Presidential Limo by Jim Jewett

In the Catoctin mountains about ten miles south of Camp David is the retreat of DC area Cadilac dealer Floyd Akers. The compound consists of three small stone veneered cabins and several small ponds dug along a small stream. The ponds are kept well stocked and upon Floyd's invitation became one of Ike's fishing spots.

One morning while at Camp David, Ike wanted to ride over to Floyd's place for some fishing. There was a bit of a problem as several members of the press had stationed themselves at the camp entrance and Ike didn't want them to tag alone. The Secret Service came up with a plan. A four year old Ford sedan was borrowed from Al Hemleb, one of the camp's crew. As the sedan approched the camp gate, Ike laid down in the back seat. No problem the press had no clue. After a very successful day of fishing, Ike returned to camp. This time sitting upright in the back seat of the Ford, with a smile he waved to the press as they drove back into Camp David.

Dog Bite - by Jerry Dunn

We came to Camp David with a 15 inch Beagle named Wiggles, and very soon adopted for the duration of our stay the camp dog, Brownie. They were both quiet, rather well behaved dogs who got along famously and fit in well with life at the Camp. Later, they quickly made friends with President Nixon's family dogs: a miniature poodle named Vicky; a young Irish setter his staff had presented to the President, King Timahoe; and a Yorkshire terrier named Pasha who was Julie Nixon Eisenhower's dog.

President and Mrs Nixon arrived for a visit on Friday of the weekend Father's Day 1969, along with Julie and David Eisenhower. They planned to depart on Saturday evening to celebrate Father's Day at the White House. Early afternoon on Saturday I wandered down to the kitchen at Aspen just to check up on things and see if a tentative departure time had been decided.

I found Manolo Sanchez there. He had worked for the President as his valet prior to the election and with his wife, Fina, and they continued to oversee the President's and First Lady's personal needs. After offering me a cup of coffee Manolo dropped a small bombshell!! He informed me that Wiggles had bitten Julie's dog!

Seeing my horrified expression, he rapidly explained "it was not Wiggles fault"--small comfort that! He explained he was going to feed the three Presidental dogs on the patio outside the kitchen when Wiggles and Brownie wandered up; and so he added bowls for them. Feisty Pasha found sharing meal time with his otherwise friends was not a good thing. According to Manolo, Pasha ran barking at Wiggles while he was eating. Wiggles paused his eating only to grab Pasha's entire head in his mouth and bite down, fortunately not hard! According to Manolo there was a little blood but no real injury. He said it had been his mistake and I should forget about the episode. Based upon his firm assurances that no real injury had occurred I put the matter aside for the moment! Later, I vaguely recall discussing the incident with someone in the Military office and verifying that Wiggles was current on all of his shots.

The President's departure permitted our family and the Camp crew to enjoy a rare relaxed Saturday evening and Sunday. In our case a very family oriented Father's Day. Sunday evening late I received a call from my brother then stationed with the Air Force in Los Angeles. Bill opened the conversation by wanting to know all about my dog biting the President's dog! I was struck speechless and then was consumed to learn how such news could have reached the West Coast. It seemed so implausible he could know about this now largely forgotten matter! The answer was simple, it was in the late edition of the L.A.Times! The next morning in Monday's Washington Post, I had no difficulty finding a prominent article reporting the incident complete with a large picture of Julie holding up Pasha with a huge apparent bandage tied into a large bow wrapping his head (a copy of which is now a treasured family keepsake)! Notably, despite this publicity I never heard an adverse word about the matter from the White House, either from the Military Office or the staff

When next I met Julie I apologized profusely for my ill-mannered dog. She shrugged the matter off with her usual grace and good cheer, then related the following which provided "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey says.

It seemed that every time she met the press their questions consisted exclusively of inquiries of whether she was now pregnant! Knowing they would be meeting the press on Father's Day following the prayer service which Presiden Nixon had instituted in the White House, Julie decided to provide a diversion from this usual assult on her privacy. Thus the unnecessary, large prominent bow/bandage on Pasha, who she placed in her arms preparatory to the press availability. When attention turned to her, Julie related she merely held up Pasha and announced that the Camp Commander's dog had bitten him the previous day when they were at Camp David. Wiggles had made the news!

Worked like a charm she said. She received not a single question regarding pregnancy! I told her I was very pleased it worked out so well for her, however I was not certain my career could withstand many more such successful diversions!"

Caught in The Act - by Ralph Wright

Our Commanding Officer, Commander John L. Dettbarn, CEC, USN, was one of the finest officers that I have ever had the pleasure to serve under but he was a great stickler for detail. When any guest was on board, he was always out inspecting the camp, assigning duties and supervising the overall operation. You could never be caught standing idle for he would find something for you to do. One such visit, when the President was on board, this young Lieutenant and I figured out if we just holed up in Sickbay, located about halfway between the Camp Office and Aspen, we would be able to see the Commander when he came out of his office and this would give us ample time to scoot out the back and disappear in the woods. We got comfortable while reading the newspapers and watching TV and didn't notice the Commander coming straight down the path approaching the front entrance to Sickbay. I immediately scooted out the back and the young Lieutenant just stepped into a broom closet. The first thing the Commander did when he walked in was pick up the phone and had the Lieutenant paged. The young Lieutenant's pager went off ---! He told me later that the Commander came over, opened the broom closet door and yelled "What are you doing in here?"

