Russel received his orders to Germany on 15 April 1954. His orders read, "When relieved, you will regard yourself detached from duty on board the USS NANTAHALA (AO-60), and from such other duty as may have been assigned to you; you will proceed via such transportation as the Bureau of Naval Personnel may designate to Bremerhaven, Germany, and upon arrival report to the Commanding Officer, Naval Advanced Base, for duty as the relief of Machinist Alvin B. Halsel, USN, 552314/7432." Russel's job in Bremerhaven was to begin the rebuilding of the German Navy, starting with the Weser River Patrol.
Russel left for Germany on 6 July 1954 at 11AM aboard Military Air Transport Service (MATS) flight A-123 from Washington, DC, National Airport, to Frankfurt, Germany. He arrived in Frankfurt at 12:30AM on 7 July 1954 then took a US military train from Frankfurt to Bremerhaven. He arrived in Bremerhaven at 7:10AM on 8 July 1954.
On 2 July 1954, the orders arrived for the rest of us to make the move to Bremerhaven. On 12 July 1954 our household goods were picked up to be shipped to Germany. We moved in with Margaret and Shaky at 1412 West 50th Street in Norfolk while we waited to go. On 11 September 1954, we took a train to New York City to catch a Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) ship (USS GEIGER) to Germany. Our dog, Brownie, didn't go with us. We never saw him again.
We stayed at the Saint George Hotel , Clark Street, in Brooklyn, New York , at $11.55 a night from 12 September until 14 September 1954. The night of 12 September, Mom took us all to Radio City Music Hall at Rockefeller Center. We took the "7th Avenue IRT" subway line from the Clark Street subway station to 42nd street in midtown Manhattan. Although Mom never learned how to drive, she apparently didn't think anything of hauling four young boys on the New York City subway to the middle of the largest city in the U.S. We saw the Rockettes perform "Dutch Treat" produced by Mr. Leon Leonidoff . Twenty-four years later, in 1978, I met Navy Commander Leon Leonidoff, Jr., who I worked with for 15 years here in Norfolk. Leon's dad produced at Radio City Music Hall for over 40 years before his death. After the Rockette show, they showed a movie "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" with Howard Keel and Jane Powell. I understand from Leon Jr. that it was customary during those years to couple a Rockette show with a first-run movie.
The trip to Germany was quite an adventure for all of us. We had lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from July to October of 1950 but otherwise had not traveled at all since Dicky (Richard Kelly) and I were babies in New Orleans. When we left for Germany I had just turned 12, Dicky was 10, Michael was almost 8 and Robin was almost 5.
About the only information we had on what awaited us was a three page instruction provided by the Navy - "Living Conditions in Bremerhaven, Germany, for Naval Personnel and Dependents".
"CLIMATE: The weather in Germany is unpredictable. Summers are cool with an occasional hot spell. The winter season is cold and damp with some freezing spells and snow. Good deal of rain year round."
"HOUSING: Quarters are provided in lieu of rental allowances. For the most part they are private homes that have been requisitioned to house occupation personnel. Apartment house type billets have been constructed for the occupation forces to take care of increased personnel. Rank and rate seniority govern assignment to housing facilities. But size of family plays an important part too. (We were assigned a new four bedroom apartment.) All quarters are furnished by the quartermaster with the following: living room, dining room, bedroom, including rugs, draperies, lamps, tables, chairs, davenport, twin beds, chest of drawers, night stands and wardrobes. Kitchens are furnished with gas or electric stoves and refrigerators. These last two items are German made and do not compare with the American made appliances. Most of the homes are furnished with china, glassware and flat silver which there is a small charge for breakage. Only twin beds are furnished with German mattresses. If you like a soft mattress, bring it. Also if you like a double bed, bring it and mattress. Fitted sheets do not fit German beds."
"HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS: These items are in short supply, bring them. Clothes pins, bed linens, pillows, bed spreads, blankets, throw rugs, mirrors, bath and tea towels, knick knacks, electric roasters, broiler, iron and ironing board, all your electrical appliances, sauce pans, all kitchen utensils, oven thermometer, mops, brooms, waste baskets, pressure cooker, etc. These items are not essential but if you have them, bring them. Refrigerator, deep freezer, washing machine, sewing machine, vacuum sweeper, radio, pictures, record player. Record players can be adjusted to play on European electrical current by the phonograph shop in the PX. Since the breakage fee for Quartermaster issued china can be quite high, we advise you to bring your own everyday glasses and dishes. At the present time, wire coat hangers are in short supply. Wooden ones can be bought in the German stores. American appliances, large and small, can be bought in the PX or the ship store."
"UTILITIES: Do not bring along a television set and you better leave your electric clock at home too because the 50-cycle current in Germany causes electric clocks to run slow. Current is either 220 volts D.C. or 220 volts 50 cycle A.C. Most American made appliances can be used over here with a transformer which can be bought at the Post Exchange."
"CLOTHING: A few cotton dresses, silks and light suits for summer. Woolens and correspondingly heavier materials for fall, winter and spring. Bring a full supply of shoes for yourself and family. Also, raincoats for all the family. Handbags for yourself. Leather boots or stadium boots are a must in the winter time. Bring materials if you want to but materials can be purchased here in Germany and dressmakers are fairly reasonable. Ready made German clothes and shoes do not fit American women well."
"CHILDREN'S CLOTHES: There is a limited supply available at the Post Exchange. It is suggested that you bring along shoes, socks, underwear, boots, snow suits, jeans, flannel pajamas, flannel shirts and wet weather gear. Clothes are especially hard to get between the ages of seven and teenage, such as blouses, shoes, pants and boy's jackets."
"FOOD: Most foods available through the Army Commissary. Food can also be bought in the German markets. Prices are about the same as in the states. Fresh milk, eggs and butter come daily from Holland and Denmark and may be purchased at the Commissary and Post Exchange. Milk and dairy products should not be bought on the German market."
"HOUSEKEEPERS: Housekeepers and babysitters can be obtained through the German Civilian Personnel Manager, located with the USNAB Public Works Department. Wages are from $20 to $30 a month depending on the type of job. Be sure you have the latest memo on hiring domestics soon after your arrival." (We had a live-in housekeeper for a year or so. The housekeeper quarters were on the fourth floor of the apartment buildings.)
"EDUCATION: There is a very fine school system for dependents, from kindergarten through high school. Most teachers are accredited instructors from the states. Many language teachers are foreign nationals. The University of Maryland operates evening classes at all major posts in the American Occupation Zone. School buses run a daily schedule and children must have dog tags, which you get over here, for identification in order to ride."
"MISCELLANEOUS: You will need occupation forces license plates for your cars. They can be obtained upon your arrival."
Edna heeded their instructions to bring as much as possible. Fifty-five containers weighing a total of 2,600 pounds were moved from Oakdale Farms to Bremerhaven. Among the items shipped were two bicycles, a tricycle, trumpet, guitar, mandolin and a washing machine.
Several post cards and letters from Edna to her family in Virginia and a daily onboard newsletter chronicled our nine days at sea aborad the USS GEIGER. There was a library, ship's exchange, movie lounge and enclosed promenade deck on the same deck as our Myers family stateroom. There were also 1500 troops on board in addition to the cabin passengers. Children under the age of 12 had to be in their rooms or at the movies from 1:30PM until 3:30PM. There was also a 7:15PM curfew for children under 12.
