Truk 6 — Moose Hunt
I was starting to think John was one of those people with a little cloud following him around. Let me enumerate some events in John’s life since I’ve known him:
1. John had knowledge of dive club leaders decompression diving and declined an invitation to participate in that prohibited activity. When the violation was anonymously reported to the Army; fingers were wrongly pointed at John as the person who ratted on the decompression divers.
2. When John was working on the electrical circuit powering the copy machine on which raffle tickets were being printed, he was wrongly accused of printing up some raffle tickets of his own.
3. John was making a legal dive with 5 people in the water; 4 on air & one snorkeling. He was accused of breaking the dive club buddy rule & was suspended for 30 days.
4. John was a leader on the board at the pool where swimmers recorded laps they swam. When one swimmer returned from vacation & posted many laps he allegedly swam while on vacation putting him top if the board; John complained to the other swimmers. Someone removed the name & laps swam by the swimmer with the questionable quantity of laps — John was blamed for this action even though he was off island when the removal of the characters from the board occurred. One night, all the plastic numbers & letters from the board were thrown in the ocean. The Army removed the board & blamed John for ending this fun element of the lap swimming at the pool.
5. Although John had a unique appearance with his long blond hair & half businesslike dress, some dive club executives mistook him for a person named Bill. Bill was at the marina as one of these executives docked after his boat capsized spilling valuable cargo to the ocean floor. Bill laughed & laughed. Naturally John caught the blame for this social blunder. John was scolded by management for making the company look bad.
The list goes on — I wondered what else could John do that would result in his inappropriately being accused of misconduct? I was about to find out.
It was common practice during the mid ‘70’s for oversea construction workers to have no credit cards & travel with five thousand dollars or more in their pocket (usually in a money belt or other security device). Because John was hosting a moose hunt in northern Michigan for his five friends at a lodge that did not take credit cards, John was traveling with over fifteen thousand dollars in his pocket. John had long blond hair and wore exclusively island clothing. He looked very out-of-place in the wilderness of upper Michigan near the Canadian border driving in a full sized sedan he had rented, John was stopped by a local law enforcement officer who was concerned that he didn’t look like he belonged there. When the law enforcement officer found John had more than fifteen thousand dollars in his car, they were sure he was heading to the Canadian border to make a big drug deal. The Feds became involved as John spent a night in jail. The next day, the Federal drug agency checked out John’s story & decided he should be held until they investigated further.
John had called his father who lived in Milwaukee. John’s father, in turn, called the only attorney in the vicinity of the facility where John was being held. The father called the lodge where John was to meet his friends — he told the lodge operator to pass on to John’s friends the status of John’s incarceration. The father also indicated to the lodge to tell the other hunters should go hunting without John & that he or John would be at the lodge within days to pay the bill. The father then began his drive to the holding facility to meet his son & get him out of jail. The attorney achieved John released on his third day before the father arrived. However his fifteen thousand dollars and moose rifle had to be retained because it was evidence. John’s car had been impounded & partially disassembled as the Feds looked for evidence in places in the car where they normally find drugs. The car was returned to John but the oil pan, rocker arm covers, hub caps & other parts lay in a big wood box in the car’s trunk. John’s father had the rental car towed to the only repair facility in the area. The shop had to order gaskets & other parts to reassemble the car — it would be a few days before the car was ready. John’s father got a bunch of cash from the only bank to give to the lodge. Some of John’s guests had cash to pick up costs away from the lodge.
John borrowed a rifle from one of his guest and had a few days hunting. No one bagged a moose & the event was less enjoyable than anticipated. The hunters decided to cut the trip short & all the hunters went to their homes. John never recovered his $15K or his gun. John spent a few days in Milwaukee before returning to the islands.
While John was on vacation in Michigan, I was on my antenna/pier inspection tour. I expected to arrive back home from my inspection tour slightly after John returned. When I flew home from Eniwetok rather than taking the boat as planned, I expected to be home first. My plane landed about noon & I walked to the dining hall for lunch. I was surprised to see John lunching at the diner & he was surprised to see me — we both were supposed to be off-island for another week. John had some wiring to install that afternoon & I had a doctor appointment for my injured heel. We agreed to have dinner together; Steve would join us. At dinner, John told his unbelievable story of his vacation in Michigan. I told of my trip to the lesser islands & the tales by the natives of abuse by the US. Steve told me that Pete, our boss, had a big urgent assignment for the two of us. My construction projects were being reassigned to the staff who had been running them during my absence.