Tree Phone - by Allen Williamson

During a visit in the late sixties and before cell phones, a guest rushed up to me and asked where he could find the closest telephone. We were some distance from any cabin, the office or Hickory. I just walked over to the side of the road, reached around behind a tree and pulled out a telephone receiver. He exclaimed "It's amazing, you people think of everything."

I walked away as he made his call and neglected to mention that the phone in the hollowed out tree was a one of a kind and simply there close to the fireplace wood and equipment storage shed for the convenience of the grounds crew. Sometimes it is fun not to say too much.

Video Toy - by Glenn Laser

My job was to install and make repairs on mobile radios. My workshop was what had been the fire truck bay on the north end of the garage. There were garage doors on the east and west end and a wall with a window and a small door on the north side.

President Johnson was in Camp and had brought a video recorder, camera and monitor with him. The video equipment was a gift from the Premier of Japan and even though it didn't much resemble a modern day VCR it was the latest technology. I was instructed to familiarize myself with its operation in case the President asked for assistance. Thank goodness as I removed the equipment from its case I found an instruction booklet printed in English. Bill Fergeuson was assisting and I was focusing the camera on Bill when the lighting dimmed and a strange look came over Bill's face. I turned and there was President Johnson looking through the window. He raised his hand and shook his finger and said, "Get away from my toy." He then moved out of sight towards the door. I was positive that he was about to enter and bad things were about to happen. I was having visions of spending the coming winter in a frozen Korea. We waited for what seemed like forever, finally got up enough courage to open the door and watched President Johnson as he disappeared out of sight on his way to the swimming pool.

Camp #3 by Allen Williamson

The first time President Nixon visited he came by helicopter as was the norm. The next morning he walked out to look at the Camp David sign which of course said Camp Three. He wanted the old sign put back up and was promised it would be done by the next morning. Just one problem -- it could not be found. It was supposed to be, and had been, stored in the loft of the carpenter shop. Someone had apparently taken it as a souvenir.. Since the old one was gone and a quick interrogation did not help, there was just one thing to do -- make a new old looking sign. The Chief Builder in charge of the carpenter shop was just the man to do it. It was rumored that as a part time job he was an expert at "making" antique furniture. Anyway he stayed up all night cutting out, routing, stressing and applying finish to a sign copied from old photographs. In the morning it was hanging in place when the "Boss" strolled out to look at it. None of the quests were any the wiser. The original sign never was found.

VP Skeet Shoot - by LT David Bowlin

I had the pleasure of being assigned to Camp David during the last two years of President Reagan's second term. Over the Christmas holidays of '87 Vice President Bush and his family were visiting the Camp and enjoying the use of the facilities.

As a preface to this story, it is important to understand how meticulously the grounds are maintained at Camp David. Everyone on board exerts extra effort to ensure that there is absolutely no litter. Consequently, you're always on the lookout for any debris that might have inadvertently blown from a service vehicle or a Secret Service post.

VP Bush loved to shoot skeet in preparation for his frequent quail hunts in Texas, and this visit was no exception. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the layout of the skeet range, it's located at the far west end of the helicopter landing zone and shaped similar to a baseball diamond - the boundaries resemble 'first and third base lines' with a paved asphalt cart path running along the first base line towards the shooting stations (at home plate). This is the only way to and from the range.

I was the Command Duty Officer that weekend and was standing behind the VP admiring his shooting prowess along with the Commanding Officer (CDR Jim Broaddus) and the Marine Officer of the Day (GSGT Watson). Over the radio came notification that Mrs. Bush had requested assistance from the duty section and the CO quickly dispatched me to the VP's cabin. The Gunnery Sergeant appropriately issued the command "Freeze the Range", which stopped the release of clay pigeons to allow me to depart the range via the paved cart path down the 'first base line.

As I headed down the path in a golf cart, it seemed that I had only traveled a few seconds or approximately 30 yards when I heard the VP yell "Pull!" Following the command, the young Lance Corporal 'pulled' the release and a clay pigeon was discharged. I continued on without looking back, assuming that the clay pigeon would be released towards the third base line and thus the line of fire would be 90 degrees away from me. About the time I heard the shotgun fire, I saw a styrofoam coffee cup laying in the grass beside the cart path. While silently cussing the Secret Service under my breath (confident they were responsible for the litter) I leaned outside the golf cart on the run and grabbed the styrofoam cup without stopping. It was then I heard the rain of shotgun pellets falling onto the roof of the golf cart and felt a few grains on the back of my neck above the leather flight jacket. The VP, witnessing my unusual leaning out of the cart and suddenly becoming aware of how close I was, turned to the CO and asked: "My god, is he OK?" To which the CO responded, "Oh, don't worry about him, Sir. He's only a Lieutenant."

Of course, I was not injured but took a lot of ribbing from the Duty Section. I jokingly appealed to the CO for a Purple Heart. He commented that I was probably the only guy in the Western Hemisphere to be shot by George Bush. Of course, we all know of his heroic achievements in the Pacific during WWII./P>

To this day, every time I hear the word "PULL" I dive for cover.

The President's Shirt by Allen Williamson

In the early years of the Nixon administration Camp David had just one full time onboard Stewart's Mate who cleaned and cared for the cabins when there were no guests on board. When guests were scheduled, additional stewarts were sent up from Washington DC. On one Presidential visit a station wagon load of them left the White House on a tight schedule and their vehicle broke down in route. They radioed ahead to explain the situation and added that the President had a favorite shirt in a closet of Aspen he wanted pressed and waiting when he arrived.

