The Blue Guidon The Newsletter of Andover and the Military
Spring 2022
Life Aboard Ship During the Buildup to the Suez War of 1956 By Richard G. “Dick” Bell ’50, Lt. j.g., USN
The background of this story is the successful 1952 coup by Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser that wrested political control of Egypt from the wreckage of the defunct Farouk regime. Egypt’s prime commercial asset was the Suez Canal, owned and operated not by the government, but by a private Egyptian stock corporation. The majority owners were, de facto, Britain and France. By treaty, law, and contract, the control, defense, and operation of the canal—as well as its revenue—were in foreign hands. Nasser sought to change that. This was in keeping with the powerful post–World War II anti-colonial movement. Britain had already lost India, and France had lost Algeria, with IndoChina’s fate a long time hanging in the balance at Dien Bien Phu, which finally fell in 1954. This issue was different: The oil that flowed via the Suez Canal was the lifeblood of the economies of Britain and France, and they were not going to surrender their access to it. They had heard enough of peaceful solutions suggested by John Foster Dulles, the U.N., and the rest. They were going to make Egypt fight for it, although they didn’t come out and say so. There would also be benefits for Israel if the country would commit to join them, which it did.
Threats of Violence, Talk of War Threats of violence and talk of war in the Middle East in the early summer of 1956 prompted the United States to beef up its Mediterranean battle fleet, the Sixth Fleet. Among other assets that were deployed were my ship, the USS Harlan R. Dickson (DD 708), and the three other destroyers of our division. I was a lieutenant junior grade USN and Dickson’s chief engineer. A qualified officer of the deck who stood regular underway watches, I was also the anti-submarine officer on duty and a command duty officer. We sailed from our home port of Newport, R.I., on short notice in mid-July, making landfall at Leghorn, Italy, on July 20. To get his way, Nasser would ultimately have to nationalize and take over the canal company. He made a careful estimate of what military strength would be brought against him—and guessed the U.S. would stay out of it. Thinking he could withstand the anticipated conflict, he decided to force the issue. He nationalized the Suez Canal and the Canal Company on July 26, 1952. There was no immediate explosion. The canal continued to operate in a very suspenseful state continued on page 2
Dick Bell aboard the USS Harlan R. Dickson (DD 708)
Fortune Cookies
A happy landing in Japan near the end of the Korean War By Carlton W. “Tony” Thompson ’51, P’79, 1st Lt., USAF
My first lucky day, of course, was being accepted in 1948 by Andover to summer school “on probation.” That was the beginning of a long series of good things, which I credit to my one-year wake-up call in New England. [Satisfactory academic performance at Summer Session led to Thompson’s admission to Andover as a lower that fall]. Fast forward to 1957, my second lucky day. I was flying from Korea to Japan’s southern island of Kyushu in my Vertol H-21 helicopter at 500 feet above the Korean Straights. About 20 miles from the mainland the oil pressure warning light blinked on. Sudden loss of oil pressure could mean engine failure, and these things don’t float very well. Looking down at a few dorsal fins only increased pressure on the sphincter, so I eased off the throttle and prayed for the shoreline.
Aboard Ship continued from page 1
under Egyptian supervision. At a London conference on August 16, Nasser boasted that 766 ships had used the canal since nationalization. The uneasy peace continued. Evac Assistance Requested The threat of war caused the U.N. to arrange for the evacuation from Israel of a civilian work-study group under its auspices. Egyptian air raids on Haifa had been threatened. The U.S. Navy agreed to help. We had departed Istanbul on October 27 with the Sixth Fleet, but then were designated, along with the USS Burdo, a destroyer-mine sweeper as junior ship, to pick up these civilians at the Haifa harbor as soon as possible. We were to deliver them to the USNS General Alexander M. Patch, a Military Sea Transport vessel, at Souda Bay, Crete. From there, they would be taken, I believe, to Brussels. We were told they were mixed nationals, largely French and Scandinavian, a few Americans. Adults, no small children. Nobody told us about the very pregnant young lady from Norway. Off we went. But a funny thing happened on the way to Haifa. Actually, two.
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Once over land, where to autorotate? In rural Japan, every inch is used for rice. The only open spaces are the tiny schoolyards adjoining small villages clustered at unfarmable elevations. Luckily, we spotted one up ahead, made sure it was empty, radioed to base our problem and location, and gratefully landed. Immediately we were surrounded by a bunch of little barefoot kids and their school principal. Smiles and gestures all around. My language skills were limited to “hello,” “how much?” and “thank you.” Not only did the group not speak English, but I suspect they had never even seen a Caucasian, let alone a Black man like my crew chief! Anyway, we were escorted to the principal’s office, served lunch by the girl’s home ec class, and then asked via sign language to please read their English textbook into a tape recorder.
