To return to Sailor Rest Your Oars, click here.
To return to the main page of the SS 320, click here.

Memories of Robert Dickeson (Sailor, rest your oars!)

Robert joined the Navy in Aug., '55 in San Diego. He went to sub school in Nov., '55 and in May of ‘56 was assigned aboard the Bergall where he stayed until it was decommissioned from the US Navy and sold to the Turkey on Oct. 17, ‘58.

He was on her for only three months when on Aug. 8, ‘57 the Bergall left her east coast home port for the second of her Mediterranean cruises. With many ports of call in Europe, she returned to the States on Dec. 6, ‘57.

On July 14, ‘58, the Bergall was assigned to Key West Florida for preparations for sale/loan to Turkey. Here she was refitted and given a load of spare parts to serve her new owner.

On Sept. 26, ‘58, the Bergall departed for Izmar Turkey. As the crew was also assigned as trainers for the new owners, the crew received double pay. They were paid as regular crew of the Bergall and the US Government applied another check as ‘Official Training Instructors’. This must have taken some of the sting out of letting the old girl go. The second check was certainly not refused by her crew! The Bergall arrived in Turkey on Oct. 15, ‘58.

“I had heard numerous stories about his time onboard, mainly about the liberty, as at that time he was the ripe old age of 21.

He then reported aboard the SS 399, USS Sea Cat, in Nov., ‘58. I believe he was still a TMSN at the time. He then went to Key Port, Washington from 1962-1964 (which is when I met him in Nanaimo, B.C. Canada where the U.S. has a torpedo testing range at Nanoose Bay right outside where I lived at the time.)

He then reported aboard the SS 476, USS Runner, in 1964 until 1967 where he went to school in Orlando Florida and got in to the mk48 program. After 15 months he transferred to Cape Canaveral where we lived at Patrick Air Force Base until Oct., ‘72. He was spending most of his time down range at Andros Island and I remained at Patrick.

In ‘72, he went to the MK48 shop at Groton, Connecticut and within in a year he was aboard the SSN 638 USS Whale.

In ‘76 he went to his last tour of Duty at Naval weapons station Yorktown Virginia .

He retired in 1980 and went into the Civil Service in 1981 where he remained until he passed away July 1994.

We were married for 29 years, both us had previously been married so I brought 3 rugrats with me. We had one between us. now there’s 8 grandchildren, 3 of which he never got to see and 1 great grand daughter. We have had a very full life.”
Irene Dickeson

I can be reached through E-mail here, Irene Dickeson

To return to Sailors Rest Your Oars, click here.
To return to the main page of the SS 320, click here.