The one camp stewart was so busy he could not iron the shirt so I took it home an hour before the guest arrival time. I ask my wife Joyce to iron the shirt while I changed into my visitor duty uniform. Several minutes later she asked why I had a white shirt with a Paris designer label inside the collar. When I told her it was the President's shirt she let out a scream and ran out the door to the safety of a friend's house down the street.

All good sailors can press clothes so I ironed the shirt, dropped it off at Aspen and went to my position waiting for the arrival of the guests. Later I asked my wife why she ran away so fast. She explained that she thought there must surely be a terrible penalty to someone who might burn the President's shirt. I don't even know if the shirt was worn that week-end but the memory is still with us after these many years.

GUARD DUTY by John James

A young Marine was assigned to the Guard Unit at the President's secret lodge located high in the Appalachian Mountain range of Maryland. The year was the Spring of 1946. The Marine was eighteen year old John P. James. The following is an account of a few memories of this beautiful rustic mountain retreat and some of the people he met.

Preparing for the President's visit involved several "Dry Runs" where we all went thru the security procedures required for his visit. The main Presidential lodge was surrounded by a series of small Guard huts, approximately fifty yards apart all equipped with phones for communication. The outer perimeter was patrolled by a number of Marines with K-9 Guard Dogs. The "Dry Run" for the interior perimeter Guards involved marching with a platoon thru the woods on the gravel walkways, dropping off one Marine at each guard shack where he would be assigned during the President's visit. I was dropped off at my Guard shack, told to check out the communication equipment, and wait until the rest of the Platoon reached their assigned positions. I watched as the rest of my Platoon and my Sergeant moved off to the next post, then turned to my Telephone Booth size guard shack, opened the door and almost went into a state of shock. There were at least three adult and perhaps four or five smaller Copperhead snakes on the floor. I slammed the door shut, and ran after my platoon for help. No one really seemed surprised. Apparently this had happened a few times here in the mountains prior to this, and there was a Marine assigned to "Snake Duty", and when I returned, rather nervous I might add, the snakes were gone. Was told that although Copperheads are considered poisonous, a bite probably would not cause a fatality, but watch out for the Timber Rattlers, and we had quite a few of these bad actors up here.

CDR Ralph Wright by Ralph Wright

During my tenure at Camp David, our Commanding Officer, LCDR. John L. Dettbarn, CEC,USN was promoted to full Commander (O-5). As the Camp Supply Officer, my duties required me to make frequent trips to Washington on official business and we normally always wore civilian clother, One such trip, the CO ask me to stop by the Navy Exchange and pick up a new CDR's hat for him. After finishing my business in DC that day, I wound up down at the Navy Exchange and bought the CO's new hat. As I was browsing, I picked up his new hat, put it on my head, and turned to the mirror to see how I would look in a hat with all the "Scrambled Eggs". At about that time two Navy Captains walked up behind me and stuck their hands out to congratulate me. I was so embaressed for I just stuck my hand out and said thank you. My face was red all the way back to the camp

PRESIDENT FORD VISITS THE TROOPS by Gary Aten

I happened to be on duty during the Ford visit during Thanksgiving 76. My wife had come on board for the staff holiday meal. (Which was rare, since family members weren't usually allowed on board when the First Family was in residence) We figured she couldn't stay long so she went back home (We had an apartment in Gettysburg). We (the Marines on the "Side" - "Port" or "Starboard") were all sitting around the "Day Room" in our underwear when the 1SG came through and announced that the President was coming through. We all quickly got dressed and went out to the "Quarterdeck" - the entry area to the mess facility. We were told that the President was going to thank the staff for their service during his term, but me and some of my buddies didn't go into the mess hall and stayed out in the Quarterdeck. We figured we'd just get a glimpse of the President and leave it at that. Little did we realize that he and Mrs Ford would walk around the Quarterdeck and shake hands with each of us. I was even more surprised about a month later (after I had ETS'ed from the Marines and moved back to Michigan) when I received a package in the mail with a photograph of me shaking hands with the President!!!

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY by Steven H. Kiehl

Thanksgiving Day 1994

I was the Aspen Steward at Camp David from Aug. 93 to Nov 96. It was Thanksgiving Day and the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings were on TV. Since there were guests with the first family, I was not cooking in Aspen but I had to stay there while the first family was in residence. All the cooking was being done at Laurel.

I had a small TV in the kitchen and the game was on. The President came in the kitchen and asked about how my family was doing. I said everyone was doing great and I thanked him for asking. At that time I realized that this was a great chance to relay a message my neighbor had been wanting to get to the President for over a year. My neighbor was SH1 Matt Castle who ran the P.O.M.(Petty Officers Mess). His brother was a professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings. His name was D. Washington #20. Anyway, the President was in the kitchen and I said, "Sir-it might be interesting for you to know that one of our camp members has a brother on the Vikings team and he is playing right now.." The President said, "really-which one?" At that moment we both turned our attention to the TV just as #20 was getting beat for a touchdown. I said, "that one right there that just got beat." The President said that he has a new nickname for him and his name is "Toast".