A short time later my squadron’s other helicopter roared overhead and then squeezed down next to ours. They patched our oil problem and we all exchanged “sayonaras,” then our two loud monster machines rose straight up and disappeared to fly the remaining hundred miles to Itazuke airbase in Fukuoka, which is directly across the Straights from Pusan. As a thank you for their hospitality and parking space, I collected, bundled, and dropped copies of Life, Look, and the Saturday Evening Post in the schoolyard on subsequent flights to and from Korea. On that day long ago, at the unexpected lunch competition, the score was Future Scholars–3, Sharks–0. After a successful year at Andover, Tony Thompson finished high school in Los Angeles and went on to graduate from Stanford. His career included work for Life and Time magazines and involvement in the launch of HBO. Thompson passed away in September 2021, leaving his wife, Nancy; children Dewey ’79, Elizabeth, and Woody; and eight grandchildren. This story, written by Thompson several years ago, was submitted by his good friend and classmate George Rider ’51, P’86, GP’22.
Rendezvous with the French The heavy cruiser Georges Leygues, with its six-inch guns, had been closing on us well before we got to Haifa. Scouting for the French invasion fleet, she signaled that she wanted to send over a boat to parlez. This was kind of an 18th-century ploy—and very French. Sixth Fleet said, essentially, to humor them but don’t do anything stupid. So we signaled her to come over, and we hove to and waited. When we saw the small boat approaching, we could make out a very young junior officer, probably like me, decked out in his finest dress uniform, complete with clanking sword. When the captain saw him, he said, “OK, Bell, you take care of him in the wardroom,” adding in his way of a joke, “Don’t do anything stupid.” So, having received explicit instructions from my captain confirming those same instructions from the commander of the largest battle fleet in the world, I prepared to enter discussions, perhaps even negotiations, with a foreign power! How I wished James Grew of the Andover French Department could see me now! Well, it was good fun, and the young envoy was a decent guy. We got along well, even
Suez Canal
USAF helicopter pilot Tony Thompson ’51 receives a warm welcome from curious Japanese schoolchildren during an emergency landing in 1957.
though all I could offer was coffee. We had a pleasant talk for a short time, me trying to get the French right and him wrestling with the English. We quickly got down to business. He wanted to know where we were going and whose side we were going to be on. I could tell him about Haifa, but I couldn’t talk about our support in a coming war, even if I knew any answers. We were cut short by a signal being flashed to him from Georges Leygues: “Rentrer.” Without much further ado, he jumped into his boat, bade us farewell, and was gone. I went outside to see if there was a reason for his haste. Coming up over the horizon was another heavy cruiser, the USS Albany— eight-inch guns. Good reason. Georges Leygues steamed off. All of us on the Dickson felt a burst of pride when we knew Albany was coming. It was why we all respected our commander in chief so much, even at the real and virtual distances that prevailed between us. To know that the man up there in charge is alert and aware of possible threats to you—and will do something about them— is very comforting. The move of Georges Leygues toward us was picked up by the Sixth Fleet even before we reported it,
and it was a move of turf and of slight intimidation. Commanders like Vice Adm. “Cat” Brown don’t think those tactics should go unanswered. Albany—a very good answer—asked us if we needed any help. We said “no thanks” and rang up full speed ahead for Haifa. Arrival in Haifa We drew up to the outer harbor of Haifa in the late afternoon, surprised by the sound of cannon fire. What an extraordinary sight: here was a scruffy-looking Egyptian gunboat, looking more like the African Queen than a warship, plunking away with its single popgun and lobbing three-inch shells toward the city. Eventually, two Israeli destroyers came out from the inner harbor and blew away a good part of the Egyptian’s superstructure. So what did she do? The captain must have decided this was going to be a really bad day, so he surrendered. Yes—just ran up a white flag. The Israelis boarded and we heard a couple of Uzi bursts, which presumably settled any doubt among the remaining crew. The dead were stacked on the stern, and the vessel was taken in tow by one of the destroyers. Before going back into the inner harbor, the destroyer very proudly
towed the smashed up gunboat fully around us to make sure we got the picture. Now, finally, we could go in and pick up our civilian charges. It was getting dark when we docked in the inner harbor to load our passengers. The exec asked me to go ashore to sort things out and make sure Burdo got its share; one of their officers would assist. The result was about 40 for us and 30 for Burdo. We got the pregnant lady, and the captain gallantly had her installed in his cabin. Of course, he had his sea cabin one deck up. We introduced her to our chief medical corpsman, who was scared stiff the whole time she was aboard for fear she would go into labor. As for sleeping quarters, it was simple: move the men out of the forward crew’s quarters. They would hot bunk with someone aft—that is, share so that one could sleep while the other was on watch—or find a nook or cranny somewhere. We made some temporary privacy arrangements and ran as many guests as we could through the wardroom for meals. We reserved a head, made a few simple rules, and that was that. By the continued on page 4
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Aboard Ship continued from page 3
middle of the next day, it was like a summer camp. Not, however, at the beginning.