At midnight on 15 September, we were 404 miles from New York and 2,786 miles from Southampton, England. Some of the headlines of that day - "President Eisenhower announced the resignation from the Atomic Energy Commission of Doctor Henry Smith", "Secretary of State Dulles will fly to Germany and Britain to deal personally with talks on German rearmament" and "The heavyweight championship fight between Rocky Marciano and challenger Ezzard Charles, scheduled for Yankee Stadium tonight, was postponed until Thursday night because of rain".
The USS GEIGER was launched on 9 October 1950 as the cruise ship PRESIDENT ADAMS for the American President Cruise Lines around the world service. The 17,000 ton ship had accommodations for 1556 troops in cargo hold dormitories and 376 cabin passengers. The PRESIDENT ADAMS was transferred to the Navy by the Maritime Administration and renamed the GEIGER on 13 September 1952 for operation in the Atlantic Fleet of the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS). The GEIGER carried a crew of merchant mariners, employed under Civil Service regulations, and a military department of thirty men of the US Navy.
On Monday, 20 September 1954, we were 2,164 miles from New York and 1,026 miles to Southampton, England. The seas got very rough and stayed that way for the next few days as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Hazel. Michael got very seasick as did many other passengers. Dicky and I seemed to be immune. We had a great time sliding on metal chairs across the linoleum floor of the lounge as the ship rolled from side to side. Dicky and I also played a lot of chess. Edna had to stay with Michael and Robin at all times. After they all went to our cabin for the 7:15PM curfew, Dicky and I would roam the ship, ending up in the lounge for late night cokes and sandwiches with the grownups.
On Tuesday, 21 September 1954, we sighted England. We saw the lighthouse at what is called Land's End and the white cliffs of Dover. Most of the passengers were Air Force dependents on their way to bases in England. We docked at Southampton, England, late on 21 September. The next morning, Edna took us all downtown into Southampton where we saw the movie The Caine Mutiny. Afterward, we had strawberry sodas and cake at a local sidewalk cafe. The USS UNITED STATES passenger liner was docked right next to the GEIGER at the Southampton pier. On Thursday morning, 23 September, we left Southampton at 9AM for Bremerhaven. We arrived at Bremerhaven on Friday, 24 September 1954, at 8AM. Russel met us at the pier and a German band played greeting music for all the passengers.
Our six room apartment in Bremerhaven was very nice. All four boys had a bed to themselves. The rent was $97 a month, including utilities. By the end of October 1954, we were pretty well settled in. In a 22 October letter to Margaret, Edna said that Buddy and Dicky had gone to a Bremerhaven American High School football game and that Robin was going to kindergarten "some days". Other days, he decided to run away just as the school bus arrived. On 29 October 1954, Russel bought a 1948 Dodge 4-door sedan for $450 from a Navy Quartermaster Chief getting ready to come back to the states.
In December 1954, Edna received a letter from our next door neighbor in Oakdale Farms, Mrs. Hayden, who said that the 8015 Van Patten Drive house was nearly wrecked by Hurricane Hazel. Half the roofing shingles were blown off, the new storm door was shattered and windows were blown out.
On 1 February 1955, according to a letter from Russel to Nana, Buddy was 5 feet 7 inches tall, Dicky 5 feet 1 inch, Michael 4 feet 8 inches and Robin an even 4 feet.
Bremerhaven had an extremely small American High School. Here is a picture taken in 2001 . The year we arrived there were only four students in the 12th grade graduating class. The Army was the host military service at Bremerhaven because the majority of military personnel assigned to the area were Army. They provided a club for all the local US teenagers called the Hawk's Nest - the Bremerhaven High School sports teams were known as the Blackhawks. The high school kids published a newsletter for all the teenagers called the "Gateway News". Extracts from the 11 February 1955 edition give you an idea of the typical teenage activities of the time.
"On Sunday, December 26, 1954, there was a Christmas party at the Hawk's Nest. The teenagers began to arrive at about 6:20PM. Most of the boys and some of the girls turned toward the pool table...When the refreshments were over with, the teenagers danced nearly all the rest of the evening away...The honor roll for the first semester goes as follows: seventh grade - Berma Savage, Russel Myers and Mary Taylor; eighth grade - Mary Benson, Charles Brown and Warren Gerety; ninth grade - Vici Cartwright, Judy Davis and Julie Starck; tenth grade - Rosemary Hoopert; eleventh grade - Kathy Davis, Paul Dean and Betty Fretz; twelfth grade - Bob Starck...The Bremerhaven Blackhawks will play the undefeated Wuerzburg Wolves tomorrow...The Bremerhaven Blackhawks played the Salzburg Panthers in Salzburg, Austria, on January 28...On January 14, the Bremerhaven Blackhawks traveled to Wiesbaden to play the Warriors."
There were only enough boys in the school to field a six-man football team but the trips were incredible. Apart from the sports trips, we had some pretty nice field trips including one to Berlin, Germany, from 16 to 18 February 1955. We went to Berlin on the train and each of us seventh graders had our own official Army orders printed in both English and Russian. In those years Russia was still occupying what was then East Germany which surrounded Berlin. While in Berlin, we got to travel from the US occupied sector through the Brandenburg Gate to the Russian occupied sector and toured the 1936 Olympic stadium.
On 8 April 1955, the whole family piled into Dad's 1948 Dodge for a four day trip to Holland. We saw the big dikes of Holland that hold back the North Sea, toured Rotterdam and stayed in a family run hotel in Bloemendaal, Holland, called the Hotel Iepenhove. I remember the deep feather mattresses. We also stayed in the Hotel De Grenswissel Kantoren in Amsterdam.
On 16 June 1955, Russel drove us all to Kaiserslautern, Germany, for a 10 day visit with Uncle Jesse, Aunt June and their girls . We were about 140 miles north of Kaiserlautern on the way home when Jesse made a low pass over the car in a US Air Force jet. The "buzz" over the Autobahn (the German equivalent of an Interstate highway) delighted us but scared the heck out of the Germans on the road.
Dicky and I were members of Bremerhaven Boy Scout Troop 16. He and I both made it up to the rank of Second Class Scout before we lost interest. On 14 July 1955, Dicky and I went off to a two week international Boy Scout jamboree (the Transatlantic Council's Camp Freedom) at Fuessen, Germany. We had a great time at this Army supported campsite around a very deep lake that was used for German submarine training a few years earlier. We got to hike the 15 or so miles to one of King Ludwig's old castles and also got to hike up the third highest mountain in Germany. The three mile climb took us about three hours.
Dicky and I were both involved in all types of sports activities. In September 1955, I hit the only home run in a 15 to 3 win by the Braves over the Pirates for the Bremerhaven Little League championship. I still have the trophy. In January 1956, I was a forward on the Bremerhaven High School Junior Varsity basketball team. The next two years, Dicky was also a very active baseball and basketball player. According to a 31 January 1956 letter from me to Aunt Margaret, I was 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. Dicky was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 100 pounds.
On 20 February 1956, we moved from our apartment 10 in the "Marine Barracks" American housing section to a new apartment in the Lehe Bahnhoff (next to the Lehe train station) American housing section. Our new address was 19 Im Engenmoor Street, apartment 3 . Here is a picture from 1957 and a picture of the same buildings taken in 2001 . In the apartment building just behind us at 17 Im Engenmoor Street, apartment 3, lived Air Force Lieutenant Frederick C. Meier. About 25 years later, from 1980 to 1983, the same Frederick C. Meier (Colonel USAF) was my boss at the Atlantic Command in Norfolk, Virginia. It is truly a small world.