Later that evening, the family went over to the P.O.M. where Matt was working. I greeted Matt with a friendly hello and I told him I finally got a chance to tell the President about his brother. At that moment, Mr Clinton came over to the bar and asked for some change for the pinball machine and I introduced SH1 Castle to the President, and the President said, "oh-you're Toast"s brother." Matt hung his head in shame, the President said, "I hope you're a better bartender than you brother is a defender." He had a smile on his face so we all knew that it was just a little ribbing going on. Besides, we all knew the Cowboys were the Presidents favorite team. But Matt and I retold that story countless times.

NANCY REAGAN GETS IN THE LAST WORD by Bill Barbieri

I was at Camp David for the last months of the Carter administration and Reagan's first term. I met both, but the one I was most impressed with was President Reagan.

On the first week end after Reagan was sworn in, the President and Nancy Reagan were making a tour of camp with the Commanding Officer (CO). I and a shipmate were instructed to stand by at Birch cabin in case the Reagans wanted anything moved. The three of them approached and we give a smart salute, the CO tells us to go into the back bedroom and if he needs us he'll call. So we are standing there watching the three of them talk, I noticed the President keeps looking at us. When the CO and Mrs Reagan move on, the President makes a beeline right to us. He's all pumped up, and is talking a mile a minute about how great it is to be up here and how beautiful Camp David is; and then he goes on to tell how excited he is because when he gets back to Washington, one of the first things he gets to do as President is to present the Congressional Medal of Honor to an army sergeant, whose paper work had been mishandled since the end of the Vietnam War. I don't know who was more excited --us, because we were talking to the President, or him because of all that was going on--but it was great. Until ........., The First Lady comes to the door and tells him to stop bothering us and that we didn't have time to hear his stories.

WHAT A SHOWER! by Bob Morgan

As President Johnson's time in office was coming to a close, he spent more and more time at camp. Before I arrived there, they had installed a special shower for him. He liked to step in and turn on the water, so we had a recirculating system going through a heater so he would get instant 95 deg. water. He also liked to get real wet real fast, so we had six shower heads... 2 hitting his shoulders and head, one under each arm, and one each front and back. He liked it rough so we had a device called a water gun which boosted the water pressure to 60 psi.

During my stay we had a water reservoir under the tennis court, where all of the wells pumped their water. Next to the reservoir was the pit where the camp water pressure was regulated. This was done by a small air compressor which kept 35 psi on top of a 250 gal. water tank. This in turn kept the camp water pressure at 35 psi. Now you had previously mentioned the camps fire pumps. If pressure dropped, one or sometimes both pumps would automatically start.

One Sat. night while Mr. Johnson was visiting, we had some sort of power hit which tripped the air compressor. Sensing the pressure drop both fire pumps started, boosting the camp water pressure to near 80 psi. As luck would have it, the President got up and jumped in his shower. When he turned the water on, he got hit in the behind with about 100 psi of 95 deg. water. He wrapped up in a towel and proceeded to take a large presidential size bite out of every ass on "The Hill".

This story was told to me the next morning by UT 2 Gary Ludolph who had the duty that night. Lucky for me, I was in Hagerstown with my sweetie.

TWO STAR CLEARANCE by Gary Aten

My one other "Sea Story" that I can talk about is when my father-in-law to be was at the Army War College (He was the Adjutant General - "Two Star" - of Michigan at the time) in Carlisle, PA and wanted to visit me at Camp David. I got a call while out on the "Fence-Line" and when I picked up the phone it was a LTC from the War College asking if I could arrange a visit for my father-in-law to be. Since he wasn't a relative, it couldn't be arranged. I had to meet him outside the "Front Gate" and we had lunch in Thurmont. It's funny, because later my parents and grandparents were in the area on vacation and I was able to get them on board for a tour, but a Major General couldn't get on board.

My treasured momentos (besides my Presidential Service Badge and the Photo mentioned below) are my Presidential Cuff Links signed by President Ford for being the "Marine of the Quarter", my plaque with the original "Camp David" sign, and my two Christmas Cards from President and Mrs Ford. The second one was also a surprise since I had left Camp David by Christmas 76, but they mailed it to me in Michigan. We have the Christmas Cards framed, but when my wife had them framed they covered up the greetings and you only see the pictures.

SHANGRI-LA by "Longie"

I reported to the presidential yacht Williamsburg on a very cold day in January 1947. At 1600 hrs. that very day I along with three others were on our way to Camp Shangri-La.

At that time the crew was being increased from eight to twenty-five men due to the fact that President Truman wanted the camp open year round.

Our daily routine each morning was cutting wood and delivering wood or coal to the cabins that needed it. Some had pot-bellied stoves, others only a fireplace. Each year we were really glad to see spring arrive.

The National Park Service requested a minimum of 10 men be available for fire fighting at all times. Therefore, in order to comply with that requirement, provide a gate guard, and a roaming security guard, all non-rated were in port and starboard duty sections. Duty petty officers were in 3 or 4 sections depending on the number of petty officers aboard.

We were allotted one thousand dollars a month for food. We purchased food from Guy Hobbs who ran a grocery store in Thurmont. Every other day we bought two blocks of ice to put in the overhead of the ice boxes.

Other jobs:

1947-Projection booth for movie cameras. Installed hardwood floors in mess hall.

1948-Assembled five-car garage relocated from Park Service old CCC area. Doubled the size of the emergency generator building. Installed refrigeration units in the ice box. (after that we could have milk every day.) Installed an oil cook range in the galley.

