The Start
of My Navy
Adventure
On 31 August which is the anniversary of my adventure into our United States Navy I started the Journey. I took the Oath of Enlistment in Des Moines, Iowa. A few years ago in the Fall of 2015 I composed my story - "Let the Adventure Begin!"
It was a challenging
summer back in 1961. I had terminated my employment at Rolling Acres Dairy Farm
near Elgin Illinois and returned to Clayton County Iowa; the county of my
Birth. After several weeks of casual labor on the farms of various family
members I ascertained that at the age of 21 and a half years I was very soon
going to be drafted into the United States Army.
Having grown up in an
era when there was no television, I really did not know much about any branch
of the US Military. However, I did know, or at least thought that soldiers did
a lot of marching on gravel roads. When I finally gathered the courage to go
see a recruiter I was greeted by a Navy man at the Clayton County Courthouse.
First thing after the
recruiter ascertained who I was, he administered a brief test. I do not recall
any of the questions, but I suspect that it was some sort of screening test
that military recruiters used to see if potential recruits had the ability or
knowledge to be eligible for military service.
I was not informed of
my score. However, the recruiter was very interested in me and told me that I
could enlist very soon. I informed him that for the next few days I would be
helping one of my uncles put up some hay and that he could visit me on such and
such a farm on the road just south of Ceres, which is very near the farmstead
where my parents lived. On the appointed day I was busy loading hay bales on
the wagon behind the baler and this Navy car showed up in the field. After the
recruiter ascertained if I was still interested in joining the Navy, he gave me
a bus ticket to travel from Guttenberg which was very close by for a day trip
to Des Moines, and check into the YMCA hotel. I would then board the bus
following morning to travel to the military exam center. Over the course of
that day we were given a mental test and told to strip naked and wrap a towel
around our lower torso. Over the course of the next 6 hours we were examined
from head to toe by various doctors, or as I learned later, various military
medics. Up to that point in my life I had never received a physical of any
type.
The most interesting
aspect of the physical proceedings were when we were told to stand directly in
front of a doctor and drop our respective towels so that the doctor could
examine our testicles and penis. As he held each testicle we were instructed to
turn our face away from the doctor and cough. As this procedure concluded we
were informed that this was to learn if we had any hernias. I recall that it
was about 4:30 in the afternoon when we all learned that we had passed the
entrance physical. A group of 80 of us were ushered into a theater where we
were sworn in to the United States Navy.
Then a sailor walked up
on the stage and asked us how many people wanted to go to boot camp at Great
Lakes, Illinois. One new sailor volunteered. The rest of us broke out in
laughter. Although we did not know where the other boot camp or boot camps may
be located, we were joining the Navy to see the world. We were then told that
we would be traveling to San Diego, California for our boot camp training.
We did not even know
how long boot camp would be. We all gathered all our personal belongings, which
consisted of a few cigarettes and our toothbrushes. We were then taken by bus
to an airport near Des Moines and told we would be flying into Kansas City. I
do not remember if it was Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas City, Kansas. What I
do remember is that once we landed in Kansas City, the airplane operated by
Alaska Airlines, which was chartered by the US Government developed a
mechanical problem. After a few hours we were told that we would be transported
to a hotel and later picked up once the airplane was fixed so we could travel
on to boot camp in San Diego. Apparently the airplane had a major problem. We
were checked into the hotel, assigned rooms and informed not to leave the
immediate area. To make a long story short, I remember that we stayed at this
hotel for at least 2 days before we were told that the airplane was ready and
that we would be traveling to boot camp in San Diego. It was early evening when
we boarded the plane and the takeoff was uneventful. If I remember correctly
none of us had ever been on an airplane before. This was back in 1961 and many
Iowa farm boys had ever done any traveling. It was not long before most of us
experienced air sickness. The flight crew passed out barf bags and the majority
of us quickly used them. After a long flight we arrived in San Diego at about 4
a.m. We were immediately put on a bus and taken to an all-night restaurant
somewhere very close to boot camp because the Mess Hall was not yet open.
After a wonderful
breakfast we were then transported to Boot Camp San Diego. Upon arrival we were
greeted by a representative of Recruit Training Center San Diego. We received
our brief, but shouted welcome message. We were essentially told that while we
were in Boot Camp that the Navy would be our new Mom!
We arrived, if I
remember right, on the Sunday immediately before Labor Day 1961. Of course
Monday was a holiday so we were instructed to remain at the in processing
compound and of course allowed to proceed to the chow hall for our meals. Just
as we all survived in Kansas City, we were sharing our meager supply of
cigarettes. Of course we had not been indoctrinated in the Navy concept that
cleanliness is next to godliness, so we extinguished the butts on the ground.
While the sailors on duty observed our careless cleanliness they must have been
chuckling to themselves as to what our next assignment would be. I believe it
was after we had smoked all the available cigarettes that we were instructed to
go out and police the area and pick up all the butts. The very next day, which
was a Tuesday, we were lined up and marched to the chow hall for breakfast.
Immediately after that we began our in processing to become sailors.
I do not recall in what
order, but I do remember that we went through clothing issue and the shot line.
