Gilding the Coucal

Author James William Gibson, Lt. Commander, US Navy (retired) joined the US Navy in July 1948. Fresh from high school, he served as an enlisted man for 12 years, reaching the rank of Chief Engineman. Bucking tradition during the post-World War II 1950s, Gibson was then promoted to Ensign and joined the ranks of commissioned officers. He qualified twice as a submariner, first as an enlisted man and later as an officer. Eventually, as a Limited Duty Officer, he finally qualified for a command position on a submarine rescue ship, the USS Coucal (ARS-8), with a crew of 86. Gilding the Coucal is the story of how he went from the loving arms of his adopted parents and a small town in eastern Pennsylvania to command a ship with a poor reputation and lousy physical condition prior to his taking command. Using all that he learned throughout his career, Captain Gibson was able to turn around the morale of the crew and completely refurbish the ship from top to bottom while performing Cold War duties in various Pacific Island ports as well as much of Southeast Asia.