1949-With the help of some Navy Seabees and civilian contractors, petty officer quarters, indoor plumbing, and boiler room added to barracks. A steam line was laid to the Big House (presidents cabin) and concrete floor poured in the galley.

1950-Cleared area for heliport. The Army bought a helicopter up but there was not much follow-up. This was good for we didn't want to loose our ball field. Increased the size of the Big House patio and built steps down to the lawn. Someone in the Navy yard made blue prints giving us the proper location, curve and elevations. We bought some of the flagstone, but most we blasted from a cliff near the snake farm.

In Camp Shangra-La we had approximately fifty-eight acres with twenty-six buildings. I was in charge of the ground force, the heavy equipment operator and stood the duty petty officer. We worked hard and looked like leftovers from the WPA or CCCs but we were regular navy.

HAVE YOUR CAKE by Dick Worth

Chief West to Camp cook Jack Lammers: " Jack give me a piece of that cake."
Jack: "You don't want it"
West: " Give me a piece of the dammed cake."
Jack: "It's marble cake and believe me you don't want it"
West: "Damn it Jack give me a piece of the F_____ Cake"
Jack: "OK"
West spits out a marble and it bounces across the deck. "Damn it Jack I could have lost a tooth."
Jack: "I told you it was Marble Cake."

THE GREAT 1947 BUICK by Jack Hols

How'd you like to go shopping for an automobile with $9,999,399.99 in your pocket?
I, did just about that and it was fun while it lasted.
My wife obtained a cashier's check at Riggs National Bank for $300 -- and that was the amount spelled out.
But the machine producing the check at the bank printed 9's instead of zeros and the figure came out $9,999,399.99
"Some mistake here, you think?" I asked my wife.
"I thought they were zeros," she replied.
Salesman Robert M. Wright at Ourisman Chevrolet had no such doubts. The check was exchanged and I bought my car. I had no problem convincing Bob that the check was for $300 dollars and not for more than 9 million. (Army PFCs made less money in 1955 than they do now.)

THE BLUE RIBBON by Joe Rose

In Feb. 1959 President Eisenhower asked me if I would break two young colts. The quarter-horse colts were a gift to Ike from the King Ranch of Texas. I spent every weekend at Ike's Gettysburg farm working the colts. Soon after the colts were ready to ride, the President's son, John and his family moved to Gettysburg. I soon learned that Ike's grandaughter Susan loved horses.

In the summer of '59 I asked the President if we could show the horses. He answered yes.

In Sept before Susan and I with the horse "Goldie" departed for a horse show in Arendisville PA, the President came to the barn and spoke to us. "If you come out of the show without a ribbon, come out with a smile".

We came out of the show with a first place blue ribbon, a silver plaque for the pleasure horse and two of the biggest smiles you could ever put on two very happy people.

BLACKSNAKE by Neil Mangarella

Do you have any record of Tom Gammarano? Tom had the distinct honor of having the gatewatch when Mrs. Truman and Margaret came to Camp David and just as he came out of the guard shack (smartly) to open the gate, a 6 foot long black snake came off the roof and around his neck/over his shoulders. Tom was a very dark complexioned Italian but when he got back to the mess hall after that incident, he was known for some time as an albino Italian.

MARINES BIRTHDAY by Ed Donohue

Today we visited our 'cake maker' in Hagerstown to order a cake for a going away party for one of the White House staff ladies. The 'cake lady' has been friendly to JoAnn for some time and took down one of her 'cake albums' to show photos of some of the cakes she has decorated over the years.

One cake that caught our eye was a Marine Birthday Ball cake (in part because JoAnn's father retired from the Corps). The 'cake lady' told us that the huge cake had been brought in on a stretcher from Camp David by Marines who carried along their own icing for the decoration. They stood by as she decorated the cake. Then they took the cake to Washington. We can only surmise that there was some idea that the President might later be invited to cut and have a piece of the cake and the security was to insure that no harmful ingredient was added.

We were curious that the Marines did not have one of the Camp David chefs do the decorating.

Thought you might enjoy this story. Picture couple of burly Marines carrying a huge cake on a stretcher into a farmhouse for decoration. Quite a picture, eh? "Corpsman!!"

AIR COMPRESSOR by Neil Mangarella

During the time that the large garage was being built we obtained a new Ingersoll-Rand air compressor to aid in the digging, etc. We loaned it to the Parks Service for a short time but then needed it in camp again. Enter Walter West and Neil Mangarella (that's me)..Mangarella, get the flatbed and go for the compressor, sez Walt West. Being the dutiful, order following swabbie that I was, I hopped in that flatbed and fetched the damned thing. Well, I hooked that compressor to the trailer hitch on the flatbed and proceeded up the mountain. Got inside the grounds and in driving past the garage under construction, hit a chuck hole which released the hitch. I again saw the compressor after it took its fourth rollover through the garage foundation.

Needless to say, Walt West went on a scalping hunt for the Mangarella scalp. (Never realized Walt had native American blood or tendencies.) First thing when the air cleared from the use of very blue language, the inevitable restriction to camp was ordered. Shortly after that, that Mangarella guy was sent to Washington for a board review. A fine group of gentlemen they were..

Questioning began with "Why didn't you put the safety lock pin in the hitch?

Safety pin ? I replied.

>Yes, the one hanging on the chain on the truck at the hitch.

