Lusitania Diary Now Published

 

It took more than 107 years to publish Lusitania Diary. For most of that time the slender, red booklet was tucked away in the attic of a family home in the American Midwest. This year, the 4,000 word diary was fully translated from Danish to English, revealing an eyewitness account of a trans-Atlantic voyage on the doomed British ocean liner. Christian Fredericksen travelled with his little sister when the ship was still new. Seven years after their safe passage, the Lusitania was sent to the bottom of the sea, sunk by a German submarine with an appalling loss of life. The international incident brought the United States one step closer to entering World War One. By coincidence, it was in the centennial year of that maritime tragedy when two of the American immigrant’s grandsons had the diary translated. In his own words, Christian speaks of the hardships, the joys, the onboard lifestyle and his impressions of the cultural diversity on the world’s largest emigrant ship. Frankly, some of it he found morally repugnant. The journal is a snapshot in time, an accurate depiction of two weeks in 1907. It includes the author’s observations of the primitive American countryside he watched pass by, as he travelled by train half way across the continent. Lusitania Diary is a priceless document for researchers and casual fans of historical nonfiction; for Americans, Danes and all of us who can relate to a bygone emigrant story.  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/339775

Lusitania Journey Remembered

Christian Fredericksen arrived from Denmark more than 108 years ago to start his family in America. It wasn't until this year (2015) that his grandsons, Rick and Garry, had his diary fully translated. It happened to be the centennial year of the glorious ocean liner's disastrous sinking off the coast of Ireland. I recently visited my grandfather for the first time, in Harlan, Iowa. The diary has been donated to the Museum of Danish America. Chris's story is told in this link to Iowa Public Radio. http://iowapublicradio.org/post/iowans-1907-lusitania-diary

War College Class of 2015

It is an honor to have a seat at the table with tomorrow's leaders. I was nominated, and have been selected, to join the War College's Class of 2015 for their final week. The National Security Seminar is a policy dialogue between military and civilian leaders. To help me prepare, send your thoughts on foreign policy and military relations. Please send me an email. I'm really grateful for this privileged opportunity.

The USS Midway Museum

Aboard the USS Midway, San Diego, Oct. 2014

[For our reunion newsletter]

Name the biggest star of the San Diego reunion. Joe Ciokon would be an obvious choice, but the correct answer is the USS Midway Museum, all 70,000 tons of it. The ship is more than 3-times longer than AFVN’s Saigon tower is tall. This vintage vessel is so heavy, that fuel efficiency is measured by gallons per mile, not miles per gallon. It takes 260 gallons of fuel to go one mile. No wonder the carrier fleet went nuclear.

About 30 former broadcasters and spouses gathered on the pier for Joe’s welcome, which came with a warning: “There are things that can hurt you if you don’t watch out where you’re going. Tall guys got to duck low, and step high when you go over the knee-knockers.” We boarded the Midway and quickly separated into smaller groups, to ease our way through the tight compartments and narrow passageways. It was slow going; like many of us, the Midway is nearly 70 years old (next year).

It was fascinating to see how they shoe horned an entire community into a floating military installation, including an airport, police and fire departments, clinic, post office, power company, dining facilities, and even a jail, where you can take your picture in the brig. Mike Goucher declined the behind-the-bars photo op, saying, “too many people I know would cheer!”   

If it were possible for a Vietnam veterans group like ours to adopt a ship, the Midway would be a perfect match. Starting in the early days of the war, her pilots shot down multiple North Vietnamese Migs. When Saigon fell, the Midway was there again, and evacuated thousands of South Vietnamese who helicoptered out from Ton Son Nhut. Ann Kelsey, who helped in the mass exodus, was impressed: “It felt strange to know they had landed on the flight deck I was walking on.” The Midway was still saving Vietnamese 14 years later, when the carrier group rescued 92 “boat people” on two wooden sampans, while crossing the South China Sea.*

The Navy selected the ideal class of warship as the namesake for the 1942 Battle of Midway. Five carriers were sunk, four of them Japanese. Nearly 400 planes were destroyed (both sides combined) during four days of fighting.  Some of the Japanese ships were the same ones that attacked Pearl Harbor a few months earlier. The naval battle at Midway was a decisive American victory. A movie on the legendary naval clash will premier in a new theater on the Midway’s hanger deck in 2015.

