Honoring our Veterans: TJ Lynde
 | Author:
Matt Nelson
MT43 News Correspondent |
Signalman 3rd Class Petty Officer Taylor Justaad (TJ) Lynde served in the U.S. Navy from January 1991 until January 1995. “After Boot Camp at Great Lakes (near Chicago), I went to the Signalman’s school in Orlando, Florida for eight weeks to learn flag hoist, semaphore, and Morse code for ship-to-ship communications.
"I served on the destroyer USS Merrill DD-976. What was exciting about the Merrill was that it was the first Tomahawk sea platform and our ship’s claim to fame. It was a big privilege for the Merrill to have this missile on board. We would fire them off, then we would all go down to the mess deck and watch on TV Navy jets following the Tomahawks. They would hit targets such as old vehicles hidden in bunkers with incredible accuracy.
"I was just a few years out of high school when Desert Shield started building up. Saddam Hussein had gone into and totally robbed Kuwait and bullied his way into there. I thought I should enlist but I saw all of those Marines and Army guys marching through the desert with heavy backpacks, and I didn’t want to do that, and they were calling for people to volunteer, so I joined the Navy.
"I was halfway through Boot Camp, it’s in January, it’s freezing, we were there going through with shaved heads, it is well below zero, and you hardly get any sleep in Boot Camp. In the middle of the night, all the lights go on in the barracks, and our company commanders come in, yelling at us, and they say, ‘Gentlemen, we are going to war. We have invaded Kuwait.’ We went from Operation Desert Shield to Desert Storm. They announced ‘It’s the real deal guys, we are going to war! Have a good night!’ They turn off the lights, and we say, ‘WHOA! You know, we are going to be involved with that!’
"Operation Desert Storm was so successful and well planned and the Iraqi forces were so ill-planned, that it seemed like a week or so later the same thing happened again in the middle of the night. The commanders came in, turned all the lights on, and said, ‘Gentlemen, the war is over!’ So there we were in the middle of Boot Camp when our conflict to stop Iraq's involvement with the invasion of Kuwait was over.
"When I finished my Signalman’s school I went to the Merrill and was there a short time before we went on our 1991 WESTPAC Cruise to the Persian Gulf. Saddam Hussein had placed a lot of mines in the gulf. He lit oil wells and offshore drilling wells on fire. We were part of a NATO operation called Operation Desert Sweep to destroy the mines. There were several times when we were in mine-infested waters. I slept below deck. You think, if we bump into something tonight it will be all over. That was the only danger that I was in as far as a combat scenario. Those of us who were there were given the Southwest Asia Operations Medal.
"After the Persian Gulf action, we rescued refugees when Mt. Pinatubo, a volcano in the Philippines, exploded. We got all those people out that were in the aftermath of the volcano and displaced from their homes. Another year was spent in President Bush Senior’s war on drugs off the coast of Columbia. We provided support working with the Coast Guard.
"My Dad served in the Navy, during the Korean Conflict as a Personnel Man, and after that, he went to New York to go on to create the Latigo, Rick’o’Shey, and Hip Shot cartoons. (Yes, Stan Lynde was TJ’s dad!)
"I do art professionally, and my wife Samara works for Rocky Mountain Development Council in Helena. We are a Navy family. My older brother Mark went through Hell week in the Seals program, and was an electrician on the Okinawa; my dad was Navy, my uncle was Navy and he was on a destroyer as well. I was on a destroyer, and now have two sailors, Scout and Will.
"My daughter Scout is in the Religious Program working with Navy Chaplains and Marines in Cherry Point, North Carolina. She joined last year. She will probably be promoted to Third Class Petty Officer about Christmas time.
"My son Will is a Senior in High School and wants to do the same thing. He has already signed up and will report for duty next June. Obviously, Samara and I are very proud of both of them."
The Lynde family all have a strong Christian faith. TJ goes to the Broadwater County jail to pray with the prisoners and spread the word of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. God Bless all of you.
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: TJ Lynde
Image 2 Caption: Scout Lynde
Image 3 Caption: Will Lynde