The population of the atoll where I lived varied from 10K to 30K and those people generated a huge volume of sewage. Sewer systems were run with salt water & there was no treatment prior to discharge into the lagoon. This was a major environmental no no. Most sewer treatment plants use aerobic digesters but salt water systems used anaerobic — this science was way out of my area of expertise. Our assignment — Steve & I were to develop schematic design for the collection system plus help with other documents that would get this program through planning and into full design. The schematic design for the collection system was a snap for Steve & I. EPA was requiring a full environmental impact report; not just for our island but the entire lagoon. It was felt that Steve & I were the only members of the sewer team that could tackle such a report. There were almost 100 islands in our atoll; most reachable only by boat. Some islands had only a dozen residents but such islands must be included in the report. Steve & I were to determine the configuration of the sewer system on each populated island then make drawings documenting these systems. Additionally we were to draw samples, keep them on ice & send them to the lab for testing. This assignment would consume all the time Steve & I worked for the next four months.
Steve & I started our assignment meeting with an EPA representative who gave us a 500 page cookie cutter fill-in-the-blanks type document. The EPA guy explained that they expected us not to have all the blanks filled in but to do the best we could. Each set of 500 pages was required for each outfall into the lagoon (I counted about 40). This report was going to be about a 20,000 page book. The EPA guy told us to call him with any questions — this was kind of a joke because there was an eight hour time difference & we had no phones where we were going. Steve & I developed our plan of attack:
Steve & I would generate a list of all inhabited islands. Steve would then make high quality transparencies for each of those islands (this was only possible because of Steve’s expertise and creativity). The prints made from these transparencies would be our worksheets for islands with no military presence. Where the military existed, the sewer systems were well documented & the chemistry was our biggest challenge.
Sewer samples for our island and the third island up the reef (each with a population of 10,000) had been tested. The other 30 outfalls were for Steve & I to cover. We were not allowed to go on air during our sampling effort but we were allowed to snorkel. Hopefully all outfalls would be shallow enough to reach without SCUBA. We ordered dozens of sample bottles, protective wear, ice chests & other stuff needed for sampling.
Flow rates were to be determined for each sewer outfall on the atoll; Steve or I would snorkel to the discharge pipe & attach a flow meter with wires leading up to a recorder floating at the surface. The flow measuring device would stay in place for about three days after which the device would be picked up with hopes the recorded data would be meaningful. We procured four of these flow measurement assemblies to allow multiple outfalls to be covered at the same time.
A piece of equipment I continually advocated my engineering office procure following my landing on the island, a utility locating device. There were so many dig-ups this piece of equipment could prevent. The sewer project was the perfect excuse for my buying this equipment. Using one of these locators was the only way I knew we could document the systems installed by natives without military participation.
Access to the remote sites was going to be one of our major challenges. Only ten of the hundred islands we needed to cover in our report had helicopter landing pads. Steve & I would rely on a boat to access the other islands. The Army issued a “C” craft with radio other enhancements for our use accessing these remote locations. The Army also hired a native boat operator/interpreter to help. Our plan was to have this helper take the boat to an island reachable by air; Steve & I would fly in; we would then make day trips to the sites not accessible by air.
Following collection of all data, a team of clerical staff would help finalized this monster report. This was the plan Steve & I developed; management if my employer saw things differently. Management required sections of the report covering fully documented islands be completed & ready for printing prior to the research if other islands.
The first month after receiving the assignment, Steve & I spent on our home island drafting 5,000 pages of our report. Turns out this was a test to prove to the Army we could do this assignment in-house & not job it out to a consultant. We finally got the green light to perform the data gathering EPA wanted with one less month to do it.
For a couple of weeks, our boat shuttled between Army facilities & native only islands. Steve & I soon found we preferred to stay on remote islands with host families & not return to US facilities each night per the original plan. Additionally, we didn’t return to our home island over weekends. By the time Steve & I completed our data gathering, we had become almost native; speaking their language, going naked much if the time, sleeping with native women when they invited us to do so, eating seafood, coconut & rice at each meal, etc. During this data gathering phase of the assignment, my feelings intensified regarding misconduct by the Spanish, Japanese, US & others who occupied this land.