Today, on a good Saturday, as many as 7,000 visitors step back into history, just like we did. We got to see other veterans, some were tourists and some were the docent guides who really knew their topic. What a thrill it must be for the old Navy veterans who live in San Diego to have the Midway in their backyard. Ron Hesketh didn’t mince words with his reaction: ‘What a tour! Wish we had more time.” That’s what everyone was saying, except for those in the same boat as Tim Abney, who shared this lament on Facebook: “I sure wish I could have made it.”

Prowling through the USS Midway Museum is worthy of anyone’s bucket list. Just seeing those enormous anchor chains was impressive enough, each link as wide as a seaman’s shoulders. I imagine most of us came away with new respect for the sailors and Marines who deployed off the coast of Vietnam enduring such claustrophobic and austere living conditions. I’d say AFVN was pretty good duty, although those upcountry TV trailers might compare to the elbow room of the Midway.

Imagine what it would be like if our Saigon headquarters had been preserved as immaculate as the Midway: the news set with Bobbie’s weather map, the old radio studios, control boards, turntables and cart machines, the film chains, tech room and snack bar. Perhaps a Navy bulletin from the “Five o’clock Follies” on the newsroom copy desk, listing another “kill” by the crew of the USS Midway.

A salute to Joe for a terrific day, the comp tickets, VIP treatment and an unforgettable experience. Maybe he’s the biggest star of the reunion after all.

*On July 3, 1989 CBS News broadcast this radio story on the Midway carrier group’s liberty call in Thailand.

"This beach resort south of Bangkok is like a temporary American colony. Eight US Navy warships are anchored off the coast of Thailand as more than 7,000 sailors are preparing to celebrate the 4^th of July. The town of Pattaya is all decked out for the occasion—they don’t burn the Stars and Stripes here—it’s displayed proudly along with banners that say “Welcome US Navy.” An embassy official says simply, Thailand is the favorite port call for the 7^th Fleet. And, the Thai tourism industry goes all out to please the US sailors; from the bar owners serving cold beer, to the bar girls with warm smiles. More than 100 US warships will bring more than 100,000 servicemen to Thailand this year, the most since the Vietnam War. Rick Fredericksen, for CBS News, in Pattaya, Thailand.”

Amercan Forces Vietnam Network: 2014 Reunion

Group Photo: San Diego, October 18, 2014 

The men who broadcast radio and television to American forces during the Vietnam War, including technicians, administrators, announcers and newsmen. We broadcast the moon landings, civil upheaval and assassinations in America, plus the antiwar movement that would lead to the fall of Saigon. Our audience didn't miss a beat as rock and roll became a favorite music genre. We came from all branches of service and totaled more than 1,000 during the course of the war. We also introduced TV to South Vietnam and provided our host country with its own TV channel, for Vietnamese language broadcasts. The native Vietnamese husband and wife (near each other in first and second row) were our special guests; former "boat people" and now patriotic Americans, who lifted our spirits for the closing banquet.

Vietnam Magazine Tribute to Robin Williams



Lance Cpl. Fredericksen at the entrance of the American Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon, 1969.

I was honored when Vietnam Magazine asked me to write their tribute on Robin Williams. 
http://www.historynet.com/on-the-set-of-good-morning-vietnam-with-robin-williams.htm

AFVN Censorship: As Told in Vietnam magazine



The only known photo of me anchoring the news in Saigon (1969).

This is the contemporary version of what happened at AFVN in the late '60s: heavy news management, bordering on censorship. It is the story of a band of newsmen who fought for a free and open media and ended up with a congressional investigation. It was unvarnished dissent inside the U.S. military and blew up in a daring on-the-air protest like none in history. This story was printed in Vietnam magazine in the December 2013 issue.

http://nebula.wsimg.com/eb43fbda6d4139dd8a065afa27b35ad9?AccessKeyId=867C324947D38D2A0B0A&disposition=0&alloworigin=1