01 April 2016

Editor’s note: No joke, despite the date. I was going to continue the story of that Med Cruise long ago and try to stay away from getting emotional about the current chaos of a nation turning itself inside out and not doing very well at it. Messy business, but that is not what I want to get bogged down on today. Some of Jinny Martin’s friends spent the afternoon trying to track down some information on the details for her funeral in Ohio, and I think we succeeded.

More on that anon, but I had a chance to talk to her companion Jack on the phone. He was with her at the end, and it was mercifully swift. She went into the hospital for a surgical procedure on a severe back problem she had that needed intervention. The surgery was not successful, and only 48 hours later she expired.

Jack says she was ready to go, and was comfortable when she left us. We agreed that it was the best way to exit an exciting life, filled with adventure. It struck me that we had worked on a project together about five years ago, and I thought I would share it with you, and make a shameless plug for the book that she and some fellow Navy wives penned. Take a ride with Jinny as she tells us about a world that no longer exits.

– Vic

February 26, 2011

(This is a 1955 picture of us warming up for swimming lessons at the NAS Cavite Point Officer’s pool in the Philippines.)

Paulie Varney told us all to write our autobiographies to include in the big project that has so consumed many of the women who married into the Navy in the 1950s, and wound up all together in the Far East. Paulie thought that our stories will be good reading for the younger generation of our families who probably don’t understand just what sort of lives their mothers and grandmothers lived.

Paulie had a volunteer editor to put all the stories together, and because our squadron was devoted to the collection of electronic intelligence, I asked my dear friend RADM Donald “Mac” Showers, USN-Ret., to write an introduction to the book. That sweet gentleman put it this way:

“The individual accounts of the experiences of these indomitable women reveal the good, the bad and the ugly, and occasionally the very ugly aspects of life abroad in strange and often very difficult circumstances. That they managed to cope, to provide loyal support to their husbands who regularly carried out assigned secretive missions, to raise their children, and to generally improve the conditions under which they lived is vivid testimony to the strength of character represented by each of the wives.”

It took a long time- almost seven years!- to make The Book a reality. After the first editor quit, I entreated our friend Vic Socotra to take on the job and integrate the old pictures and stories into a manuscript and get it published.

Vic was a sweetheart for doing it, and he had the connections to do a limited press run for all of us, and also to publish it on the Internet. The Book is now available at Amazon as a trade paperback called: Living with the Shadow Warriors: Stories by the Wives of the Navy’s Ferret Flyers
By Ms. Pauline L Varner.

It is quite good reading, if I do say so myself. Paulie is a strong gal, and it was her persistance that got us all to contribute. That is me at the eleven o’clock position on the cover of the book. Paulie insisted we all contribute biographies in addition to the stories, so here goes:

“I spent my early years in Medina, Ohio, and graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a BFA degree. After graduation, I worked as a graphic artist in Medina, OH. In 1950 I became an American
Airlines stewardess, based in Tulsa, OK.

In 1954, I married Barney Martin, a naval aviator who was sent to naval aviation squadron “VW3-Det A” in the Philippines. In June 1955, the squadron became naval squadron VQ-1. In October of that year, VQ-1 moved to Japan. We spent the first year of our marriage living in the Philippines and Japan.

Late in 1955, Barney became Naval Special Duty Officer (Intelligence). For the next 21 years this new career designation led him to duty at the Pentagon, Europe, the Mideast, and North Africa. I resided with him at these duty stations except when he was the intelligence Officer aboard ship.

During that time I traveled extensively, following the ship and maintaining residences where it put into port.

When Barney retired from naval service in 1976, we moved to Rancho Santa Fe, CA. Unfortunately, Barney died of leukemia in 1996. I still live there.

I enjoy animals and have been especially interested in the San Diego Zoological Society. I served for many years on The Wild Animal Park Advisory Board that promotes all aspect of the society in particular, and wildlife in general.

My passion widens to include animals in general and especially dogs, who’ve always been loving companions. I have accumulated a large library devoted to genealogy and family history. My interests also include horticulture, gardening and reading.”

Copyright 2016 Jinny Martin, Pauline Varney and Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com