On 13 June 1956, Bremerhaven High School held its graduating ceremonies at the officer's club. There were seven graduating seniors and 24 of us graduating from eighth grade to ninth. Valedictorian of this senior class was Elizabeth Fritz. Her younger sister was Felicia Fritz, a sophomore. Thirty-five years later, in the early 1990s Felicia was a Navy civil servant at the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) in Suitland, Maryland, and served for a brief time as Program Manager (PM) for the Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System (JDISS), a military computer system that I developed in 1989. I told you it is a small world.
On 10 August 1956, Russel and Edna had their fifth child. The long awaited girl, Susan Rae Myers , was born at the local Bremerhaven Army Hospital. Russel was 33 years old and Edna was 44.
On Thursday, 13 September 1956, Russel became a Mason receiving his "Entered Apprentice" degree from the North Sea Armed Forces Lodge Number 824, at the Masonic Temple at 147 Lange Street in Bremerhaven and joined Sojourner's Chapter 281. The Sojourners are Master Masons who are also military officers. Dicky and I both followed in his Masonic footsteps becoming Master Masons in the early 1990s. I received my Entered Apprentice degree on 28 May 1991, at Kempsville Lodge 196 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and became a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason on 11 November 1992. On 21 October 1992 I joined Cape Henry Chapter 424 of the Sojourners.
In his 11 October 1956 medical examination, Russel was listed as weighing 205 pounds and 5 feet 10 inches tall. The "diagnosis" section said that he was "forty eight pounds over standard weight" and had "mild essential hypertension".
Jimmie Robinson and I were the only ninth graders to play on the 1956-1957 "varsity" football team. It wasn't unusual to have ninth graders on the team given the size of the total high school. There were only 15 players on the total roster. Our coach was Mr. Earl Seago. I wore number 11 and played left end. On Friday, 5 October 1956, we played the Wuerzburg Germany Wolves at 2PM in Wuerzburg. It was a great experience when we played these "away" games. All the team, and the cheerleaders, were let out of school for 3-4 days and took the train to the opposing team's city. Unfortunately, I only got to play in about three games before badly breaking my right wrist. On 15 October 1956, I was running an "end around" play during practice when our 200 pound senior running back, Glen Wilhelm, tackled me. Glen and I both landed on my wrist. It resulted in a compound fracture of both bones and I was in the hospital for about seven days. I wore a cast for three months afterwards. My football days were over.
In February 1956, the Hawk's Nest teenage club elected me to be the host on a Saturday morning radio show on the local Armed Forces Network (AFN) station. An article in the Friday, 22 March 1957 local Army paper carried a picture of me and my co-host, Joyce Durham, with the following caption, "Joyce Ann Durham and Russ Myers are featured on AFN's popular 'Teenage Turntable' which spins the day's top pop tunes for Bremerhaven's younger set." The article goes on to say, "Like the dew covers Dixie so do Bremerhaven teenagers hover over their radios for the Teenage Turntable every Saturday morning from 0830 to 0900 over AFN. Featuring mostly the rock and roll and calypso styles of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Harry Belafonte and Bill Doggett, the show is emceed by an elected pair from the Teenage Club, Joyce Ann Durham and Russ Myers. Joyce and Russ are 'old pros' at disc jockeying the show. She started last June and he started about five months before that. Both, however, will be leaving after the first of April because their families are being transferred to other stations. Joyce's father, Lt. CDR J.E. Durham, is being sent to Naples, Italy, and Russ's father, CWO R.E. Myers, is rotating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two juniors, Lucy Davis and Ed Marando, have been selected by the Teenage Club to take their places. In between spinning the platters, Joyce and Russ throw in the latest information on the high school and sometimes have guest appearances by teenagers from other schools who are in Bremerhaven for sports contests or other events. They also handle radio controls for their program. During the week, both are very busy with extra curricular activities around the school. Joyce is Secretary of the Student Council, business manager of the annual staff, grade reporter for the school newspaper and was a Sunday School teacher at the Navy Chapel before it closed. Russ is vice-president of the Student Council, president of the Science Club, football player and also a Sunday School teacher at the Navy Chapel."
I taught Sunday School from 1 July 1956 until 1 March 1957 and on Thursday, 21 March 1957, even played a Catholic priest, Father Daly, in our Freshman class play, "The Valiant". Five years later I converted to the Roman Catholic religion to marry my wife Mary Ann Stoner .
On 6 February 1957, CWO2 Russel E. Myers received orders which read as follows, "When directed by your commanding officer in April 1957 you will regard yourself detached from duty at the Naval Advanced Base, Bremerhaven, Germany, and from such other duties as may have been assigned you; will proceed to a port in the United States and upon arrival further proceed to Philadelphia, Penn., and report to the Commander, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for duty."
On 16 April 1957, we left Bremerhaven on the luxury liner USS AMERICA, sister ship to the USS UNITED STATES which we had seen in 1954 in Southampton on our way to Germany. We had cabins B101 and B103 and this time Russel was with us. It was a wonderful trip. I have a picture of us taken in the dining room with each of us boys in a coat and tie and Susan in a high chair with a bow in her hair. The AMERICA was 723 feet long, had 11 decks, 1,046 total passenger beds, a crew of 690 and, like the UNITED STATES, was built at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.
Because the 1956-1957 school year was not over, Dicky and I stayed with Aunt Margaret and Edna, Michael, Robin and Susan stayed with Uncle Dick and Aunt Charlotte while Russel went on to find us a house in Pennsylvania. I finished out the ninth grade at Maury High School.
In March 1958, Russel and Edna received a letter from one of their friends in Bremerhaven. It read, "I certainly hope you are all fit and well after your 'breaking habit' (referring to broken arms). Susan I expect is still the idol of the family. I expect the boys will have grown beyond recognition. The Teenage Club is still jiving along and having its problems. Tell your boys they were angels in comparison to the things that are happening today."
In June 1957, we moved into a rented house Russel had found at 539 Tasker Avenue in Norwood, Pennsylvania. Norwood is about half way between Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the Chester Pike highway. Norwood is one of several small townships that are suburban Philadelphia. It was in Norwood that Edna entered Susan in a fourth of July baby beauty contest. Dicky and I both joined softball teams. My right wrist that I broke in 1956 had not healed correctly so in late July 1957 I had corrective surgery at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. Russel Sr. filled in for me on the community softball team and ended up breaking his wrist so for the month of August 1957 and half of September 1957, both of us had casts on our arms. As mentioned in Chapter 3, Nana stayed with us in Norwood from 10 to 19 August, 1957, and from early December 1957 until 9 January 1958.
I received a letter from Nana on 20 October 1957. She asked how everyone was and said she was going down to visit Louise soon. She said, "I guess Susan is walking everywhere by now, leads you all on a chase I bet. Surely would like to see her. She is such a dear. How is Dad's arm? I hope it is okay and I know he was happy to get that cast off...please write real soon and let me know how everyone is. I enjoyed it so much up there with you all. I am coming back again too."