UHHH I replied, there was no pin on a chain on the truck at the hitch.

Next question, what kind of vehicles are you licensed for Mangarella?

Sedans, sez I.

Thank you Mangarella, have a safe trip back to Camp David.

So, back I went and served out the rest of my hitch. Not sure to this day if Walt ever forgave me or if he ever got over the loss of that %$#@*&compressor, but such is life.

Walt, If you read this, I hope we can still be friends at the reunion, after all, it has been 43 years.

MARINES by Barry Hamill

The Marines were taken to and from their post for many years in an old Dodge pick-up known affectionately as "Bertha." I understand that later Bertha was replaced by an armoured personel carrier of all things.....so much for a quiet and peaceful Camp David.

CAMP OFFICE by Will Short

I was a BU2 with MCB 40 stationed at Camp David TAD, along with a handful of others, from Sept. 69 until July 70 at which time I got an early out. While I was only TAD, I was there almost 11 months, lived in the barracks, worked and played along side of the regular crew. I remember that I was concerned that the CO wouldn't sign my early out since he and esp. the XO Atkins (?) were trying to get me to re-up. BU1 Wilfred --?- was about to retire (I think,... it has been almost 30 years) and they wanted me to take the carpenter shop. I chose to go back home to Philly and my new wife. Now, if I had it to do over I would have stayed right there.

During my stay we built an addition to the camp office and to the bowling alley and worked on some of the cabin renovations. At first I was sent home each time "the Man" came aboard since I only had a top secret security clearance (yellow tag) but at some point in time I was placed in the duty section and worked my turn until I got out.

I still have the signed picture from the crew of Apollo XIII. Since I wasn't allowed to take any pictures, it along with a plaque is about all I have from those days. My one regret was that upon my discharge "they" wouldn't award me the Presidential Service Badge or Medal since I was only TAD!

My memories of that time and all of the crew are clouded but I remember them fondly.

DEAD PRESIDENT by Bill King

I was at Ike's farm one day talking with West, Ike came out and said for us to get shotguns and go pheasant hunting with him. We were walking down the corn field rows with Ike in the middle and separated by about 20 yards. A pheasant got up right in front of me and flew off. Ike asked why I didn't shoot. I told him that the pheasant had scared the hell out of me.

Truth was the shotgun wasn't loaded. Somewhere in my mind when I started to load the shotgun I could see headlines "Dumb Sailor Shoots President - Insists it was an Accident" I had put the shells in my pocket.

HOW MUCH LONGER? by John Grosshans

I was reading some of the stories from the Camp David web site and it reminded me of a story I've never seen written anywhere else. Ed Cain and myself were showing a movie to JFK, Peter Lawford and some others when we had a problem with the projector. While trying to repair the thing and get the show back on line we were asked several times by the stewards "how much longer?". As you might remember the Aspen projection booth was tiny and Cain wasn't, so we were working feverishly in cramped quarters. Next thing you know there is a voice again "how much longer?". Cain without looking up shouted out "g--gamn it, I told you f-----g guys we are doing the best we can!". Then, only a little too late, we looked up to see JFK standing in the doorway. I am quite sure we both turned white and Cain apologized all over himself. Now to this day I think JFK winked and said "sorry to bother you, let us know when you're done". I don't think we spread that story around camp much, but to this day I think it was one of my most unforgetable moments.

SCIENTIFIC STUDY by Ed Stamer

Do you remember when those group of scientists spent a couple of days going over suggestions to get the President out of Washington in case of a nuclear attack? They had me doing all kinds of typing for them and making copies. Back then I couldn't type that good. One night, I guess when they were finished they went to the pool and had a Skinny Dipping Party. Not too many people heard of that. I did get a letter of commendation for my reproduction efforts. Hell, My kids are adopted.

JUST A FISH STORY by Bill King

In front of Aspen lodge there was a hole that was filled with water that could be pumped to run across rocks and back into the hole. We called it the fish pond but at this time it didn't have any fish in it. Ned Beach thought it would be a great idea if Ike could catch fish from this hole.

His orders were to put trout in the pond and to train them to bite at flies. Somehow we got into a MD state fish hatchery and hauled out some of the largest rainbow trout I have ever seen. We hauled enough that soon after we placed them in the hole they depleted the oxygen and started turning belly up.

All the crew of good old Camp David could think to do about the problem was to stand around the hole and as soon as one of the trout turned up they would rush him to the frying pan.

DAMM THE TORPEDO by Sotero Abiba

I was at Roosevelt's side on the battleship Iowa during a training exercise when, by accident an American destroyer launched a torpedo in our direction. I ran to FDR's cabin and returned with his life jacket. Presidential aide Harry Hopkins ordered that I get a life jacket for him also. My answer was "I refuse sir, I've got to stay with the President". In the meantime, the Iowa swerved sharply and the torpedo passed harmlessly by. Angry, Hopkins said he would put me on report. I said," go ahead sir. My duty was with the President". FDR ordered Hopkins to "Forget It".

Note: Starting in 1932 Abiba served FDR and HST for 16 years.

AT THE MOVIES by Bill King

We received the sea prints that were issued to the Fleet. Somehow Camp David was the first to receive a movie when it was issued. We got back a report of some damage to some film that had been at camp and this had been brought to Chief Rose's attention.

