11x14
Acrylic on Canvas
Not For Sale
John Peter Rascoe, Jr., known to family and friends as Pop Pop, joined the United States Navy in 1952 and was assigned to Squadron VS-22 Anti-Submarine Patrol in the Atlantic where he became an Aviation Machinist Mate Second Class. His primary duty on the carrier USS Valley Forge was mechanic on the fighter plane F4U Cosair made famous by the WWII Blacksheep Squadron led by Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington. Back when I was a kid, Pop Pop and I never missed an episode of the late 1970's TV Series Baa Baa Blacksheep which more often than not led to an old navy story.
My favorite is the time he and his buddies came back on board still loaded up from a night on land and began diving off the stern of the carrier that was anchored off of Montego Bay, Jamaica. This was a common practice and often watched over by the on duty guard with an M-1 rifle who would squeeze a round off on any shark that happened to venture near the swimmers. This particular time a Portuguese man o war drifted into their area and wrapped his deadly tentacles around Pop Pop's torso when he surfaced after a dive. Fortunately there was enough rum still in his system to ease the initial pain until the medics got him to sick bay where he was bedridden for two days.
According to my brother John Peter Rascoe, III, when Pop Pop got out of the Navy he was stationed in Memphis, Tenn for discharge. He telegraphed his girlfriend, Nancy Dawson, that "we need to talk", and then he caught a train home and proposed.
According to my brother John Peter Rascoe, III, when Pop Pop got out of the Navy he was stationed in Memphis, Tenn for discharge. He telegraphed his girlfriend, Nancy Dawson, that "we need to talk", and then he caught a train home and proposed.
