Rear Admiral Gorman
(center), Consul General Han, Republic
Of Korea (left)
– image from kwmf.org
|
7 August 2017
One of the great blessings of having served in
the military for so many years is the association you garner with some of the
most outstanding individuals this nation has ever produced. This weekend
exemplifies my point.
Late last month Rear Admiral Russell W. Gorman
crossed the bar, to use a metaphor written by Alfred Tennyson. He was a month
shy of his 90th birthday. To read his biography, or “Bio” as it is
referred to in navy parlance, is to take a walk through naval history from the
1950s through the 1980s. He graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings
Point, New York in 1949. One of his first assignments was to Yokohama, Japan
where he met Mieko (a.k.a., Eriko), who would become his wife of sixty years.
Though I never got to know the admiral
personally, I had heard of him over the years since we lived in the same region
of California. Just after he passed away I was contacted by my friend Al Cruz
who was put in charge of organizing a Celebration of Life service, and the
committal service at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery where the ashes of
both Admiral Gorman and his wife Eriko will be interred.
Al and I go back a lot of years. We both served
in Vietnam as sergeants in the Marine Corps, though it would be many years
later that we actually met. He had gone on to receive a commission as a Marine
officer, retiring as a colonel. Our first contact was when we were both with 1st
Battalion 14th Marines Artillery out of Alameda, California in the
early 1990s. Al wanted to make this a special military ceremony with all the
trimmings, so among others, he contacted me to perform the chaplain duties of
offering the Invocation and Benediction.
Since this was to be a formal event, I pulled out
my Dress Whites, which are more frequently referred to by Navy personnel as
“Choker Whites.” And for good reason! The stiff collar must be fastened with
metal interlocking connectors right where a man’s Adam’s Apple is located.
Since it had been a few years since I had last worn this particular uniform, I
had some consternation about a proper fit. I decided to wait until I arrived at
the Sunday afternoon Celebration of Life held at the Veterans Memorial Building
in Danville.
Roots in Ripon - Author Chuck Roots |
I was pleased to find a parking place directly across
the street and in front of a small restaurant with an outside patio for dining.
As I stood by my car, slipping into the choker white jacket, a couple having
Sunday brunch smiled and offered a few complimentary words about the uniform.
So, instead of wrestling with trying to hook the collar together without
benefit of a mirror, I asked the lady if she would kindly do the honors. She
agreed, while her husband smiled. Well, it was a tight fit, and the lady was
very concerned about hurting me, but after a few minutes she managed to connect
all three loops. I thanked them and proceeded to enter the Veterans Memorial
Building.
There was quite an assembly of retired military
present, both officer and enlisted, along with local government officials as
well as friends and neighbors of the admiral. One of the invited speakers was
Rear Admiral Tom Brown III. After the program was over I had a chance to chat
with him and discovered he had at one point in his career been the commanding
officer of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. The Midway is currently a museum,
permanently anchored at the pier in San Diego.
The service for the admiral was very nice, and
concluded with the playing of the Navy Hymn followed by the Benediction. We all
stood while the Navy Hymn was played, but it was strictly instrumental. The
words kept running through my mind, and I thought, “There are people here who
are not part of the sea services who don’t know the song.” So, on the spur of
the moment as I moved forward to offer the Benediction, I decided to sing the
first verse acapella. “Eternal Father,
strong to save, whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bidd’st the mighty
ocean deep, its own appointed limits keep; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, for
those in peril on the sea!”
Farewell, Admiral Gorman! Fair winds, and
following seas.
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