My father, Mark A. Shreffler, MM3, A Division Engineering served aboard the Kitty Hawk from 1970-74. He made 3 Vietnam deployments and served during the incident as well as the fire in #3 MMR. His health during the past few years has been declining and is showing several telltale signs of exposure to chemical defoliants a lot of other blue water veterans are having. Some days are good, some not. Today, was a good day for him.
My sister, the youngest of us kids is celebrating her 15th anniversary in Seattle. Right before dinner this evening, she called him on Facebook video messenger standing in front of the ship. It was the first time he had seen it in anything other than pictures since 1974. I was able to see the joy that seeing that great ship again brought him. I saw tears in his eyes and heard his voice crack as he thanked my sister for such a wonderful surprise. I spent time listening to him reminisce about his time serving, his friends, his joy and hardships about coming of age on the Kitty Hawk. It gave me an opportunity to relive his past and our history as Americans. The Hawk is special to our family. It was, after all where 2 men, my dad and his shipmate Chester Spurrier served. Chester introduced my Dad to my Mom. It is safe to say the Kitty Hawk is PART of our family. It shaped my father and I carried on a tradition of Naval service in his footsteps. I was a Seabee.
Thank you for taking the time to read this novella. God bless.
It is touching reading about your dad's story. I didn't serve with him but we all understand his feelings. I see he isn't listed on the roster as a member. That might be a good Father's Day gift as he can read the stories from fellow shipmates and get some info on those he did serve with. Thank him and your family for all their service. God Bless.
Thank you Mr. King. My sister took some great shots of the stern, starboard side and aft of the island we would like to post on the website. There is also a great shot of "Kitty Hawk" above the fantail with the upside down "K".
In the early 60's when I served, we called it the "Russian K". Scuttlebutt, which was always accurate and true, said that there was a Russian Spy, involved in the construction, and the "K" was his signature. This is my recollection, for what it's worth.
Hi Eric. I served onboard the HAWK during the same time frame as your dad. It is very possible that our paths crossed somewhere as I worked up in ESO (EDUCATIONAL SERVICES OFFICE) from JAN73-APR75. My twin brother was also on the HAWK. He worked all over, from ESO, PERSONNEL, AIMD USAFI. You got it. He was all over the ship. So it is very possible that one or both of us met your father. As Ken KING was saying, it would be nice if your father were to join the Association and maybe get to contact some of his "old" buddies, er, shipmates. Thank your father again for his service. We had some wild times on the HAWK.
Hi John! Great to hear from you! He has several criuse books from his time aboard and we will definitely be looking through for you! He was in A Division, Engineering pretty much the whole time he was aboard. That's where he got his start in HVAC, mechanical, steam plant operation and piping systems. His knowledge gave me a leg up when I enlisted in the Seabees. I was a UT2. We are definitely getting him a membership for Father's day, and a 1/350 scale model of the ship to occupy some of his spare time. Thanks for your service also and God bless!
I read your message on the MESSAGE BOARD and saw that you were going to look through the CRUISE BOOK. For some reason, neither me nor my brother made the individual pictures. Who knows? I think Joe was probably on LEAVE and me... who knows. I was probably being held captive in ESO. But, and there is always a but as you know. On page 288 of the 73-74 book there is a picture of me staring 'intently" at one of the manuals. Handsome devil, wasn't I? I still remember posing for that pic.