On 2 February 1958, after spending Christmas and New Years with us Nana wrote, "...Hope you all have kept well. Did your Dad ever find a cheaper house?...I enjoyed it so much with you boys and Susie as well as with Mom and Dad...My ride home from up there was real nice. I could see all the towns as we passed over. It looked like a fairy land below. The plane flew low all the way and it was a clear night. Louise met me with her dog. We were late getting in. Just crowds of people travelling..."
We moved to 509 9th Avenue, Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, in the Summer of 1958. Prospect Park was another little township almost directly across Chester Pike from Norwood. Dicky and I went to Interboro High School in Glenolden, Pennsylvania. I finished 11th grade there and Dicky finished 9th grade there. In May 1958 I began working part-time at Torelli's Men's Wear store at 509 Chester Pike, in a small shopping strip within a block of our house. In June 1959, we moved back to Virginia.
Russel was again assigned to a ship, the USS CAMBRIA (APA-36) homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. On 5 June 1959 they bought a house in the Sherwood Forest section of Aragona Village, a new suburban housing development in what was then Princess Anne County. Princess Anne County became the city of Virginia Beach in 1962. They bought the house at 520 Jacqueline Avenue for $13,750. They bought the "Nottingham" model, a Cape Cod style with two bedrooms and a bath downstairs, two bedrooms and a bath upstairs and a garage.
Dicky and I both went to Princess Anne High School. I graduated in 1960 and Dicky graduated in 1962. I began college at what was then the College of William and Mary in Norfolk (now Old Dominion University). One of Dicky's good friends in Princess Anne High School was Robert Stoner . One day I was with Dicky at Robert's house and he showed me a picture of his sister, Mary Ann, who he said would be moving to Virginia right after she graduated from high school in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since she was very pretty, I told him that I would be very interested in meeting her when she arrived. Mary Ann's father was a Navy civil servant who had been transferred from Corpus Christi to Norfolk in 1959. Mary Ann stayed behind, living with her grandmother Stoner, until she finished high school. Mary Ann's mother called me in August 1960 to ask if I would help get Mary Ann enrolled at William and Mary in Norfolk. I helped her, we began carpooling and one thing led to another. I left home in September 1961, joined the Air Force and Mary Ann and I got married in August 1962. Dicky joined the Navy in 1962 and moved to California.
Michael , Robin and Susan knew Aragona Village as "home" much more than Dicky and I. They grew up there. When we moved to Aragona Village in 1959, Michael was 12 years old, Robin was 9 and Susan was 2. Russel was promoted to Chief Machinist Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3) on 1 August 1959. On 24 March 1961 Russel was reassigned from the USS CAMBRIA to the USS CADMUS (AR-14) also homeported in Norfolk.
In June 1963 Russel received orders to become Engineering Officer for Mobile Support Unit Three in Sasebo, Japan, where he would be promoted to CWO4 effective 1 August 1963. They rented the house at 820 Jacqueline and began the trip to Japan on 12 August 1963. I was stationed in Peshawar, Pakistan, at the time but during the drive from Norfolk to San Francisco, they stopped by to see three week old Mark Barrett Myers get baptized in Corpus Christi where Mary Ann was staying with her mother and father. They also told Mary Ann the sad news that Sarah Diana Barlow, our "Nana", had died of pneumonia on 17 July 1963. They didn't want to upset her before Mark was born. Nana was living with Russel and Edna in Aragona Village when she died. She was 80 years old.
Michael recalls that just prior to her death, Nana spent a lot of time in her downstairs bedroom. He remembers his last conversation with her. I knocked on her door. "Nana, its me, Michael, can I come in?". She told me to come in and we spoke for a short while. I asked, "How are you feeling Nana?". She responded, "Oh, I'm doing okay. How are you doing Michael?". I responded, "I'm okay, I guess.". Nana knew I was an "active" kid and that sometimes people had a tendency to come down a little hard on me so I think she wanted to give me some self assurance. It was just like Nana to be worried about someone else while she was on her death bed. I will never forget her telling me, "Don't you worry Michael. You are going to be a special person someday, maybe a preacher.". Michael was 16 years old.
Michael also recalls that after Nana's passing, there was a void around our home. "I don't remember much about my mother's sadness. I think she must have spent a lot of time with her sisters and her brother for support. I was too busy living my own life to have noticed anything that didn't have a personal effect on me. I was probably worried about my girlfriend or some other trivial matter and wasn't really aware of anything else."
Russel, Edna, Michael, Robin and Susan took their time visiting during the cross country car ride, arriving in San Francisco on 10 September 1963. They stayed in Government quarters at Fort Mason, California, until their departure from San Francisco at 0800PM on 12 September aboard a Navy MSTS ship similar to the USS GEIGER that we took to Germany.
The three years in Japan were a unique experience as you will see from the following accounting of those years by Michael, Robin and Susan.
(Robin) Buddy probably remembers me sneaking into his room at Aragona Village and playing his recordings of Miles Davis, Peter Paul & Mary, Bill Haley and Stan Kenton. These were some of my roots in the music that became a large part of my life. I used to sneak out Michael's snare drum and beat a mean marching beat. Dicky was always popping his fingers to something and it was usually on my head. Dad had his reel-to-reel Webcor tape recorder at full volume playing Lawrence Welk, Glen Miller or the music from the show Oklahoma and dancing up a storm with Mom.
(Robin) I remember arriving in Japan on a misty day - not unlike the block prints you see of misty Japanese mountains and pagodas. As soon as we arrived in Japan, Mom had to use the restroom. I pointed toward two doors marked "women and men". She went into the women's door only to discover that both doors led to the same bathroom. While on the train from the Yokosuka, where our ship arrived, to Sasebo I ordered what I thought would be the only American meal, a hamburger. I got a hamburger with an egg on it.
(Robin) On our way from the ship, Michael and I saw an old Japanese woman squatting in a "benjo ditch" (outdoor toilet) waving to us. I never thought I would get used to some of the Japanese customs but before we left Japan, I would be eating curried rice with ginger, pickled beets and sushi at roadside stands - and waving back to the folks at the "benjo ditch".
(Robin) While waiting for housing, we stayed at the Officer's Club at Sasebo which had been taken over by the Americans after World War II. It had been used by the Japanese to plan the attack on Pearl Harbor. Dad's 1958 Chevrolet, which we drove from Norfolk to California, was like a limousine to the Japanese. We were treated like celebrities with our little blonde Susie, two tall boys and the '58 limo. We moved to a completely Japanese neighborhood in the hills away from the base. Our house had tatami mats and sliding doors - just like in the old movies. For the first few days, if we wanted to bathe, it was at the community bath house or the Officer's Club on base. The neighbors were very nice but Mom never adjusted to people going to the bathroom with the door open which was Japanese custom.
Susan also remembers much of the three years in Japan. She was eight years old when they got there. She remembers that the ship stopped in Hawaii for a short period of time on the way to Japan. Edna and Susan went shopping together and she remembers the traditional Hawaiian greeting with leis for both of them. Susan says the first house they lived in was classical Japanese with a small kitchen, living room and two bedrooms upstairs without doors. Edna did a lot of Red Cross volunteer work in Japan so most of the time they had a maid. They were only in this house for a short while until they got Navy housing. Susan shared a bedroom with Michael and Robin. She remembers that this part of Japan had very large spiders and she recalls one incident where Edna found a spider on the stairs that shook up the whole family. Susan has never liked spiders since.
