We’ve been learning about Lyle Moseng’s service in the Navy to help us better understand the Vietnam War’s impact on our region.

Lyle spent most of his youth in Marshall, graduating from Marshall High School in 1962. He immediately enlisted in the Navy.

After Lyle completed Boot Camp in San Diego, the Navy assigned him to Naval Air Station, Midway Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Lyle described the island when he arrived in September 1962.

“There were only two trees on the island right in front of the administration building. I suppose the highest point on the island was probably 10-15 feet above sea level. But we had a coral reef all the way around, so no waves could come in. You could see a storm out there, but [waves would] break on the reef.”

Lyle explained the installation’s mission.

“I was assigned to an airborne early warning squadron. At the time the Cold War was on and we kept planes flying constantly from Midway up through the Bering Strait and back.”

Navy tradition required Lyle to complete a different mission before beginning his aviation support work.

“In the Navy, you don’t get KP — they detach you to the galley. I went there for my first ninety days. The first thing I did was wiping off tables and filling the milk machine. After a couple weeks I got in the spud locker. They would give you the next day’s assignment and you could work whenever you wanted. So, it was quite nice.”

Once Lyle completed his galley work, he began supporting Midway’s aviation mission. The squadron flew big, four-engine, Lockheed Constellations that carried high-powered radars mounted above and below the aircraft’s fuselage. They flew sixteen-hour missions north to the Aleutian Islands off Alaska and back, year-round, scanning the skies and ocean to ensure neither Soviet Russian aircraft nor ships could approach Canada or the U.S. undetected.

Lyle work supported that mission.

“I was assigned to the parachute loft, which is actually the emergency equipment on a plane. We were in charge of life jackets, life rafts, oxygen – anything to do with survival equipment. We’d have about three planes a night come in. We’d have to go through these planes and check all the equipment and refill the oxygen tanks whenever it was low and then sign off on it.”

Lyle recalled how the parachute loft team was tight.

“There was only eleven guys in parachute loft at the time. It was quite interesting because we were from all over and we all got along. We lived in the old barracks and stayed together.”

The Navy considered Midway Island to be semi-isolated duty, as there were few chances to get away from the small island. Lyle explained the off-duty options for the parachute loft team.

“Drinking was very important. It wasn’t expensive at all. The gooney birds were there. The gooney birds – albatross – would go out at sea for four or five months and then come back for breeding. They’d land stiff-legged in the water and they’d tumble and look dumb. To take off, they’d just flap their wings and run. If any other bird gets in their way, they’d just hit them. It was quite comical to watch the gooney birds.”

He explained that the remote island also offered some beautiful experiences.

“We’d walk around the island at night. It was kind of neat to be out there because [there were] no lights and you can see the stars. It was really quite pretty. And we were always swimming; every day when it was warm. Everybody had snorkeling stuff, but scuba gear was really nice to go down underneath.”

The Navy reassigned Midway personnel after a year, offering them three choices for follow-on assignments. Lyle knew what he wanted.

“I told my friends I really wanted to see the world. I wanted to get a ship. They said the best thing you could do was put down a carrier. So, I put down aircraft carrier on all three of my choices. I got the Constellation.”

The Navy flew Lyle back to the U.S. in September 1963 and he visited his family in Marshall. Then he returned to San Diego, home port of the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Constellation.

The Constellation was a whole new world for Lyle. She was 1,088 feet long; carried a crew of 3,150; and hosted an air wing that had another 2,480 men and seventy-two aircraft. Reporting aboard was a special moment.

“I felt like a real sailor. I was really proud to be in the Navy and walking down the pier with a sea bag on my shoulder, going to my ship.”

Lyle’s first order of business was getting his division assignment.

“I said I’d like to get into some kind of mechanics. They said, ‘B-2, they do a lot of mechanical work there. That’s arresting gear and catapults.’ So, I ended up in catapult crew.”

Aboard ship your division assignment determines your workplace and your berthing location. Lyle described his new living arrangements.

“There had to be 70-80 of us in a compartment. [Bunks] were about 2-2½ feet apart and the bunks were three high. So, there was six of us in that area.”

Lyle’s was confident he could succeed in his new assignment. What he could not have known was that he would be going to war aboard the U.S.S. Constellation.

The Lyon County Museum is organizing an exhibit about the impact of the Vietnam War on Lyon County. If you would like to share Vietnam experiences or help with the exhibit, please contact me at prairieview pressllc@gmail.com or call the museum at 537-6580.