The environmental impact report team completed the full 20,000 page document a week early. We divided the report into five volumes but kept the master copy intact in a big box. Management felt the 20,000 pages together was more impressive than five separate books. The final review was complete, I stamped the cover with my engineering seal & signed my name. The new draftsperson with no assignment yet was recruited by my boss to help with making copies of the report; he tripped as he was carrying the box containing the master copy. Paper flew everywhere. We lost the week we had gained as we spent seven days trying to re-collate the unnumbered pages.
The sewer report was a huge success & I was again looked on favorably by the Army despite my feelings of the Army’s misconduct in their dealings with native islanders. I just wanted my two year contract to go by quickly so I wouldn’t have to be part of this abuse. Planets were starting to align in such a way that I would get my wish.
Our employer had just negotiated their renewed contract with the Army. The contract would go into effect in about three months & the new contract called for major reduction in benefits and workforce. The employer was putting together offers for early contract completion for certain employees. The employer had to reduce it’s staff by 10% & reduce the classification of another 10% within three months. No one knew what the final offers to those being laid off would look like — John, Steve & I were going to accept our offers to leave regardless of incentives. When our employer presented we three with their proposal for early contract completion buy out, it was fat, sweet, & irresistible. We were all headed back to the mainland.
Another planet aligning was a letter I received from the couple house sitting for me in California with a low ball offer to buy my house “as-is”. I felt I would need a face-to-face meeting with them to negotiate an acceptable deal. The easements, the encumbrance, the code compliance issues, & other things about the house were complex. I needed assurance they understood & that could only be covered in person.
Concurrently, I was being pressured by the car dealer involved to take delivery of a car (in St. Louis) I had purchased many months previously. I planned to pick up the car & drive it to California where the selling of the house was to be resolved.
Because California would claim about $15K in back income tax if I returned to California, I intended to live in Reno when I left the island. This trip to pick up my car & talk to my house sitters would also include renting an apartment in Reno.
Another matter requiring attention was letting my wife (now at Tahoe South Shore) know I would be returning from the island six months earlier than expected. A face-to-face meeting was needed with the wife (since I’d be in the vicinity) & would jump start the dissolution process. The divorce would be quicker, cheaper, cleaner & easier in Reno than California. The wife & I were in agreement that I would file for divorce in Reno as soon as I left the island. This was going to be quite the trip; pick up my car in St. Louis & drive the car to Reno, rent an apartment, get mail service & utilities started, license & insure my car, draft & get signed a formal offer on my house, then meet with my wife. I had to do this all within 14 days.
The 14 day limit was associated with a federal income tax exemption for overseas workers. There were no federal income taxes charged to overseas earnings of persons who were in a foreign country 510 days of any 18 month period. The travel agent & I planned my trip for 11 days & gave myself 3 days cushion. My air reservations were tight but very doable. I was to fly to Honolulu on WORLD AIR (a MAC carrier) leaving the island late morning & arriving Honolulu 3 hours before catching a 7 hour overnight flight to Chicago. There was a two hour layover in Chicago then a one hour flight to St. Louis. I had a noonish appointment to pick up my car. I planned three days on the road to make it to Reno (I really expected to make it in two days). I had driven Denver to Sacramento in one long day before so if I made it to Denver in one hop from St. Louis, I knew I could make it to Reno a day early. I had 6 days to take care of business in Reno before heading back to the Island. My return air reservation was on United out of San Francisco to Honolulu (then WORLD AIR from Honolulu). During those 6 days in Reno I would:
- Establish residency in Reno (rent an apartment, get mail service started, turn on utilities, etc.
- Meet with my house sitters then develop & sign a contract plus other documents covering the sale of my house.
- Register my car, get a Nevada drivers licence & buy car insurance.
- Meet with my wife to outline property settlement & other matters relating to our divorce. The real property being liquidated would really help with property settlement.
It would be a busy 6 days. The day of my departure came & I was more than excited to start this adventures.