Halo was one of the movie operators so this had been brought to his attention also. Halo let it slide for a couple of weeks, then he got hold of some old training film and wound it off the reel on to the projection room floor. He then went and told Rose "you better come see this-----"

LAST CHANCE by Chuck Howe

I was hoping that during the last month I was at Camp David that we would have no visitors and it would be peaceful and quiet. However, President Johnson visited Camp on three of those last four weekends. During the first weekend, the stewards commented that the President was unhappy with the air conditioning in Aspen. My relief, John Paul Jones, was at Camp learning the ropes, and we checked the A/C system along with the UTs and it was working perfectly. During the next week we turned the thermostat down to its lowest setting and drove the temperature down there in a few minutes. All was just fine. The following weekend, the stewards made the same comment and we were buffaloed as to what was the matter, but relieved that LBJ hadn't fired us all. He didn't come up the following weekend and we relaxed. My last weekend there, LBJ came up on Friday night. On Saturday morning, the stewards again reported his unhappiness with the A/C. John Paul and I were scratching our heads in the camp office, when we simultaneously realized what the problem must be. JFK and LBJ both liked to take naps and liked a pitch black room. We had put blackout curtains behind the drapes to keep the light out and even shimmed up the wall to wall carpet underneath the doors so that no light would leak into the room. We hadn't appreciated the effect on the air conditioning in the room. The A/C outlet was in the bedroom and the return duct was in the hall. We had made the room so light proof that it also prevented the return air leaving the room. So when the door was shut the A/C system pumped good air into the room until it was pressurized and then no more air could come in and the air in the room became stagnant. We needed a light proof louver in the wall for the return air to flow through. We breathed a sigh of relief and planned to put the louver in the following week.

About two hours later the stewards called and said that Marvin Watson, one of the President's Special Assistants, wanted to see me in Aspen. I went into the galley and told the stewards to let Mr Watson know that I was available. They said that he wanted to see me in the President's bedroom. I went in and LBJ was propped up in bed with documents spread all over it. "Look at the thermostat, Commander, and tell me what's wrong with the air conditioning in this room", LBJ ordered in a gruff voice. I looked at the thermostat and it was normal, as the door was open. I then related to him all of the things that we had done to make the room light proof and what the end result had been on the A/C system, and also told him our plans to install a louver the next week. He said, "Oh, what am I going to do tonight?" I replied, "Sleep with your door open". The President thought and said, "OK" and that was the end of the mystery and my last contact with LBJ. John Paul relieved me on schedule on Monday (instead of LBJ doing it on Saturday afternoon).

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS by Roger Zabkie

I notice, however, that all of your sources were sailors and I have quite a few from the Army point of view.

For one, there was the time the Naval Aide called the switchboard (this was on a weekend and he was not known to be present at Camp David). The Army operator wouldn't believe who he was, assuming instead that it was one of the sailors putting him on. Of course that turned out to be embarrassing...

We used to bring in beer on hot summer nights. This was perhaps in 1957, when things were still quite rustic. Anyway, cooling the beer quickly was a problem until we came up with the idea of using the large CO2 fire extinguisher. Of course the CO2 flat *killed* the grass in the lawn! Picture a green lawn with a brown oval in it, with a green rectangle the approximate size of a beer case in the middle of the oval. It was impossible to explain to Vic Shorten the next day.

The Army in its infinite wisdom insisted in those days (and still might for all I know) that personal names could never be used on the radio. I guess this was for security reasons. So all of us had code names that started with the letter T. (The Russians were presumed to be too dumb to figure all this out.)

Now we had a sgt named Maynard Mayo who was a devoted fan of a certain brand of beer and his code name was Trout. So naturally, in our adolescent minds, a six-pack of beer became "a Trout dinner." And nearly every evening, when a vehicle was wending its way through Thurmont on its way back up the hill, its driver would call on the radio to ask if anyone needed anything, and the response was "Uh-roger, bring one Trout dinner."

This went on for a looong time until someone at Raven Rock (the emergency Pentagon) asked Ed Reisinger, "By the way, what is a Trout dinner?" Of course he didn't know but we almost choked when he tried to find out.

Then there was the time, before one of the Krushchev visits, that one of our guys put a loudspeaker in an AWOL bag near the perimeter where a Marine was walking guard duty. He actually engaged the Marine in conversation, a la Candid Camera, for several minutes, after hollering at him, "Help, let me out of here!"

My drinking buddies in those days were some sailors named Tony Stelmach, Chuck Rayhorn, and a cook named, as I recall, Jim Duke. Those were good times, as Jim had the keys to the mess hall and we could always eat after an evening of liberty...

Anyway, those were good times which are starting to come back as I read your stories. I certainly remember the one about the fish dying in the pond! Great! And I remember Chief Bob well, as we used to fix the radio in his Cadillac for him.

Oh, here's another story if you can use it.

One evening we were testing a transmitter and had put up a short antenna in the middle of the lawn behind Aspen Lodge. When it was dark I took a walk out back to see how the antenna was doing and a Marine, who was pretty spooked, asked me what was going on. After he quoted a couple of things he heard from back there, I told the other guys to test the transmitter again while I went with the Marine to where the antenna was.

There on top of the antenna was a corona ball (ionized air), and as the operator talked, the ball would change size and we could actually understand what was being said in the buzzing noise! Picture the scene in The Wizard of Oz, where Oz is operating from behind the curtain... Anyway, I was kind of spooked, too, and *I* understood what was happening!

