He was the greatest not because of his boxing, but an amalgamation of the good things he did.

Thanks to the mainstream media, virtues of those top boxers were allowed to shine so that they could be role models. Even for Tyson. Foreman may feel acerbic about his loss, but he never imagined after that that he would be making Brink-loads of money from his eponymous grills.
 
Come to think of it, Ali was ahead of his time. He was the greatest not [only] because of his boxing, but an amalgamation of the good things he did.

Thanks to the mainstream media, virtues of those top boxers were allowed to shine so that they could be role models. Even for Tyson. Foreman may feel acerbic about his loss, but he never imagined after that that he would be making Brink-loads of money from his eponymous grills.

I think you meant to say "not only because of his boxing".
 

broadsword

Brigadier
No. He might be the first heavyweight to hold the title three times, but if you use other metrics like number of KOs or years of reign, he was not. I was young and bought into the hype too.

So "greatest" is a stretch. But he was great categorically for his tremendous courage to challenge the conscription to fight a war for a shady cause. But this is a eulogy, so we go along with it. I was absolutely his devout fan.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
LOL!
Updated: Trio of Curious French Police Officers Accidentally Ship Out on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Gents, trust me..this is nothing new. This has happened many, many times to the USN in different ports over the years. There was a case about 30 years ago in the UK where some US sailors tried to smuggle some teen girls back to the states. They got caught.

On Kitty Hawk in 1978 some Filipinos bribed some sailors aboard Kitty Hawk to get them to the US. They almost made it ...almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.... In case you did not know there are many Filipino sailors serving with the USN.

Also... many a American sailor has been left behind in ports all over the World.
 
Gents, trust me..this is nothing new. This has happened many, many times to the USN in different ports over the years. There was a case about 30 years ago in the UK where some US sailors tried to smuggle some teen girls back to the states. They got caught.

On Kitty Hawk in 1978 some Filipinos bribed some sailors aboard Kitty Hawk to get them to the US. They almost made it ...almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.... In case you did not know there are many Filipino sailors serving with the USN.

Also... many a American sailor has been left behind in ports all over the World.
LOL
What does this mean? "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades".?
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
In the game Horseshoes you can almost hit the stake and score. With a hand grenade you just get close enough and you hit the target.

In 1981 aboard America we visited Perth AUS for six days. America left 17 sailors behind there. All eventually were rounded up one way or another and sent back to America at their own cost.

We had a man in our squadron ,VS 33, who stayed behind with a young woman. Eventually her parents kicked him out after about a week. He turned himself into the RAN(Royal Australian Navy) They shipped him to Subic Bay. From their he was flown to USS America in the Indian Ocean. At his own cost...once he got back to the ship he faces UA charges at Captains Mast.. Unauthorized Absence, missing ships movement. Enywho he had to pay the cost to be the boss..Yes he had to pay the freight for the whole trip plus face about 45 day restriction and extra duty and a reduction in rate.

He should have been thinking with the head on his shoulders not the little one in his underwear.:rolleyes:;)
 
Last edited:

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Going "over the hill" is serious matter. Some do it because they cannot handle military life. Others do it because they have a fear. I never did anything like that. Never even thought about it.

I know a guy that like being on the ship..as long as it was stateside. This guy was bound and determined to miss the cruise in '81 aboard America.. About a week before deployment he suffered a gunshot wound that blew off two of his fingers. He claimed it was an accident. yea right. But NIS(NCIS) investigation proved it was self-inflicted...can't remember what he was charged with but he was given the boot right out of the USN. Yep. Oh yea he hadda serve about six months in the brig.

Nighty night!
 
Top