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Comments from Jack H. Duncan[Jack appears to be the only PTboater left that has served on WWII PT Boats and in Nasty, Trumpys and Ospreys]07-29-01 Dan, Just to touch base. I laid claim to being the only WWII PT Boaters to serve on Nasty and Osprey boats, but in between, I went through UDT School at Fort Pierce, FL. No one argued, so I'll stake that claim once more. I enlisted on 8/14/42 and retired on 6/26/85. With five recalls to active duty, I remained a Reservist the entire time, with more than 17 years of active duty. My first PT tour was with Ron Five in the Solomons on the PT-62, 103, and 318 as a Torpedoman Second Class. After UDT School and the end of the war, came a tour as a Navy cop in Manila. I remained on active duty as an instructor, changing my rate to Gunner's Mate, seeing no future for torpedos in Special Warfare. Korea popped up and somehow I was shanghai'd onto the New Jersey, becoming Shell Deck Captain of Turret Three -- a traumatic period. I returned to inactive duty following that deployment. Recalled in October of 1962, I was appointed Master Chief Gunner's Mate in 1967. Released from active duty once more in 1971, I had been a consultant to SpecWarPac about Reserves taking over part of the tasking of that command. I offered my opinion that it would be a wonderful idea. First assigned to an IUW unit, then CosRivRonONE, I assumed the billet of Squadron Reserve Command Master Chief plus (based on my WWII experience) Assistant-Officer-in-Charge of the PTF-21 and later the PTF-26. During 1976, I was forced to request non-drilling Reserve status due to civilian job pressures as Director of Civil Defense for the County of San Diego. In 1980, I started resumed drilling as Command Master Chief of Inshore Undersea Warfare Group ONE. I retired after yet another period of active duty as the "Pacific Fleet Subject Matter Expert in Counter-terrorism," while attached to Navy Special Warfare Group ONE. I have a couple of photos of PTFs, including one with LCDR Darling, CO of BSU-1, on one of the PTFs in 1970. I also have some drawings which I believe you have of various systems of the Trumpys. I continued in uniform, even though retired, as volunteer Rifle Coach with the San Diego NROTC Unit, then an NJROTC unit until 1998, when my wife retired and we moved to Lake Havasu City, AZ. Long period of wearing the uniform from 1942 to 1998. What do you think? Does my claim to being the only WWII PT Boater in Nasty/Trumpy/Ospreys still hold up as being "The Dinosar (sic)?" Why Dinosar? That was my license plate. It is now DRYFROG.
Regards,
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