CONFUSED? by Charles Larson

As Naval Aide to President Nixon I was assigned a rather strange job. Nixon did not like neither sex or violence in movies. He assigned me to screen all movies and to recommend the ones that I thought he might enjoy. If you knew what type movies were being made you can see what a difficult assignment this was.

One night at Camp David President Nixon requested a movie to be shown. I told him that the only title that was suitable was "Mary Queen of Scots" and I could't give it a very high recommendation.

It was a 5 reel film. Later that evening I received a call from the movie operator. He was looking for reel 4 to put in the projector and discovered that reel 4 had already been shown and reels 2 and 5 were all he had left. He asked what should he do. I told him not to say anything but to go ahead and show reel 5.

The next day the President said he could understand my not giving the movie a good recommendation. It was very confusing.

OOPS! by Bobby Joe Crowe

UT Kubow was under a house working on a drainage line with half his body outside. Army General Goodpaster happened by and wanted to know what he was doing. Kubow, thinking it was some wise cracking sailor, responded: "What does it look like I'm doing you dumb SOB." or something of this nature.

THE ICE SLIDE by Vern Bradford

I was a Marine stationed at Camp David during the mid 1970's. I was enjoying reading your great web site this evening and thought I would drop you a line and maybe share a couple of my experiences with you.

One very cold and icy January night at about midnight I had the honor of assisting the Marine Security Officer in a security check around Aspen. The good Captain wouldn't accept anything less than me personally checking each door around the building. While exiting the Jeep I fell on the ice and landed right on my pistol holster, then proceded to slide on the ice completely under the Jeep. I literally had to grab the driveshaft and pull myself out. Upon finally uprighting myself Captain Jones asked me "Are you quiet done?". My response was "Yes sir, I believe I am." Never did check that door. I served there with some of the finest Navy personnel and Marines that there were.

ROCKS by Larry Webster

A few days before the president was due in camp, Chief West thought we should 'spiffy" up the place a little. He had three of four of us going around the camp roads whitewashing all the large stones that lined the then gravel road that led down to Aspen and wound through the camp area. After a couple of days of work it did look pretty good. We patted ourselves on the back and said "another job well done". After the president had visited the secret service gave Lt. Fowler a directive to "paint the rocks back to the original colors. They showed up too much from the air and it was considered a security risk.

After Chief West got the word from Lt. Fowler he told us to get some of the paint that was used to paint the cabins and paint the rocks back to their original color. We went back and turned the whitewashed sides down.. seemed to work just as well and no further comment was made on them.

WORSHIP SERVICES by Ray Woodall, Chaplain, U.S. Army (Retired)

Thank you for making the tour of Camp David possible.

I had the privilege of conducting worship services at Camp David during the Carter years (July 1979-January 1980). I was stationed at Fort Ritchie. President Carter used the Camp quite often and we would have worship services on the Sundays he was there. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving we would have a worship service in the hanger and the family members of all the personnel assigned to Camp David were invited to attend. The worship servises were normally conducted in Hickory. Of course this was before the day of the new chapel that was built. I also understand that the Navy has assigned a chaplain to cover the camp.

"KILLER" GUARD DOG by John James

Another incident that sticks in my memory has to do with one of our K-9 guard dogs.

Our K-9 unit consisted of several Marine "Dog Handlers" and some ten or twelve Guard Dogs. The dogs were mostly Dobermans and some German Shepherds. The dogs were very well trained. I remember them reacting to "hand signals": to sit, lay down, rollover, at a distance of well over fifty feet from their Handlers. One of my bunk mates was advised one day that he was being assigned to the K-9 unit as a handler. My pal confided in me that he was scared to death of dogs and really did not look forward to the assignment. It all turned out well and I remember watching him a few months later full of confidence and seeming to enjoy working with his Doberman. His only bad experience was when the President's daughter, Margaret walked up to him and his dog and almost got bit when attempting to pet the nice "little doggie".

One of the Doberman guard dogs was appropriately named "Killer". Killer seemed to have the ability of getting out of his pen whenever he wanted to. More than one time I remember hearing the alarm sounded: "Killer is loose again". There was a urgent call to the Dog Handlers and the search was on. I remember one dark evening while walking to a duty assignment at the guardhouse I saw what I thought was an Owl sitting on a tree stump. Two eyes glowing about three feet from ground level. When the whole tree stump, eyes and all started moving, I suddenly realized that it was Killer on the loose again. With a great deal of caution, as quickly as possible I proceeded to the Guard House and sounded the alarm The handlers rounded Killer up one more time and put him back in his pen.

The episode of the guard dog Killer had a sad ending. Since he was the only dog that was constantly getting loose, the handlers decided to put him on a chain in his pen. Killer's method of getting out of his pen was to jump on top of his wooden dog house and then proceed to jump over the ten foot high fence that surrounded his pen. Unfortunately the chain that was now attacked to his neck was just long enough for him to still jump over the fence from the top of his dog house, but then not long enough to reach the ground on the other side of the fence. In effect, Killer hung himself by trying to get out of his pen just one more time. Government property, a formal investigation was conducted, photographs and all. I remember seeing the poor dog, still dangling outside the fence of his pen, his feet just a foot off the ground. That was the last of poor Killer and there were no other "Dog Loose" alarms after that.

If you are the President of the US or anyone else that has had an experence at Camp David and would like the story posted here please e-mail it to Bill King