We now were ready to look like Sailors with our new dungarees and heavy duty
black boots (boon dockers). After that we went to a long shed where we were
each given a box with a government address label on it and told to take off all
of our civilian clothes, including our underwear. We then put on our uniforms,
including skivvies, which is the Navy term for underwear. We had no choice in
this matter as we were issued boxers. We placed our civilian clothes in the box
and wrote the mailing address of our parents on the address label. We were then
marched off to chow for the evening meal. We traveled a few blocks as a new
company of 79 Iowa sailors along with one young lad from Alaska. We were now an
official Training Company of Boots – the term for new Sailors in boot camp. We
were to be known as Company 421. We were assigned bunk beds and a locker in which
to store our clothes that we were not wearing. Yes this was a very busy day. So
we were really beginning to feel like we were part of an organization known as
the Navy. The next morning we were also busy. After breakfast we proceeded to
the barbershop.
There were about 10
barbers on duty and each barber was assigned seven or eight newly minted
sailors. As we were each seated in the barber chair, the barber would ask us
how we wanted our hair cut. Of course it really did not make much difference
what we said. We all received the standard head shaved bald haircut. At that
time there really wasn't much information shared with us. We simply did what we
were told. The third day I think we all realized that our primary task was to
do what we were told when we were told. Reflecting back to the day we were able
to get our uniforms, I forgot to mention that we were educated on how to take
an official Navy shower. Each boot camp company was assigned a barracks and
each company had a specific shower room and lavatory area where we would
perform our normal hygiene task. It was a real challenge to take a shower in a
large room with about 80 young males. Of course we quickly learned to throw
modesty aside and get with the program. Now a Navy shower is a quick wet down,
turn the water off, use the soap to lather up, followed by a quick rinse and
then stepping from the shower area to pick up our towel and dry off. None of us
had ever worn shower shoes prior to arriving in boot camp. They were really
flip flops but we quickly named them Jesus shoes simply because they reminded
us of the pictures of the sandals that Jesus wore in our Sunday school
literature. It was somewhere at this point what we learned that our boot camp
would be at least 9 weeks. In addition to marching and physical fitness drills
we also received a lot of instruction about our new job, being a sailor in the
United States Navy. We were then reminded that if we should fail any mental
test or not measure up in the physical fitness evaluation, we could be sent
back for a week which would lead to us having to spend more time in boot camp.
I believe that we all realized that we really did not want to endure more than
9 weeks. So if my memory serves me correctly all of us graduated on schedule.
During my Navy entrance physical I learned that my official weight was 132
pounds. Had I been four pounds lighter I would not have qualified for a Navy
enlistment. The routine of three meals a day and the physical fitness drills
allowed me to depart boot camp weighing a fit 145 pounds.
Of course weekends in
boot camp what quite well regimented, but we did have free time on Sunday
afternoons. We were not allowed to receive any phone calls or make any phone
calls, however we could write letters. We were not allowed to receive any
gifts, such as candy, in the mail. However, one sailor was able to convince his
family or his sweetheart to send him M & M candies. On one particular
Sunday afternoon this fellow recruit was out in the barracks patio getting
ready to consume his M & M candies. Unfortunately our boot company
commander just happened to appear on the scene and was curious as to the origin
of the candy. The company commander immediately emptied the bag of M & M’s
and the recruit was instructed to do pushups and pick up one M & M with his
tongue each time he got to the cement patio. Our company commander quickly
informed us that as we already knew gifts were not appropriate. We were then
allowed to observe our fellow recruit performing his consumption of the M &
M candies. Each of us quickly learned a vital aspect of working together and
performing as a team.
Each morning we were
given a quiz on the classroom subjects that we had been given on the prior day.
In order to improve our learning skills the young man from Alaska took copious
notes during our classroom instruction times.
As we washed our
clothes every evening, our Alaskan buddy would refresh us from his notes on
what we should have learned during that day’s classroom instruction. Our
company commander suggested that we take this opportunity to listen very well
and to also wash our secondary instructor’s clothing.
As I reflect on the
beginning of my adventure in the Navy of course I have fond memories of my
basic training in boot camp which was the genesis of learning teamwork and
cleanliness. We all learned that once we reported to our next duty station that
Navy showers were mandatory. We had already practiced them during our boot
camp. This is essential because every ship at sea has to produce their own
water out of salt water. Additionally, teamwork is very essential once assigned
to a ship because each division has a specific responsibility for their portion
of the ship or their specialty. People who fire the guns had to work as a team
just as the sailors who operated the equipment that allow the ship to steam
through the waters.
As I reflect on my new
adventure as a fresh young Iowa farm boy at the tender age of 21 and a half and
what I learned during boot camp, I am very proud of what I accomplished in the
9 short weeks of boot training. This story may not be all that interesting
unless of course you were not aware of what the Navy was all about when you
join. In this day and age everyone who joins the military, be it the Army, Air
Force, Marines, Coast Guard or Navy, has seen plenty of videos and film about
the heroes who defend our country. Now, because of the time when I joined,
there really was no widespread television in Northeast Iowa. I really had no
idea what the Navy was all about. What I did know was that they did a lot of
traveling to all the countries of the world. That sounded to be exactly what I
wanted to do.
This is was my
beginning of a big adventure into my 21 year career in the United States Navy.
The adventure began in August 1961 when I was sworn into the US Navy after
passing the medical test and having every part of my 132 pound body poked and
prodded by the many medics and doctors who performed their task to ensure that
the new recruits for the Navy and yes the other branches of service were fit
for duty.