(Robin) This was 1963 Japan when there were 360 yen to a dollar. By the time you read this, Japan will probably own the dollar. (Actually here in 1996 the exchange rate is a little over 100 yen to the dollar).
(Robin) Mom indulged in raw silk, black pearls, music boxes and I even made her a geisha doll. Dad got to gamble legally and a whole lot of bowling was going on. The tub in our house was Japanese style, 4' by 4' round and 5 feet deep. We heated the house using a kerosene heater. I had to walk a couple of miles every day on a very narrow trail to catch the school bus. Some of the Japanese children that I met were still a little prejudiced toward Americans but most were very nice. Sasebo is located just over the mountain from Nagasaki where we dropped one of the two atomic bombs in World War II.
(Robin) The school that Michael and I went to only had about 90 students. The teachers made us work hard and we didn't get away with much. I passed Algebra I and Algebra II in the same year. Michael wasn't doing so well.
(Michael) As an adolescent, I had a carefree existence. I was living the good life in Sasebo, Japan, another of my father's duty stations. Being a teenager in Japan was a wonderful experience. The Japanese ladies were beautiful and at my age (16) the barriers were few in experiencing what a young man experiences when growing into manhood. There were only a handful of teenaged American boys in Sasebo. Robin and I were in a privileged minority.
(Michael) The high school in Sasebo was just the upper floor of one building and that included the gymnasium. The entire American school only had a little more than a hundred students and the graduating class was only five or six students. One building was pretty confining but we were close enough to town that even a simple thing like lunch would become an event. But there were other times that we were restricted to the building. That occurred when the Japanese would hold mass demonstrations in Sasebo against an incoming US warship. It was really frightening to see hundreds of people snaking down a street with a dragon over their heads. The Marine guards would close the gates of the US compound and we would watch from the second floor as helmeted demonstrators would charge against the gate. The Japanese police would eventually show up to prevent what could have been a much uglier incident. The demonstrators were usually from out of town, paid to be there by Japanese communists. Located on the southern most island of Kyushu, Sasebo was a small friendly city not accustomed to dissention on such a large scale. It was the old Japan. It was the peaceful and beautiful Japan that you see in magazines.
(Michael) Many times my brother and I would join the other officer's kids at the Officer's Club for lunch. The Officer's Club was pretty convenient since it was just down the street from the school. The club had a pool, tennis courts and usually an orchestra playing music in the dining room. It was a great place for a high schooler to have his lunch. We could also sign the bill, in our father's name, thus leaving the lunch money for the slot machines.
(Michael) My girlfriend (Christe Lynn Richardson) was also a Navy dependent living in Sasebo. It was an all-American story. She was the pretty red haired cheerleader. I was the popular ball player. We met at one of the high school dances and became an item. Love soon blossomed and before we knew it, we had discovered that responsibility was not something to be taken lightly. When she became ill and we found out she was pregnant, my youthful world of fun came to a stop. Although we were only 17 years old, we made the decision to be married for the sake of our child. I wanted to be a good father for my baby.
(Michael) The difficult part was informing our parents about the pregnancy. My father, having learned of my impending state of fatherhood, sketched out for me in detail how I could join the Navy and work my way up through the ranks as he had done. I decided on the Army because of my tendency toward seasickness. Having received my parents' consent to be married and to join the Army, it was now time for my dreaded departure from the security of home. Our parents had decided that it would be best if I travelled back to the States with her family. Her father's tour of duty in Japan was finished and he was going back to Phoenix, Arizona. I would join the Army in Phoenix and Chris would stay there to have the baby.
(Michael) My older brother Dicky's ship, the USS BON HOMME RICHARD, happened to be in Sasebo at the time so his presence was a help in comforting Mom and Dad who were having a tough time with the whole ordeal. It was a dark and foggy night when we set sail from the dock at Sasebo. I was yelling to my brothers, my little sister and my parents as we pulled out to sea. At first, I remained brave but as the ship pulled further from the pier, reality began to sink in. Even though Mom had promised a return trip if I needed it, I knew that I would have to stand on my own two feet from then on. As the last voices called "goodbye Michael", I began to cry.
Dicky graduated from Princess Anne High School in June 1962 and immediately joined the Navy. He went to eight weeks of basic training at the Great Lakes Navy Training Center near Chicago, Illinois. Immediately after basic training he attended two technical schools (known as "A" schools in the Navy) - Electronics Technician and Interior Communications Electrician. He was in Great Lakes a total of 13 months before being assigned to the aircraft carrier USS BON HOMME RICHARD which was homeported in San Diego, California. For the next two years Dicky spent 20 months at sea on patrols off of Viet Nam. He was able to see the family in Sasebo in 1964 and again in Yokohama in 1965. He remembers seeing Michael leave home.
(Michael) Chris and I were married by a justice of the peace on 29 September 1964. The next day I enlisted in the US Army. My daughter Sondra Kelly was born on 1 February 1965 in Phoenix. I didn't get to see much of my "new" family as I was stationed at a Nike-Hercules missile battalion in Alaska from 1964 until 1966. I was rapidly promoted in the Army, moving to E5 in two years and then in 1966 was selected to attend Officer's Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning, Georgia. We would finally be a real family - the only thing that stood in the way was a little war heating up in a place called Viet Nam. After OCS I was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on 1 June 1967. My first duty assignment was at Fort Bliss, Texas, where Chris joined me. While in OCS, my little family had grown to four with the birth of my first son, Michael Stephen Jr ., born 5 April 1967.
(Michael) We had a good life for a short period of time in Fort Bliss. Our battalion would hold formal balls in the old cavalry tradition. It was all very impressive with all officers attired in their dress blue cavalry uniforms accompanied by their pretty ladies. My commanding officer used to refer to Chris as "our little infantry girl" because we were both so gung ho on the Army infantry. The more my family grew and the closer we got, the more I wanted to avoid Viet Nam. I even requested an assignment to Korea. Three months later, I received orders for Viet Nam.
Having just turned 21 years old, Michael was sent off to Viet Nam for over a year to lead other men into battle as a First Lieutenant platoon leader. When he returned from the war in 1968, Michael and Chris used to make trips to see me and Mary Ann in Laurel, Maryland. Michael told us some horrible stories about his experiences in Viet Nam. I don't think he was ever the same afterward. Michael and Chris had one more child, Jonathan Paul Myers , born 14 June 1969. About five years later their marriage would come to an end, perhaps another "victim" of that terrible war. Michael spent the next several years managing and even owning health spas in Virginia Beach and then the Los Angeles, California area. He has lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for over ten years now with long time companion Pat.
In September 1964, Mobile Support Unit 3 in Sasebo was disbanded and Russel was reassigned to the Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) in Kamiseya, Japan, as Maintenance and Utilities Officer. Russel moved the family from Sasebo to 645 Nigishi Heights, Yokohama, Japan. Kamiseya was the home to one of the National Security Agency's largest Navy Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) operations. Russel was very distraught over an incident where several Navy personnel were killed in a fire at the facility in Kamiseya. He believed that firemen were not given access to the facility in time to save the lives because of unreasonable physical security measures. He used to tell me that the Navy Security Group (NSG) was not the "real" Navy and he never wanted anything more to do with it.
