Tales of an Asia Sailor — The Blog
By Garland Davis
I started Tales of an Asia Sailor in November of 2015 as a venue to tell my stories and memories of a time and life that no longer exist. The legend of us began with the China Sailor that was so aptly depicted by Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) and his shipmates in the classic movie “The Sand Pebbles.”
The end of World War Two and the presence of the Seventh Fleet gave rise to the true Asia Sailor who lived in the various countries of Asia as an occupation force and as a deterrent to prevent the Communist nations from overrunning the entire area. This resulted in the Viet Nam War and the apex of Asia Sailor’s lifestyle. We fought a hot war and trained to maintain our edge in a cold war. We fought a war with declining support from our government and the outright scorn of many Americans.
We worked hard and we played hard, in a time and place that lasted for only a short time. There are hundreds of stories from that period. As my good friend and shipmate, Dave McAllister wrote, “Is everyone living this dream or is it just me? I wonder what the unlucky bastards elsewhere in the world are doing tonight. Never did I imagine, dream or the thought dawn on me, that these glory days would too soon end and become the basis of which unbelievable sea stories would spring. As time has a habit of doing, the stories eventually became legend and now many of the legends exist only as myths; the likes of which will never be seen again.”
I use the Blog, primarily as a place to showcase much of the things I have written. From time to time, I include items written by some of my very talented shipmates.
As of today, I have posted over 1000 separate stories and articles. Since the beginning, I have had 485,190 individual views of the posts.
I am overwhelmed by the number of people who have registered for e-mail alerts when a new article is posted and for those of you who follow the Blog.
I want to take this opportunity to thank my shipmates who have permitted me to use their work and I thank all of you who read what is posted here.
Many of you have probably noticed that I haven’t been posting as often as I did in the past and that I am more and more relying on my shipmates for articles. Parkinson’s Disease is beginning to take a toll on my efforts to do many things. I will keep the blog alive and will post when I can.
Any of you are welcome to contact me at davisg022@hotmail.com or by Private Message on FaceBook.
Tales of an Asia Sailor 
I enjoyed your information and writing on “The Blog” as I do with all your writings. I noted my like for the writing and content by noting it with a “LIKE”. I do not “LIKE” the fact that you are being forced to fight your way through Parkinson’s Disease and the side effects of some of the medications related to same. We, the “Asia Sailors” need you to continue telling our stories.
We all have tales to tell and that includes the sailor or Marine who made one cruise or those of us who lived on multiple home-ported ships and shore stations from Japan & Korea to Southeast Asia. I have been pushed many times to write my story from birth right up to now. I would have to write separate volumes with the nice family and normal bits being sold on “Amazon” or in “B-Dalton Book Stores”. The really good stuff could only be sold in the “Bill C. & Monica L. Book Store”.
You have written my story and those of so many other shipmates in a more eloquent and less toxic manner and for that I am grateful. Keep writing, hang in there, be as well and as happy as you can be and continue to be our “SHIPMATE OF OLD” and not just an “old shipmate”. You are in our prayers and yes, even us “Old and Evil Retired Sailors” do say a prayer now and then. – Irv –
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Keep up the good work as long as you can. I appreciate your stories and the memories they conjure up.
Good luck with your battle.
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I enjoy the tales of a time so long ago, they remind me of so many events that happened to me that I had long ago forgotten. Thank you so much for all the memories.
Wondering if there is a plan in place to maintain all this history into the indefinite future or will this all disappear as if we never were ??
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Reblogged this on Dave Loves History and commented:
Remember the scene where Han Solo meets Rey and Finn? They ask Han about the stories.
“It’s true. all of it. it’s true.”
In my misspent youth, I watched jake Holman ride the San pebble and feel in love with the idea of a kid from Utah joining the Navy and seeing the world. I never got to go to Asia, but thanks to Garland’s blog, I feel like I’ve been there.
And all those stories? They are true. all of them. They’re true…
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After spending 2 years of shore duty in Manila, 4 years of shore duty in Yokosuka, 2 years back to back in-country Vietnam, several R&R’s in Taiwan and Sydney, sea duty with port calls in Hong Kong, Singapore and one of my favorites, Subic Bay, your writings bring all of that back to life. I can still recall being anchored in Manila Bay on October 1, 1975 and going ashore to some of my old haunts Like the Round Table Bar and the Three Little Pigs and meeting up with old friends from 15 years past. Watching the Thrilla From Manila between Joe Frazier and Mohamed Ali on TV and tasting the great San Miguel beer. And the sad news – my wonderful girlfriend, Remy, from 1959-61 had died from hepatitis. I can mentally visualize your stories as if I were there. Keep up the good work and good luck with your medical battle. Art Ritchie
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