JOHN COLE:  

February 25, 2021 Hi Classmates: I Am John Franklin Cole, Son Of Clyde R. & Martha V. (Black)Cole And Paternal Great-Grandson Of Grover L. Wright Who Died In The 1903 Heppner Flood. Due To My Biological Parents Having Severe Medical Problems And Being Unable To Care For Me Properly In January Of 1961 I Was Made A Ward Of The State Of Oregon As Well As Becoming The Foster-Son Of Don L. & Louise M. (Hug) Clark Of Heppner. I Was Going To Be A Heppner High School Class Of 1964 Graduate And Not Planning To Attend College I Had Joined The United States Navy Under A Delayed Activation Program On May 12, 1964, Fully Planning To Go To Boot Camp Within 180 - 360 Days. However, I Was Awarded The Initial Heppner Lodge No. 69 Masonic Temple Scholarship For College Tuition Fees, So Following A Short Period Of Time At Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) In Pendleton, Oregon I Was Called Up For Active Duty In The United States Navy As An E-2, Fireman Apprentice And Sent Boot Camp In San Diego, California. In May Of 1966, Following Several Service Schools I Was Sent To The Mekong Delta Of South Vietnam As A Third Class Engineman With A Group Of River Patrol Boats (PBR's) In TF-116. While In-Country Vietnam I Did Manage To Acquire A Associates Degree In Wildlife Management Via Correspondence Courses From North American School Of Conservation, In Early February. 1967 My PBR Wit h A Crew Of Six (6) Was Sunk By An Improvised River Mine Resulting In 5 Killed And Leaving Me As The Only Survivor Unconscious In The River With Severe Head and, Abdominal Injuries As Well As Other Arm, Hand And Leg Injuries. After Several Months Hospitalization And Six Surgeries I Changed From Third Class Engineman (E-4) To Second Class Machinist Mate (Nuclear)(E-5). Other Varied Surface Ship & Shore Duty Stations Resulting In My Rapid Advancement In Rate To The Top Enlisted Rank Of E-9 Master Chief Machinist Mate (Nuclear) At That Time I Applied For And Was Granted An Age Waiver And Selected For The Naval Enlisted Scientific Education Program (NESEP). This Was A Program For Enlisted Personnel To Be Commissioned As Regular Navy Or Marine Line Officers Following Completion Of College Study And The Acquiring Of A BS Or BSNE Degree At Designated Colleges Or Universities In The United States. The NESEP Program Was Normally Limited To Single, Junior Enlisted Personnel Aged 19-23, While I Was A Married, 27 Year Old, Senior Enlisted Person Who Following Eight (8) Weeks Of NESEP Prep School In In San Diego, California Found Myself Headed Off To Be A Freshman In College. Following Four Full Years At Purdue University In Lafayette, Indiana I Acquired A Bachelor Of Science In Nuclear Engineering As Well As A Master Of Science In Bio-Nucleonics Health Physics. So I Was Given A PAY CUT, Commissioned As An O1-E Ensign And Sent Off To Submarine School And My New Career As A Submarine Weapons Officer. But, But…. What About All That Training And Education In Nuclear Power And Reactors? Since Admiral Rickover Deemed Me To Be Too Old, At One Month Shy Of 31 (The Age Limit Was 25) To Be A Submarine Nuclear Officer. Following Submarine Officer Basic School, Nuclear Weapons School, Submarine Officer Qualification And Nuclear Weapons Qualifications On Board The USS Henry L. Stimson SSBN-655 Followed By Shore Duty As The Fleet Ballistic Missile Weapons Training Officer At The Trident Training Facility (TTF), Naval Submarine Base, Bangor, Washington, I Was Transferred To The Commissioning Crew Of The USS Michigan SSBN-727 As The Tactical Systems Officer (TSO), But…. My Submarine Time Proved To Be Somewhat Short Lived As Due To Having To Be Med-Evaced At Sea After A Heart Related Event. The Event While Not Critical Resulted In My Being Medically Removed From Being Eligible For Further Shipboard Sea Duty It Was Just One More Decision Point For Me, As We All Seem To Face As We Travel Throughout Our Lives. So…. Once Again I Shifted Gears As Well As Directions To Transfer From Being A Regular Line Officer (Submarine) To Become An Engineering Duty Officer(EDO)(Submarine Weapons) Never To Be Assigned To Go To Sea Again. A Dry Land Sailor To Be Assigned To Shipyards, Weapons Testing Facilities, Firing Ranges Or The Pentagon…... To The Final End. One Good Thing Left For Me Was That To Be An EDO I Had To Have A Masters Degree In Some Field Of Engineering Or (Hard) Science. So…. Off To School I Go Again, This Time, To The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) In Monterrey, California For 18 Months To Acquire A M...Expand for more