(Robin) We moved to a very nice house on top of a huge hill with a great view. It was at the end of an American housing area and very close to a Buddhist cemetery. We occasionally would hear parades of chanting Buddhists playing gongs and wood blocks in the middle of the night. It seemed eerie to Mom but I enjoyed the ambiance. The neighborhood also was the scene of occasional communist rallies. The American and Japanese police would arrive in force and set up machine guns to protect us from the poor Japanese farmers who usually had no idea why they were there.
(Robin) I remember Dicky getting leave from his ship one time (Summer 1965) and trying to hit on our maid, Chizuko, but I walked in and spoiled his fun. I believe Buddy was in Pakistan and Michael was in Army OCS somewhere in Georgia. We ate at the Officer's Club often. While in Japan Dad took me to see Lionel Hampton and even took me up after the show and introduced me to him. Its not that Dad knew Lionel Hampton, he just knew that I would enjoy meeting him because of my love for the drums. I was impressed with Dad as I think he was with me.
(Robin) Even though I was always interested in playing drums, I had started my music "career" playing a guitar in Sasebo. When we moved to Yokohama, I met a life-long friend, Ric Borders, who knew a little about drums but really wanted to play guitar. I taught him some guitar chords and he taught me a simple drum beat. We thought we were really musicians until Ron Blair showed up. He had taken three years of guitar lessons and owned a Gibson. We were impressed. I convinced another school friend, Allen Tilly, to get some keyboards and we had another friend who wanted to play bass. We let him become a member of the group as much for his car as his bass playing. Our first gig was the Hotel Mount Fuji. Ron is still a good friend who has since played bass with the Allman Brothers Band and the first six albums with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He now owns a bikini shop in California.
(Robin) When we first started playing together, Dad would actually let us practice in the front room even though we were a far cry from Lawrence Welk. He was sure it was only a fad that I would grow out of. I still haven't grown out of my love for music. Mom used to sew my clothes Beatles-style and Dad would say I looked like a girl. I did get kicked out of school for long hair (more than 3 inches from the top of my head) but I was making A's and B's at the time. To my surprise, even though Dad didn't condone my long hair, he did succeed in getting me back in school. We played all over Japan. We made a great deal of money for our age and became somewhat famous. We had a manager and a truck to haul all our equipment.
(Robin) I actually met the mother of my first child, Lynn Belligio (nickname Misty), in Japan. One time while walking her home from school, we watched her house burn to the ground. Mom and Dad invited her family to stay with us but they declined. Lynn and her family went back to the states and I thought I would never see her again although we kept writing.
In March 1965 Russel completed an "Officer Preference" card listing his desired tours of duty as Little Creek Amphibious Base, Oceana Navy Base or Navy Base Norfolk. He only requested "shore duty" and in the remarks box added, "In view of my completion of thirty years service soon, would appreciate all consideration of my preference." On 6 June 1966 Russel received orders to return to Norfolk but with duty on the Fleet repair ship USS VULCAN (AR-5). Russel, Edna, Robin and Susan left Kamiseya on 21 August 1966 for a military transport flight from Yokota, Japan, to Travis Air Force Base, California. From there they took a military bus to San Francisco where they caught a plane to Norfolk. They arrived in Norfolk at about 2 in the morning on 22 August 1966.
They had renters still in their home in Aragona Village so they rented a townhouse in Norfolk at 5392 Kingswell Drive in the Crown Point apartment complex. Approximately 500 townhouses were constructed in the mid-1960s primarily for use by military personnel. A four bedroom townhouse rented for $130 a month. Edna was not in a hurry to move back to Aragona Village so they ended up living at Crown Point about two years. It was a nice new neighborhood and June and Jesse lived right down the street. Susan remembers playing with Jo Anne and J.C. (Jesse Charles Sandlin) and walking with them to school.
Russel reported for duty on the USS VULCAN at 0600 hours on 15 September 1966. The USS VULCAN would be Russel's last assignment in the Navy. I have no letters for the period September 1966 until Russel's retirement in May 1968 so I assume the VULCAN spent most of its time in port. The USS VULCAN was commissioned on 16 June 1941.
I joined the Air Force in September 1961 because Mary Ann's father had been reassigned back to Corpus Christi, Texas. He was a civil service helicopter repair supervisor stationed at the Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) on the Naval Air Station in Norfolk. I knew that the Air Force basic training would be in San Antonio, Texas, where I would be close to Mary Ann for at least a few months. After eight weeks of basic training, I was sent to Syracuse University for Russian language training - a "total immersion" course where we received eight hours of instruction per day, five days a week, for nine months. After Syracuse, I was reassigned to Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, for Voice Intercept Processing Specialist school. Mary Ann and I were married on 29 August 1962 in Corpus Christi.
In February 1963, I was sent to Peshawar, Pakistan, for a fifteen month unaccompanied tour of duty. Mary Ann, pregnant with our first child Mark, stayed with my parents in Virginia Beach for two months and then she moved back to Corpus Christi. Mark Barrett Myers , the first grandchild of Russel and Edna, was born 26 July 1963. When I returned in May 1964, Mark was nearly ten months old. We moved to Laurel, MD, where I had been assigned to the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade, Maryland. I finished up my Air Force four years at NSA and in September 1965 joined NSA civil service. Mary Ann actually started at NSA as a civilian before I did. She received a lot of very unusual training before becoming a Russian code breaker. In May 1966, we bought our first house in the Maryland City subdivision of Laurel, Maryland. Mary Ann left NSA after a few years to continue our family growth. Our daughter Leslie Jeanne Myers was born 25 February 1967, our son Brian Russel Myers was born 10 March 1968 and our son Matthew Tipton Myers was born 8 March 1971. By the Spring of 1971 our three bedroom house had gotten a little crowded.
In September 1966 Dicky got out of the Navy and went home to Virginia to see his family. He stayed for two weeks and then returned to California. He worked for six months at an El Taco restaurant in Long Beach owned by the sons of Bing Crosby and then for another six months at Broadway Metals and Fabricators in Gardenia, California. In September 1967 Uncle Ivan Myers helped him get a job at the Texaco Oil Refinery where he worked for the next seven years. He met his first wife Terry in 1965 and in 1967 they bought a house in the 1200 block of Aristocrat Avenue in Garden Grove, California. They had daughter Deandra Joy Myers on 5 May 1968.
In March 1967 Russel began having medical problems which plagued him for the rest of his life. While in Japan he had been diagnosed as having high blood pressure (hypertension) and was put on blood pressure medication. On 6 March 1967 he was admitted to the Portsmouth, Virginia, Navy Hospital for a "right inguinal herniorrhaphy" - an operation to repair a hernia in his right groin area. He did not return to duty until 14 April 1967. He was also on medical leave from 28 November until 15 December 1967. He had to go to the Portsmouth Navy Hospital emergency room three times during that period for "severe epigastric pain" - pain in the upper central region of the abdomen. The doctor's report said it was "brought on by foods with high fat content". Dad did love spicy foods. On 15 January 1968 the spicy foods caught up with him. He was admitted to Portsmouth Navy Hospital and on 16 January underwent a "cholecystectomy for cholecystitis" - removal of the gallbladder due to severe inflammation. During that hospital stay he was also diagnosed with "peptic ulcer disease". He didn't return to work until 4 March 1968. During his hospital stay several medical tests were run. The report says all were normal including an EKG but his blood pressure was listed as 130 over 100.
