The Commissary

It was May of 1975 and I was making my first trip to Alameda NAS as a bride-to-be. My fiance was a sailor in the reserves; he had done his two years in Viet Nam before I met him. We had met in Superior, WI when he was home on leave and a few months later, I followed him to California.

We both worked full-time and made a total of $8.00 and hour. Yes, two of us lived and saved on $1400 a month! With that income we were planning a wedding and saving for a house. The wedding and the house were both going to be small, twelve guests and 1200 square feet. Where do you shop on such a minuscule budget?

The joys of base privileges! This was long before Costco and Sam's Club. Even Walmart in California was a futuristic concept. The Commissary was the answer; Costco prices but you had to be serving military. We were able to buy everything we needed at the NAS Alameda Commissary. Champagne (cheap) and pounds and pounds of prawns and we still stayed within budget. Yes, the Navy subsidized our wedding reception.

The marriage only lasted five years, but the memories of that trip to NAS Almeda have stayed with me the rest of my life. I would come back to Alameda to visit often, and since the base closed, I would drive through the ghost town and remember how bustling it used to be. I have a favorite park bench near the old picnic grounds, which has a stunning view of the Bay. It's a bench I sit on when I have something to work out. It's a peaceful, relaxing spot.

That one visit gave me so much and it was time for me to give back. Seeing the base in it's current condition is heartbreaking. Watching the buildings crumble and the parking lots fill with weed, I can see the ghosts of long passed sailors, marines and civilians hurrying about their business. I volunteer to help preserve their stories. 

Life at NAS Alameda

In 1970, I arrived at NAS Alameda upon our return from a WestPac cruise. I was with VAQ-132 at the time, a freshly minted sailor baptized by the fire of war and striking for Yeoman. Alameda became my home between deployments for the next three years. In the fall of 1973, I transferred to NAS Whidbey Island for my final year of enlistment. When I left Alameda, I knew somehow, some way, I’d be back. And I promised myself that if the opportunity to return presented itself, I’d surely take it.

So, in 1997, I was hired by a Bay Area software company to write and develop their education program. I arrived the weekend of NAS Alameda’s closing, unfortunately too late to attend the ceremony and tour my once proud home. In fact, it would be nearly nine years before I’d return again and finally visit the base.

Through those long years, I often reflected on my experiences at NAS Alameda; life in the barracks and standing the fire watch. The fine Navy cooked meals served in the galley. Drinking beers with the buddies at the EM Club at the end of the barracks. There were also the weddings in the base chapel and receptions at the “O” Club. Movies at the base theater. Oh, and the visit to the base by Admiral Zumwalt, CNO. Life during the waking hours was focused on squadron activities in hangars 39 and 40. I’ll never forget the day I tacked on third class and did everything to avoid my left arm becoming black and blue. The guys in maintenance were all too eager to do the tacking for me and all too pleased when they caught me and tossed me into the seaplane lagoon.

As I write this blog, I am prompted to also recall the names and the faces of the fantastic people I worked with. Their names would fill many pages. It’s good to go back to cruise books and look up those folks with whom I deployed but it would be really nice to enhance those memories with a “base book” that helps us remember those times between deployments and for those who were permanently assigned to the base. Maybe that’s what we’re starting here, a “base blog” about life at NAS Alameda. My experiences are quite limited to my few months between deployments with VAQ-132 and VAQ-135 Det 2. I am always anxious to hear the stories of others who were also stationed here. Often, I got out to the base, now closed and in pretty run down condition, and run into NAS Alameda veterans. I enjoy their stories and like to see where and how our paths may have crossed. Hopefully, this blog site will become populated with hundreds of stories about life at NAS Alameda. I also hope we’ll add to the historical documentation of life at this Navy base that was so instrumental in defending our nation during World War II.

Alameda Naval Air Station 1940 - 1997