I say without hesitation that Captain Kulesz was the
best CO I ever had. I served on 5 ships, two tours of shore duty, and had
numerous COs and none of them could hold a candle to Captain Kulesz. In 1971 he literally saved the ship and crew
in that horrible storm during our attempt to reach Kaoshung for a port visit.
He was a highly skilled sailor who cared about his men and was respected by
all. He was one of those rare individuals who knew how to balance discipline
while empowering his crew to do their jobs. He had confidence in our
abilities and understood that in order for us to learn and grow
professionally we sometimes made mistakes. He allowed for that and was
forgiving. And the crew performed!
On the lighter side, I will never forget the time I first gave 12 o'clock
reports to him when I was a lowly RMSN! I got everything perfect, having
rehearsed my lines all morning, then after I gave report, he thanked me, but
in relief, having delivered my lines without a hitch, I replied "You
Bet.....sir." The "wardroom" quietly chortled as I sheepishly exited, red as
a beet, looking for a place to hide.
Another moment I will never forget was
when my mother sent Captain Kulesz a card (joke) for my birthday. The card
asked him if he would excuse me from work and duties for the day since it was
my birthday! I got called into his cabin. I was trying to imagine what had I
possibly managed to screw up? Well, his grin kinda gave the joke away as he
presented me with the card from my mother! I still have that card after all
these years. As you can see he was of course a good sport and had a great
sense of humor. Otherwise we could not have paired up "Cap'N Crunch" next to
his photo in the last cruisebook!! I can assure you that we (the cruisebook
committee) did that out of respect and admiration for our skipper. We were
so fond of him!
These are just a few thoughts that come to mind when I think of Captain
Kulesz. I am very sorry to hear of his passing and wish to express my
condolences to his family.
Sincerely,
Ted Crites
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