In March 1968, Russel, Edna, Robin and Susan moved backed to their house at 520 Jacqueline Avenue in Virginia Beach, Virginia. On 1 May 1968 Russel retired from the Navy after over 30 years of service. On 28 May 1968 Russel went to work as maintenance supervisor for Norfolk Academy, a private high school in Norfolk, Virginia. His salary was $5,600 a year.
As he did throughout his life, Russel worked hard at his new job. A Norfolk Academy newspaper article of 20 December 1968 titled "Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds Proves to Be a Valuable Asset" described him as follows. "In this world of overactive heating units, underactive air conditioners, doors on the defensive and desks with their own peculiar written histories, we have been saved from sure disaster by our new maintenance chief. NA wasn't built in a day, but again and again fielding off these inequities is our man of a thousand trades. He fights his own little wars with the tools of the profession and though we seldom know it, we have much to be thankful for. Everyone knows that the school itself isn't as bad as we like to make it out to be but one reason that it runs so smoothly is the efficient and wisely operated machinery. Doors don't stitch like they used to, water doesn't leak quite as fast and the heating units in the buildings aren't half as inefficient as they used to be. In fact nothing breaks quite right anymore. Thank you Mr. Myers."
On 27 November 1972, the Veteran's Administration reviewed Russel's service record and decided that he was eligible for additional retirement pay based on a 10% disability granted for "hypertensive vascular disease" which raised his retirement pay by $28 a month. He enjoyed his job at Norfolk Academy and the school grew to depend on his expertise developed over 30 years in the Navy as a Machinist. In April 1976 his salary was $10,812 a year.
Robin graduated from Princess Anne High School in June 1969. He worked for the City of Norfolk Public Works Department for a short period of time cleaning sewers. Susan said he used to smell pretty bad when he would come home from work. His greater calling was his music so in a few months he left Virginia for the more fertile music territory of Greenwich Village, New York. He had been playing drums with a group called Group Nine at Virginia Beach for about a year but the band broke up. Ric Borders who had been in a band with Robin in Japan called Robin the night before he was scheduled to leave for New York. As luck would have it, Ric was living in New York and asked Robin to come on up so they could start a band again. Alan Tilly, their keyboardist from Japan, joined them in New York and they added a local bassist. They played a lot of clubs in Greenwich Village and on the East Side of Manhattan.
Ric and his wife Aeros had a baby girl about this time even though the group was struggling to make ends meet. When the baby was only a month old she died. That same night Robin and the group went to their club to play only to find that their instruments had all been stolen. It was too much for Robin so he headed back home to Virginia to work and buy a new set of drums. It wasn't too long before the call of music took him back out on the road, this time to San Francisco. Ric and Alan had moved to San Francisco so they rented an apartment together with Ric's wife Aeros and another musician Gary Hayes in the "hippie" section.
Robin found out that his old girlfriend Misty from Japan had settled in San Diego. He called her and within days she joined him in San Francisco. Robin and his band were playing all over the San Francisco area and were gaining quite a following. In those days Robin's band was the opening act for such famous performers as Jeff Beck, Billy Preston, the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, Santana and Jefferson Airplane. Dicky recalls seeing Robin's band play at a packed Cow Palace in 1969. Meanwhile Misty got pregnant and on 16 August 1969 they had their beautiful daughter Onzra Myers . Little Onzra and her mother frequently accompanied the band to their gigs.
In the early 1970s Robin and the group moved to Los Angeles to try to hit the big time. They met Nick St. Nicklaus, member of the popular group Steppenwolf who saw potential and took them under his wing. Before long they had moved in with Nick at his huge house in Laurel Canyon and were partying with the famous in the music industry. They finally seemed to hit the jackpot when they were offered a $250,000 record contract but before signing, representatives from Atlantic record company wanted to hear the group live. Unfortunately, Ric (who now called himself Ibycus) had really gotten into drugs and their performance at the Club Whiskey was a bomb. In 1973 the band drifted apart and Misty left Robin for greener pastures. Robin now had his hands full with no band and a single parent of a four year old daughter.
Robin struggled for several years, working odd jobs during the day to pay the rent and playing drums at night. Early in 1977 he met Lorette Anette Wiese (nickname Lolly). She helped him out with Onzra and they became very close. On 6 November 1977 they had a son, Keith Morgan Myers. Keith, like Onzra, was a very cute and happy baby. Around 1980, Lolly went on a picnic in the mountains with her brother Gary and Keith but got lost trying to find the car when a misty rain and fog enveloped the area. They ended up being lost in the mountains for three days and four nights in 20 degree weather. Their ordeal was on the local television stations almost continuously. Miraculously, they survived and were found as a result of a massive search effort.
Robin began to play country and western music and reggae to make a living. Lolly apparently wasn't fond of that type of music because she left Robin, moving with Keith to the small town of Ojai, California. Robin says he stayed in "10,000 Holiday Inns" during those days traveling from New Mexico to Alaska. He is now living in Sierra Vista, California, and happily married to a Los Angeles attorney, Susan Adams Baldwin. They were married on 14 September 1991 and have a beautiful son Edwin Gray born 28 September 1994.
Robin returned home to Virginia only briefly when his Mom died in 1978 and his Dad died in 1980.
After 11 years in California, Dicky and Terry separated and Dicky returned to Virginia in May 1973. Their daughter Deandra stayed in California with Terry. Dicky went to work at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. In June 1975 he left the shipyard to work as a service station manager, beer distributor and audio/visual aide at a local community college before returning to the shipyard for good in June 1977. On 4 August 1978 he married Barbara Helen Sammon and settled down in Chesapeake, Virginia.
In 1973 Susan was 16 and had just bought her first car, a 1965 Chevrolet Nova. It lasted for about a month until the motor burned up. She went to Princess Anne High School and worked part time first at a telemarketing company and then as a receptionist for a home improvement company. In 1974 during her senior year in high school, she was thrown from a horse and then came down with mononucleosis so she missed three months of school, graduating in August 1974. Early in 1975 she went to work for the Southeastern Virginia Training Center for the mentally handicapped.
It was at Southeastern that she met her future husband, Frank James Wolfe. They were married on 14 May 1977 and moved to Black Mountain, North Carolina. They lived in a rented house on Montreat Road right down the street from the famous evangelist, Reverend Billy Graham. Sarah Leigh Wolfe , their first child, was born 24 April 1978 in Ashville, North Carolina, about 20 miles from Black Mountain. Three weeks later Susan's father would be dead without ever seeing Susan's children. James, Susan and Sarah came back to Virginia for Russel's funeral. Susan and Sarah stayed a few weeks to console Edna while James went back to Black Mountain. James returned to take Susan and Sarah back to Black Mountain but they only remained there a few more months. In the Fall of 1978, Susan and James moved back to Virginia Beach. they stayed with Edna for a while and James' parents for a while before settling into an apartment in the Indian River Garden Apartments in early 1979. Susan went back to work at Southeastern. They bought a house in Chesapeake, Virginia, in October 1980 just a month before Edna's death. On 29 November 1981 their son Jeremy Christian was born. James and Susan's marriage ended in 1989. Susan is now married to a loving husband Mike Bell and still at the house in Chesapeake. Mom and Dad would be proud of her and her children. Sarah Leigh just started college at Radford University.
