   | "Liberty Call" is a non-fiction book, written by Mark S. Haynes, formerly of the United States Navy. Liberty Call is written as a first person narrative of the author's experiences while on his first deployment overseas aboard the USS Fox, CG-33. Before the Persian Gulf war, the United
States and Iraq were allies. Iraq, at the time, was involved
in a war with Iran. Iran was attempting to disrupt the free
flow of oil out of Kuwait, a small country at the
northeastern tip of the Persian Gulf. During the
summer of 1987, Iraqi warplanes "accidentally" fired upon the
USS Stark, one of our ships patrolling the Persian Gulf. Many
lives were lost, and the United States suddenly found itself
in a very difficult position. How to protect our interests in
the region against not only our enemies, but our supposed
allies as well. One of the first things the US government
and military did after the attack on the USS Stark was to
dispatch the USS Acadia, a repair ship, to the small island
country of Bahrain, located in the Persian Gulf. The Acadia's
mission was to effect repairs to the Stark, so she could make
the journey home to the US. But the Acadia is not a warship, and as
such, carries no weapon systems. She could not enter the Gulf
without escort. The USS Fox was assigned to escort the Acadia
into the region. That was the beginning of a very long summer
for the men aboard the Fox. I was one of those men. We would
spend three hellish months in the Persian Gulf, take part in
the escorting of Kuwaiti oil tankers, and sail through a
watery mine field. This book details the entire voyage, from San Diego to the Philippines, to the Persian Gulf, Diego Garcia, Australia, and back home again. It was written by referring to my personal journal kept during the deployment, and makes many references to news stories that were current at the time. It gives not only a factual and day by day account of the build-up of tension in the Persian Gulf, but gives a first hand account of life aboard a US warship and the liberty the men enjoyed while ashore. |
FC1 Mark Haynes is not only a Navy veteran, but an ordained minister, member of the honorable order of Kentucky Colonels, former casino pit boss, husband, father, and proud grandpa. Oh, and I'm also a full time Fuller Brush Distributor. Won't you please come visit the Fuller Brush Store?
