Dan Crider, who lives in Decatur Township, is surrounded by mementos as he sits at his table at the VFW Post 908 in Mars Hill. PHOTOS BY STEVE PAGE.
By Steve Page
Correspondent
The ceiling plaques say it all for Dan Crider as he sits at a table inside the LaVelle-Gossett VFW Post 908 in Mars Hill.
The Vietnam veteran looks to the ceiling. Directly above him are several of those plaques, all with his last name, Crider.
“I have eight members of my family here,” Crider says. “Everything from the Civil War to my dad, my grandfather, my great grandfather and three brothers.”
The family is well ingrained to this Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the VFW overall and to the service.
“My family is here,” Crider continued. “We’ve always been service members.”
Crider’s service began with his hitch in the U.S. Navy. He served aboard the USS Long Beach.
His first assignment proved eventful.
After leaving the U.S. on Aug. 11,1969, the Long Beach steamed into the Tonkin Gulf, near Da Nang.
‘We got nailed the first day we pulled into Da Nang,” Crider recalled of being near what was at the time North Vietnam. “We were attacked that night when were on station.
“They used junks loaded with explosives,” he said of the junk boats, sailing ships that originated in China and were used by merchants to carry goods along rivers and canals.
“All of a sudden, they sounded general quarters: ‘This is not a drill!’”
Crider was a Bosun’s Mate, an assistant to the boatswain, a petty officer whose specialty is seamanship and has supervisory duties in the operation of equipment. The name bosun is derived from the original term boatswain.
“I was in damage control,” he explained. “I repaired boiler mains. I repaired water mains so they could fight fires.”
No fires that night.
“It was three or four hours,” he said of general quarters. “We had a destroyer with us that overtook them.”
Then things grew quiet.
“After that, we looked for planes – MIGs that were going to attack our bombers,” Crider said. “We had surface-to-air missiles. Before I got on the ship, they shot down three.
“That was about it. It was routine, but you never know – one moment to the next. I wasn’t scared. I actually enjoyed myself. It was an experience.”
The ship also traveled in that part of the world.
“I was in China, Singapore, Thailand, Manila and Subic Bay in the Philippines,” Crider continued. “Every time we pulled into a new port, we got to get off that thing. We had been cooped up 30, 60 days at a time. You get a day off ship, you go into town.”
When his stint concluded, Crider spent seven years in the reserves.
He recalled the time, with the military draft in full swing, when he joined the Navy.
“I enlisted,” Crider said. “I hated school. I quit school in Indianapolis and enlisted. We went to Vietnam straight out of boot camp. I had a better time in Vietnam than I did in school. I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed the service.”
There’s a downside to it all, though: Agent Orange.
That was a chemical herbicide and defoliant used by the military during the Vietnam War, from 1961 to ’71.
“In 2016, I lost 30 pounds,” Crider said. “I had a CT scan, and they found cancer. I had bladder cancer. Then I had cancer in my leg, and they cut it out. All due to Agent Orange. I’m finally in remission. At least the government paid for it.”
Now, Crider can enjoy his days at the VFW post.
“I’ve been here about 12 years,” he noted. “I spent two years as commander. You couldn’t have a better group of people here.”
By Steve Page
Correspondent
The ceiling plaques say it all for Dan Crider as he sits at a table inside the LaVelle-Gossett VFW Post 908 in Mars Hill.
The Vietnam veteran looks to the ceiling. Directly above him are several of those plaques, all with his last name, Crider.
“I have eight members of my family here,” Crider says. “Everything from the Civil War to my dad, my grandfather, my great grandfather and three brothers.”
The family is well ingrained to this Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the VFW overall and to the service.
“My family is here,” Crider continued. “We’ve always been service members.”
Crider’s service began with his hitch in the U.S. Navy. He served aboard the USS Long Beach.
His first assignment proved eventful.
After leaving the U.S. on Aug. 11,1969, the Long Beach steamed into the Tonkin Gulf, near Da Nang.
‘We got nailed the first day we pulled into Da Nang,” Crider recalled of being near what was at the time North Vietnam. “We were attacked that night when were on station.
“They used junks loaded with explosives,” he said of the junk boats, sailing ships that originated in China and were used by merchants to carry goods along rivers and canals.
“All of a sudden, they sounded general quarters: ‘This is not a drill!’”
Crider was a Bosun’s Mate, an assistant to the boatswain, a petty officer whose specialty is seamanship and has supervisory duties in the operation of equipment. The name bosun is derived from the original term boatswain.
“I was in damage control,” he explained. “I repaired boiler mains. I repaired water mains so they could fight fires.”
No fires that night.
“It was three or four hours,” he said of general quarters. “We had a destroyer with us that overtook them.”
Then things grew quiet.
“After that, we looked for planes – MIGs that were going to attack our bombers,” Crider said. “We had surface-to-air missiles. Before I got on the ship, they shot down three.
“That was about it. It was routine, but you never know – one moment to the next. I wasn’t scared. I actually enjoyed myself. It was an experience.”
The ship also traveled in that part of the world.
“I was in China, Singapore, Thailand, Manila and Subic Bay in the Philippines,” Crider continued. “Every time we pulled into a new port, we got to get off that thing. We had been cooped up 30, 60 days at a time. You get a day off ship, you go into town.”
When his stint concluded, Crider spent seven years in the reserves.
He recalled the time, with the military draft in full swing, when he joined the Navy.
“I enlisted,” Crider said. “I hated school. I quit school in Indianapolis and enlisted. We went to Vietnam straight out of boot camp. I had a better time in Vietnam than I did in school. I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed the service.”
There’s a downside to it all, though: Agent Orange.
That was a chemical herbicide and defoliant used by the military during the Vietnam War, from 1961 to ’71.
“In 2016, I lost 30 pounds,” Crider said. “I had a CT scan, and they found cancer. I had bladder cancer. Then I had cancer in my leg, and they cut it out. All due to Agent Orange. I’m finally in remission. At least the government paid for it.”
Now, Crider can enjoy his days at the VFW post.
“I’ve been here about 12 years,” he noted. “I spent two years as commander. You couldn’t have a better group of people here.”
Members of Dan Crider’s family are reflected by the plaques on the ceiling of the Mars Hill VFW post.
Danny L. Cain stopped in at VFW Post 908 on his way back from a veterans’ meeting on Saturday.
Dave Farley (from left), Charlie Carroll and Mark Muncie, all veterans, pause at the VFW bar while enjoying the company.
The LaVelle-Gossett VFW Post 908 at 3011 S. Lockburn St. in Mars Hill.
This banner hangs proudly outside the VFW Post in Mars Hill.
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