A death aboard the USS Norton Sound AVM-1 in December 1955 Since 03-20-04
Roger V. Dopheide
Served from June 55 to August 57 went to Great Lakes Recruit Training Center, Company 351 I was in the drill team and was assigned to the USS.NORTON SOUND AVM-1 Then transferred to the USS.FLOYDSBAY AVP-40 CHINA SERVICE BACK TO San Diego Cal. Honorably discharged Aug.57	Navy Veterans of the United States of America Plank Owner  member in good standing Roger V. Dopheide  Jr., USN 8774 Co. Rd. 53 Thomaston, AL 36783 (334) 627-3284 dopheide@frontiernet.net

Ship was moored at Port Hueneme, CA 0800. Mustered crew to quarters. After quarters, William Cullum Huff, DC3, USN, while at work, inspecting the voids was overcome by a lack of oxygen. We had opened the voids and Huff was reporting condioning of the voids to me, Rodger Dopheide, fireman. I would write the reading down. While reporting conditioning he said that it smelled funny down there. I told him he better come out. I turned and sat my clip board down. When I turned back around to help him out, he had already fallen in the void and landed on a pipe that went through the void. I told the fireman apprentice to call for help (I never saw him after that). Unknown to us the topside man with the radio had left his duty post to get an ice cream and he had the only set of keys to the repair locker.

Seeing Huff laying on the pipe below, I went down to see if I could get him out. I sat him up on the pipe but then I began to feel nauseous. I was afraid if i tried to pick him up we both would fall in the water. I decided to get out before I passed out too and get help for Huff. When I climbed to the top of the void a 3rd class corpsman pulled me out of the  void. I told him not to go down there, that gas or something was down in the void.

He told me to go topside and get help, S.A.T. I took off for topside. When I got there it was on the old mess deck where we used to bring stores aboard ship through double doors. There was a bunch of men milling around but nobody could get in the repair lockers (no keys). Someone helped me climb in to the repair locker. I grabbed a red devil blower and was going to try to hand it out over the top but they said "no, no, give us a bolt cutter!" They took the bolt cutter and cut the locks off the repair locker. A few men took OBA's and headed down into the void.

     After that it seemed that there was a lot of confusion. I believe the Executive Officer told me to stand by the oxygen bottle. After awhile they brought up Huff and put him on a stretcher. He didn't look good. I remember looking at faces for someone I knew but I didn't see anyone. They said they had gotten him out and it was all clear.

I told them there was another man down there. They told me they hadn't seen anyone else.  The Executive Officer said, "If he is telling you there is another man down there, you better check it out". So they went down to look again. I remember that I felt so lonely and lost, but there was nothing I could do.

After a while they brought the Corpsman up from the void. They took Huff and the Corpsman to the hospital. They told me later that the Corpsman had died and they also said his wife was a paraplegic and that she was pregnant.

     I put in for a transfer soon after that when Ltjg Leffler went on leave. I  asked PO1 Stevens, M.E. if would approve my transfer. I walked it through and was on my way for San Diego, CA and on the USS Floyd Bay (AVP-40) by the weekend.

    Although I had planned to make the navy my career, after this incident, I took an honorable discharge in August 1957 and got out of the Navy. 

     All these years the death of the Corpsman and the welfare of his wife has been heavy on my mind. I wonder why I got out and not him.

    I am now participating in PTSD and MAPS program at my local VA. If any of you fellow sailors remember this incident please contact me at the address above.