CB1100 Monthly Photo Challenge

[Gone in 60]

Shoot, I've been so busy travelling for work lately that I forgot that we've got a new topic for July. I thought we were still taking pictures of dogs next to our bikes, but I guess that was June.

Well, better late than never. Here's my military-related photo. It's my tribute to the USS Berkeley. I didn't serve on this ship, but I feel a certain kinship to it.

I handle all of the material and equipment shipping to my company's events, so I hoard pallets. When I run low, I scour the industrial complex around the office, and keep a stack in my warehouse.

A few years ago, while loading a shipment bound for Bowling Green, Kentucky, I grabbed the next pallet in my stack to load it. The pallet looked old and weathered, but otherwise solid and sturdy. As I loaded it, I noticed that "USS BERKELEY 1/17" was stenciled on one side. I was intrigued... turns out USS Berkeley pallets are fairly common, with lots of stories about why they are still in circulation. "1/17" is most likely a pallet group count, as the ship was sold to the Greek Navy in the early nineties.

When the shipment arrived in Kentucky, I used the same pallet to ship some equipment back to my shop for servicing. I decided to memorialize the pallet and kept the stenciled piece, which hangs in my warehouse with the attached dedication that you can read if you click on the PDF icon below the photo.

Yes, I am aware that women didn't serve aboard U.S. destroyers during the time that the Berkeley was commissioned, but for the sake of the ladies working at my company, I decided to cover my butt.