WELLMAN-WILLIAM

Biography

Bill Wellman, CDR, USN-RET

 

Bill was born in Topeka KS to Robert and Geraldine Wellman in 1943; he was an Army brat.  His family moved to CA when Bill was two and he grew up in Southern and Central CA, graduating from Coalinga High School in 1961. In 1962 he enlisted in the Navy, then earned his silver dolphins in the USS RASHER AGSS 269 in 1964.  After attending Nuclear Power School, Bill was assigned to the USS PERMIT SSN 594 as a Reactor Operator. 

Bill went to Vanderbilt University as a NESEP where he was commissioned in 1971.  After a short tour in USS GATO SSN 615 he went back to submarine school then on to USS JOHN ADAMS SSBN 620 (Gold) where he completed 3 deterrent patrols as Asst. Weapons Officer and earned his gold dolphins.  In 1973 he was assigned to USS THOMAS EDISON SSBN 610 (Gold) as Weapons Officer.  He completed 4 more patrols which was highlighted with the ripple launch of 5 Polaris A3 missiles with test re-entry bodies. Sadly, Bill and his wife Kay along with son Dale, and daughters Darla and Diana had to choose different courses and his family returned to the mainland without him.

In 1977 Bill was assigned to Submarine Squadron 15 in Guam.  During this tour he headed the effort to write a Polaris Quality Assurance Manual that was aimed at replacing the costly Zero Defects Polaris QA program. The boss wanted a reliable QA program that did not rival the cost of an aviation toilet seat. (The headline of excessive Pentagon spending at the time). When not pissing off the commodore with his non-excellence in authoring a quality program, he managed to have a memorable thrill. One hectic day he borrowed a Cutter from the Coast Guard and chased down the Soviet Union intel ship Aneroid who managed to scoop up one of our freshly fired exercise torpedoes near Apra Harbor. Bill wanted his torpedo back (because someone with a bunch of stars said so). The skipper of the Aneroid had the audacity to accuse Bill of committing piracy on the high seas…With a little help from more guys with a lot of stars and the State Department, the torpedo was returned with a note taped to the afterbody. It said words to the effect…” your torpedo struck my boards (i.e., it was shot at him and not the exercise target) then you commit piracy…detente is detente. (The latter being the Soviet Union motto of the cold war).

Deciding that command at sea to be his true calling, Bill turned his back on nuclear submarines and nuclear weapons to step into the world of “diesel boats forever”. He took orders to USS Dolphin AGSS 555. So, his new bride, Victoria and he set off to San Diego where Bill would become engineer officer. (He also became junior officer on this very small research submarine, aka a submersible on steroids). He did a lot of neat things with the new thin line towed sonar array. About this time, though, he learned there would be no diesel boats in the Navy when he was eligible for command. So true to his desire for the coveted command pin, he took off for deep sea, mixed gas, diving officer school to make him eligible for command of submarine force rescue and salvage ships. At the ripe old age of 38 he started a six-month diving curriculum in Panama City Florida where he accumulated many aches and pains along with his deep-sea diving officer pin.

With the trend well set, he trekked back to the west coast to be Executive Officer on USS Pigeon ASR 20. The highlight of the Pigeon tour was certification of the ship’s saturation diving complex for unlimited operations. Bill also became Surface Warfare Officer qualified. A couple of years later, roots were growing, when he was transferred to COMSUBGRU FIVE in San Diego as an operations officer. (During this tour, he was able to become diesel submarine command qualified). Things were going well with a 7 to 6 job (9 to 5 Navy style) when Bill was ordered to USS Florikan ASR 9 as the skipper. But wait, Florikan was on the chopping block, and the command tour was not going to last long. Then along came President Reagan to Bill’s rescue; POTUS wanted a 600-ship navy and ships couldn’t de-decommissioned and still reach that number. So, with a promise that the “Old Flo Boat” could be an asset to the Navy; only needing just a little TLC, you got it, she and Bill were sent to Hawaii for a seven-month overhaul.  (Bill once commented that he was captain of a ship that was commissioned the same year he was launched). As a result of the overhaul, and the assignment, of what Bill reports to be, the best crew a captain could ever want, Florikan completed a six-month, independent steaming, deployment to the Western Pacific in support of fleet training operations and oversight of the Trust Territories of Pacific Islands. Florikan won just about every fleet award in the books: Engineering, Supply, Medical, Seamanship and Battle E, then topped them off with the Golden Anchor award for enlisted retention. Ultimately, the Old Flo Boat was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

In 1988, he found himself with orders back to Guam as Executive Officer of USS Proteus AS 9. As life would have it, after twelve years, he and Victoria would not both go back to Guam, and they parted. During the tour, “The Old Pro” made two deployments to demonstrate that submarines could be refitted in “non-traditional” ports and contributed to the oversight of the TTPI.

After Proteus, it was Bill’s turn for the hated twilight tour. So, in 1990 he found himself again in a PCS situation. This would be the 13^th and final move; this time to Port Hueneme CA.

Bil was ordered to be the OIC of the West Coast Detachment of the Naval Research Laboratory. The challenges and fun stuff at the laboratory resulted in the detachment being awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation and Bill retiring with two Legions of Merit and a Distinguished Service Medal. He also learned to be happily married; this time to Sherry for more than 25 years and counting.

Bill and Sherry make their home in Oxnard CA. Between them they have five children: Dale, Darla, Diana, John and Julie. They enjoy their grandchildren: Jacob, Tyler, Nicole and Natalie, Dylan and Austin. And are the proud great-grand-parents of Harper and Westley. Both Bill and Sherry avow there will be no more marriages or moves.