I joined the Tulare crew at San Diego in January 1965
as an EMFN after attending Electricians Mate "A" school
at Great Lakes, IL. The first time I went to sea was on
operation Silver Lance. A full scale amphibious exercise,
at Camp Pendelton, CA. The first night out the duty
electrician, John Beltz, EM2 and I got a call to repair the blue stern convoy light. Never being at sea before
it was a little scary and exciting hanging over the fantail staring at the ship's wake. We repaired the light in
about a half hour. As far as I know we never used that light again in the three years I served in Tulare. During
my time in Tulare I maintained lighting systems, motor controllers, and of course the General Electric
"Maxi-Speed" cargo handling system. About one year was spent in the battery locker maintaining boat electrical
systems and battery charging throughout the ship. During this time I served on the "Heavy Salvage" crew
as the boat electrician during many "One Alphas", while participating in many amphibious operations in
South Vietnam. And of course my favorite duty, standing countless hours of main switchboard watches. The
Vietnam era was a busy time for the Amphibious Navy. I made four westpac cruises in Tulare, and detached
on 2 January 1968 at Danang, South Vietnam.
Ed Mersich, ex-EM3
23 Mar 1999
Ex-Tulare crew members are encourged to mail comments, anecdotes, and photos to Web Master As more Tulare information becomes available I will be updating this site with your comments.