And that was not all. Mid-afternoon, a delegation of women asked if they could confer with the captain on something important. With some trepidation, he A Stormy Departure met with them, only to find out that they wanted to The weather can turn quickly in the Eastern give us a party to thank us. Their proposal was to take Mediterranean. As we departed Haifa, we ran into over the galley for the evening meal and cook dinner the teeth of a storm that lasted most of the night. We for the crew. The captain hemmed and hawed a little bounced and yawed ferociously, for what seemed in surprise, muttering something about there not like hours on end. There was no worse place for our being adequate party food. Not to worry, the women guests to be in a storm, but we had to keep them had already checked with the cook, who said we had confined. If they came on deck, they’d be washed plenty of good stuff. He also thought it was a great away. They were a sick and sorry bunch that next idea. The captain was happy to be taken in. It turned morning, but it didn’t last long. The ocean was like a out to be a wonderful affair. The passengers cooked sheet of glass, the breeze but a whisper of last night’s it, served it, and picked up the dishes. The crew loved gale. You’d see people pop out on deck, disheveled it. We left a lot of good friends to board the Alexander and haggard, squinting up at the sun as though it Patch the next morning, September 31. was a celestial newcomer. Then, like animals coming out of hibernation, they would realize they had come We learned at port that day that Israeli tanks had through that storm safely, they were OK, and there overrun the Sinai. Air raids would begin November 1, was a beautiful day ahead. followed by paratroopers the next day. The BritishFrench invasion fleet would appear off Port Said, Gratitude from Our Guests Egypt, to land troops on November 6. Thus, the Suez All around the main deck, little knots of sailors would War began. gather, forming around one or more ladies sitting on the deck. The women were sewing on buttons Dick Bell graduated from Yale in 1954 and went on to earn or mending holes in blue jeans. This was going on an LLB at Harvard. He and his wife, Anne, live in Hamden, in the galley as well. It was funny to watch and also Connecticut, and have three children, Allison, Richard, somewhat moving. These people were saying “thank and Bruce. you,” and the sailors couldn’t get enough.
From the Editor The “new new” certainly means something to those who are hip enough to celebrate everything fresh. But what about history? And tradition? Are those of us who study, discuss, and celebrate our history and traditions just too old-fashioned for the new new crowd? Perhaps like others of you who live non sibi—as we have done naturally as members of AATM, while on active duty, and as part of our Andover community before our days in uniform—I find it necessary to seek balance. To me, it is important not to discard history and tradition, especially as I ponder the ideal of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” that our Founding Fathers and great Patriots inked in the Declaration of Independence. These words must continually be reviewed, discussed, and debated publicly to help guide public reason today and every day. Our ties to history and tradition are essential to helping us navigate our future. I write these thoughts while wearing my USS Thomas Hudner T-shirt, emblazoned with the motto “Above All Others.” A greater power looks over us all as we use our history to steer our course through the “new.”
—Robert Tuller ’82, P’22, ’23
THE BLUE GUIDON
The Newsletter of Andover and the Military Vol. 10, No. 2 Published biannually by the Office of Academy Resources, Phillips Academy
EDITOR
Robert Tuller ’82, P’22, ’23
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
George Rider ’51, P’86, GP’22
HISTORIAN
David Chase, Faculty Emeritus
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE James Donnelly ’82, Chair Robert Tuller ’82, P’22, ’23 Don Way ’63 Kenny Weiner ’96
CURRENTLY SERVING IN THE ACTIVE AND RESERVE FORCES Yong Seong Cho ’21 Alexander Grande ’21 David Graves ’21 Matt Veneri ’21 William McGrath ’21 Zachary Peng ’21 Mackenzie Lucas ’20 Joseph Kacergis ’19 Jack O’Neil ’19 Neil Thorley ’19 Nicholas Isenhower ’18 Joseph Simourian ’18 Larson Tolo ’18 Annette Bell ’16 Benjamin Bolduc ’16 AnnaMaria Dear ’16 Anirudh Murali ’16 Eleanor Blum ’15 Nicholas Forti ’15 Eden Livingston ’15 Marcus Thompson ’15 Renee LaMarche ’14 Thomas Mullen ’14 Alexandra Bell Farr ’13 William O’Donnell ’13 Taylor Perkins ’12 Christopher Kent ’11 Lyra Silverwolf ’11 Adrian Lehnen ’10 Ansley White ’10 Hanson Causbie ’08 Jess Choi ’08 Lauren Johnson ’07 Anna Nettleship ’07 Helal Syed ’07 Brendan de Brun ’06 Connor Flynn ’06 Jenn Bales ’04 Livy Coe ’04 Steve Draheim ’04 Nick Ksiazek ’03 Priya Sridhar ’03 Cat Reppert ’02 Eric Chase ’01 Gil Barndollar ’00 Charles Fuller ’00 Jarreau Jones ’00 Matthew Sullivan ’00 Hunter Washburn ’00 Grancis Santana ’99 Phil Risseeuw ’98 Luis Gonzalez ’97 Michelle Kalas ’97 Rush Taylor ’96 Kenny Weiner ’96 Randy Allen ’95 Rebecca Calder ’94 Ryan Shann ’93 Craig Der Ananian ’91 Eric Hawn ’89 Douglas Creedon ’79
List is based on data we receive from alumni. To add a name, please email Mary Corcoran at mcorcoran@andover.edu.