On 17 August 1974 Russel and Edna sold the house in Aragona Village to Mr. Roger D. Tennyson for $29,027. On 13 June 1974 they had signed a contract for a house at 3521 Sale Drive in Elizabeth River Shores, Virginia Beach, directly across the street from their daughter Betty. They paid $42,000 for the brick house that had three bedrooms and two baths. Their monthly payment was $260 based on a $28,000 mortgage. They were able to put $14,000 down as a result of the sale of the Aragona Village house. Russel and Edna loved their new house and neighborhood but would only be alive to enjoy it for four and six years, respectively. As executor of Edna's estate, I sold the house for $63,000 in July 1981 to James and Kathleen Kendrick. We all had many happy times there during those last few years.
In 1967, Betty and her husband Vernon adopted daughter Cheri Anne Dewberry , born 18 July 1967. Cheri was immediately, and forever after, embraced as a member of the expanding Myers family.
In February 1978 I applied for a National Security Agency (NSA) field assignment in Norfolk, Virginia, to be closer to my family. Mary Ann and I had already been on a house hunting trip in March 1978 and everyone was happy I was about to return to the area with my four children. We were to move to Virginia Beach in May 1978. We had visited from Maryland almost every three months but we were looking forward to being there permanently. My children had grown very close to their Grandpa and Grandma. I never will forget the devastating call from my sister Betty Tuesday evening, 11 April 1978, when she told me that my father had a heart attack while cutting his grass.
Russel's death certificate indicates the immediate cause of death to have been "acute coronary insufficiency" due to "hypertensive heart disease". He was dead on arrival at Leigh Memorial Hospital. In accordance with his last will and testament of 9 March 1977, he was cremated and his ashes distributed at sea by the US Navy. We held his funeral at the Indian River Road Chapel of Holloman-Brown Funeral Home on Friday, 14 April 1978, at 2PM. All of his possessions were left to his wife Edna who was also named as his Executrix.
There was an outpouring of sympathy for Edna and the family on Russel's death. Several letters were received from Norfolk Academy administrators, teachers and students. Three books on careers in energy, construction and counseling were added to the Norfolk Academy library and marked in memory of Russel. Russel Jr.'s co-workers at NSA sent a "perpetual membership" in the Roman Catholic "Marianist Spiritual Alliance" providing for Russel's memory in a Marianist Holy Mass every day of the year. Some of the most touching comments came from in letters from second and third grade students of Norfolk Academy.
Russel's obituary appeared in the 13 April 1978 edition of "The Norfolk Ledger Dispatch" - "Virginia Beach, Retired Navy Commissioned Warrant Officer Russel E. Myers, 58 (as mentioned earlier, he was actually 56), of 3521 Sale Drive, the husband of Mrs. Edna Barlow Myers, died Tuesday in a Norfolk hospital. He was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. He was employed by the Norfolk Academy as superintendent of maintenance. Other survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Betty Ann Dewberry of Virginia Beach and Mrs. Susan Myers Wolfe of Black Mountain, N.C.; four sons, Russel Ernest Myers Jr. of Columbia, Md., Richard Kelly Myers and Michael Stephen Myers, both of Virginia Beach, and Robin Henry Myers of Los Angeles; two sisters, Mrs. Frances Delong of Shell Beach, Calif. and Mrs. Wealthy McGrath of Santa Rosa, Calif.; three brothers, Ivan Myers and Walter Myers of Long Beach, Calif., and Thomas Myers of Rockville, Md.; and 12 grandchildren."
Dad always emphasized the importance of education to his children and grandchildren. He practiced what he preached. From 1952 through 1963 he completed 17 Navy Correspondence Courses. In February 1976 he enrolled in an Associate in Applied Science program in Business Management at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach. Some of his journals from evening classes taken in the Fall of 1976 and the Spring of 1977 provide great insight into what he thought was important in life.
From a November 1976 management diary for course BUAD164, Principles of Management - "My formal education began when I was born because I feel a person is always in a state of learning" . And from a February 1977 human relations diary - "I have always been proud of my family, especially my wife. She has been the mainstay of the family doing everything possible to keep the family going while I was sailing the seas with the Navy...I feel I am able to disclose to my wife my inner feelings, such as my love for her. I have been married to this love of my life for 35 years and find myself feeling I would be lost without her...I only regret I didn't do better in school and that I didn't continue my education while I was young not only to please my mother but to benefit myself...When I corrected my children, I told them at the time how it made me feel but also impressed on them what happened to them good or bad when they did it. When they were good, I also told them how I felt. One boy was a wonder student, one was a good ball player and the others were all above average children. I was proud of all of them."
A 14 April 1978 edition of the Norfolk Academy school newspaper, "The Belfry", carried a picture of Russel with the following memoria, "Norfolk Academy was shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Mr. Russel Ernest Myers, which occurred at his home on April 11th. Gentle, competent, patient and cheerful, Mr. Myers was the mortar that kept so much of the school together. He smoothed the ruffled feelings of some, responded to the needs of others and anticipated the desires of many. One never heard from him an unkind word, a profane word or a word in anger."
Much of the spirit in Mom left her with the death of her husband. She spent the last two years of her life in the "arms" of her family. She treasured her grandchildren and the time spent with them. In July 1980, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while her granddaughter, my daughter Leslie, was spending the night in the next room. Edna called Betty who immediately called the ambulance and the family. Edna was taken to Leigh Memorial Hospital where a spinal tap confirmed that there was bleeding in her brain. The last words she ever spoke were at that hospital for when she was transferred to Norfolk General Hospital, she apparently had another "stroke" brought on by the hemorrhaging and was in a coma until her death on 5 November 1980. She had just turned 69 years old a week before. She was also cremated according to her wishes in her last will and testament of 9 March 1977. She left all her possessions to her children.
Her obituary was carried in the Norfolk, Virginia, newspaper on Friday, 7 November 1980. "Virginia Beach - Mrs. Edna Barlow Myers, 69, of 3521 Sale Drive, the widow of Russel E. Myers Sr. and a native of Norfolk, died Wednesday in a Norfolk hospital. She was a lifelong area resident. Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Betty Ann Dewberry of Virginia Beach and Mrs. Susan R. Wolfe of Chesapeake; four sons, Russel E. Myers Jr. of Virginia Beach, Richard K. Myers of Chesapeake and Michael S. Myers and Robin H. Myers of Los Angeles, Calif.; two sisters, Mrs. Margaret N. Norfleet and Mrs. Frances J. Sandlin of Virginia Beach; a brother, Richard A. Barlow of Norfolk and 12 grandchildren. A funeral will be held Saturday at 2Pm in Holloman-Brown Funeral Home, Indian River Chapel, by the Rev. Russell G. Flaxman. Burial will be private. The family will be at the funeral home tonight from 8 to 9."
In view of her love for her family, I don't think that Mom would be upset that I had her ashes interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk, grave 16, block 25 of the Fir section. We ordered an upright granite marker for her burial site that reads, "Myers, Edna Vaiden Barlow, October 27, 1911, to November 5, 1980, Russel E. Myers, February 11, 1922, to April 11, 1978, Buried at Sea, They Loved".
As those of you who are children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren read this book, I hope that you honor the memory of your ancestors, Russel and Edna, and remember the valuable lesson that is documented here - no matter how hard life's struggle seems to be, your family is your most important asset. Be proud of your heritage and continue to build on that heritage as generations pass by loving your family past and future and be strengthened for life's challenges by knowing that your family loves you.
The End and The Beginning