Terry aka Weegie Munson:  

I grew up in a most fantastic place. I was born in Hawthorne, CA. As a child I watched the cars that were on TV. Like The Munster Koach and the Drag-U-La while the Munster's were in daily syndication. But in prime time I watched the Monkeemobile and the Batmobile in action. There was no greater car of that era that received as much popularity as the Batmobile. The popularity of that custom show car has yet to be eclipsed. A new toy came out in 1968...Hot Wheels! They were made just west of our house near the 405 fwy. When my mother was pregnant with another baby my dad moved us to a bigger house in Torrance. What a great place to live. I used to go to White Front and visit the model section and the poster section. I used to stare at the Ed Newton designed Bathtub Buggy poster. That poster made this little boy dream of custom show car possibilities. I loved it when the Torrance police would wail their sirens in the neighborhood to signal the arrival of Santa Claus. I had never experienced that before. I loved watching the Armed Forces Day Parade. Going to the Plunge and also spending my lunch money at Sue's Candy Store. My dad had to keep up with the Jones' so he moved us in 1974. We found a new home in Garden Grove. I stumbled through classes and life there. The reality of life was a 180 degree turn from what life was in Torrance. I joined the Navy 5 days after graduating. I had to get out and get away. What an honor it was to serve then with Ronald Reagan as our Commander and Chief. Duty called when we were bound for a Mediteranean Cruise. The president sent us to Beirut, Lebanon. My ship...the USS Saginaw LST 1188 was part of MARG 2-82. A couple of the events that took place when we were there involved an Israeli piloted jet. The pilot engaged his sidewinder missiles and shot down a Russian MIG in a dogfight just above the USS Saginaw. That MIG landed as a smoky fireball on the beach in Beirut (that makes me reflect on Zechariah 2:8). The Saginaw was the first U.S. ship to enter the port of Beirut in 15 years at that point. I did two tours of being in a modular location "MODLOC" off of Beirut in 1982 and 1984 with the USS Saginaw. Considering the dog-fight and other events around us, it was understood that at any moment all hell could break loose. Our Captain, Commander Johnson used the announcing system frequently...to let us know what was going on around us, to encourage us, and also to warn us. The "Sag" escorted the ship Yassar Arafat was on out of the port of Beirut and taking him to the island of Cyprus. We weren't home any more, but we dreamed of home. I would break out my boom box and crank out Surfin' USA. I would dream of being back home in Torrance. My duty in the Navy continued. On a very bad stormy night on a North Atlantic tour, one of the bow doors of the ship came loose. My friend, Robert Durfee of 1st Division told me of what took place. Their chief woke up 1st Division. Because of the onslought of the pounding waves to and over the bow, the sea had found it's way to the center cavity of the ship..the tank deck. There was four feet of water everywhere within the tank deck. "Durf" and others with him attemped to get to the tween decks control station so they could pressurize the deck seal. This was so they could stop the water from coming in from the main deck. With the pitching and rolling of this flat bottom boat it was hard to maneuver past the rushing water and get to the line locker...Expand for more