Ed Manion

Radioman Ed Manion's Rainier Memories * 1966 to 1970

Ed's October 21 Email:
Bill, The things I have here at home are, cruise book from 67, my foul weather jacket, a set of un-dress blues with white hat (not so white now), a jacket with the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club design on the back, pictures and 35mm slides, the orignal teletype message from Ann Margarnet, (I was on watch in the radioroom when we received the teletype message from her, I made a copy of the message and kept the original.)
And most important-- the Holiday Ensign from the Rainier, I'll tell you the story. I was discharged from the Rainier on 1 July 70 at Mare Island, California. Steve Temple (SM3)was the petty officer on the quarter deck when I departed, (he was one of many friends), he told me not to leave until he came back from the signal bridge, when he returned, he handed me the Holiday Ensign.

Other things I have are several different ship lighters, some teletype repair tools (I was the only teletype repairman (untrained) aboard the ship, a deck ape jacket patch. My oldest daughter and son have more of my things at there house.
Stories... If you want stories, I have alot of stories about LT Rylan and myself, he and I never saw things the same way. I have stories about LT Butts and myself, a lot he would rather not remember. Rick Schible QM3 (I think you know him), he and I were good friends, I have some pictures of us together. Chief Crow, Chief Radioman, lots of stories about him. A good story about Cpt Smith, I don't thing you were on the ship when he was the Captain. A story about how the Rainier ended being decommissioned.
I want to tell you what a great job you did developing the Rainier website, it's like my past life ringing my door bell and when I opened the front door, it all came back to me. I told my wife about my shock yesterday on the internet and I have been talking all day today about it. My wife said she was happy to see that I found my second life (1966-1970) but wanted to know when I was going to come back down to earth. Ed

Ed's Favorite Stories- Mostly about LT Bob Ryland

At night when messages would come in, we had to take them around to the officers to read. I hated to take the message board to Ryland's stateroom when he was sleeping, I would knock on his door and you would hear this voice on the other side say, you may enter. He would set up in his bunk, hold up his first two fingers on his right hand (that would mean to put the pen in his hand) he would then initial the message and with his left hand, would wave upwards, (this would mean to turn to the next message). I got to the point that I would take two pens, one empty, and the other full. I would always give him the empty one first, that always made him mad. After awhile I think he knew I was doing it on purpose but would never say anything.

LT Ryland, if you're still looking for the missing teletype machine from Radio Central, you'll find it in Sasebo harbor (now for the rest of the story) We were on our way to Sasebo for R&R and I was having troubles keeping the teletype machines running. Lt Ryland got mad and told me, that he wasn't going to give me my liberty card unitl I got all the teletype machines fixed and running. I stayed up late at nights working on the machines, five if I recall, I would take them complety apart and up them back together again.
They say a teletype has 14 thousand parts, the next couple of days, I would know all of them. I got four of the machines working fine, but this one machine, we were Sasebo now for two days and I was still working on this one machine. Take it apart, put back together again, take it apart, put it back together agin. To end the story, remember what I told Ryland at the begining. The next morning, I told Ryland all the machines were fixed and running. He gave me my liberty card and I was off and running. (Webmasters Note: It is my official legal opinion tht the statute of limitations has run.)

LT Ryland and I never saw eye to eye on most things. Your right about his coffee cups and saucer's. He would come in Radio Central to read the message boards and message traffic. During his stay, he would drink four to five cups of coffee and when he departed, would leave all his cups and saucers. This happen almost every night.
Frank and I had an idea, (mostly Frank) we saved a empty teletype paper box and hind it in the back out of sight. When Ryland would leave radio central, we deposit his cups and saucers in the box. When the box was full to the top, who ever had the mid watch had the duty of cleaning them, the fastest way was to throw them over the port side. He would send me down to the wardroom to get his coffee cup and saucer, always two cubes of sugar, stir two times to the left and two times two the right. If he could have only seen how I got his coffee.

(Webmaster's Note: Watch this space for more libel and slander directed at poor LT Ryland. Actually I found him to be a pretty good egg, despite his habit of calling some of the less "gifted" deck apes "Dummmyyyyyy" when they'd screw up. He taught me a good bit of seamanship in his weaker moments.)