James M. "Jim" McGarrah's interview for the Veterans History Project at Atlanta History Center

Описание: We welcome your comments on this interview at [email protected]
Catalog number: VIS 201.0811
In this interview, Jim McGarrah recalls his experiences serving in the United States Navy from the Vietnam War era through the Global War on Terrorism. He recalls his background and upbringing, the son of a career Navy officer, and how he secured an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1969. He remembers his time at the Academy including the summer training months. He was on the USS Vancouver (LPD-2) in the summer of 1970 when it was diverted to Da Nang, Vietnam, for duty and remembers special operations teams onboard dropping hand grenades into the water to discourage enemy divers from approaching the ship while it was docked at the pier. He describes participating in a "UNITAS" Navy cruise around South America and his duties and activities there. McGarrah was the Damage Control Assistant on the USS Belknap (CG-26) when it collied with the aircraft carrier USS Kennedy (CV-67) on November 22, 1975, and describes in great detail what happened that night and how the crew were able to save the ship. He had been temporarily moved from his own stateroom to another before that night which saved his life. He recalls the Soviet ships that followed the Belknap from the site of the collision to repair facilities in Sicily and Naples, The Soviet ships nearly caused them to lose the tow near Rota, Spain. He remembers the recommendations for changes that were made as a result of the incident and the press coverage and courts martial that followed. He moved into the Civil Engineer Corps in an effort to spend less time deployed away from his family and describes in detail his activities with Navy Reserve Seabee units during Desert Storm, including the work they did to provide adequate water and the benefits of including Reserve units with active duty units due to the expertise often held by reservists who had attained expert status in their fields. He describes his work at the Naval Academy after Hurricane Isabel seriously damaged the school in 2003. He recalls his work overseeing the Combatant Status Review Tribunals at the Detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He explains his work at Georgia Tech and at a local church after his retirement from the Navy Reserves in 2006 and describes his family.