Facts / Figures for
COMPANY 80-331
12th DIVISION
Facts / Figures for
COMPANY 80-331
12th DIVISION
COMMENCED TRAINING3 NOVEMBER 1980COMPLETED TRAINING19 DECEMBER 1980LOCATIONGREAT LAKES ILMORE DETAILSR.T.C. GREAT LAKES |
NAVIGATE MY
NAVY PAGES
GRADUATION REVIEW
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I guess as any boy would, I loved my father’s garage. It was full of tools, cans of
paint and thinners, chunks of wood and plastic, basically a room full of dangerous toys.
It had a particular musty smell and humid feel that rapped around me as I walked
around on the cold concrete flood. Oh and taped inside the cabinets on the doors were the pin ups. My eyes would slide slowly across the glossy paper again and again. Playmate of the year 1965 Jo Collins and Kim Farber Miss February 1967. Once when I could ogle no more I went rooting around in the garage, I was around 10 or 12 when I found my father’s chest. It was a large dark wooden box with black iron hinges and lock. In it was a bunch of cool stuff, pictures, tools, hats. I was drawn to a strange set of L-shaped irons with straps on them. As I strapped them on my feet I realized that they were pole climbing spikes. Once I cinched them tight I went to the nearest tree. I found it harder then I expected to jam the spikes into the bark but I started it up the tree. My youngest brother Tedd came over to see what I was up to. When I was high enough to start worrying, I tried to come down to show off what I had found and this proved more difficult then going up. As I approached the ground I decided to jump off. I hit the ground with a “Thump” and immediately heard my brother scream. I looked down and was horrified to see the Spike was in Tedd's foot about an inch behind his toes. I stepped off and through his ratty black Jack Purcell sneaker I could see blood start to gush from the triangular wound. When my father was done punishing me, he took me to the chest and told me about his Navy collection, that I was not to touch. He almost seemed like a different person as he talked about his time in the navy. He told me about his older brother Albert’s tour and how he wanted to follow Albert when he grew up. He described the places he went and what a time he had with his pals and how he met my mother while on leave in Virginia Beach. As a kid it all sounded exciting to me so I made up my mine, As time marched on I found myself much more distant from that thought. I was out of school, and I had a wonderful girlfriend (my prom date). My friends and I were working very hard at doing as little as possible. Things were good. Then in the summer of 1980 things took a nosedive. I started working in a plant north Baltimore that made circuit boards. I spent my days standing over vats of acid making very little money. My job was testing them and I keeping them in balance. As a result of those working conditions my clothes were full of holes and I couldn’t make enough the live and drink on. I was too lazy to get a second job so I had to move from and apartment to a room and again to a smaller rent room. I lost my girl friend and was at an all time low when that thought came back. It’s time to join the Navy. It was mid October when I drove my 1965, rusted green Rambler 660 to Govins. It was the closest Navy Recruiting Center. I thought to myself. Later that week he drove me to DC. On the drive a million thoughts were rushing though my head. I”m sure those thoughts were the same thoughts everyone has when making a life changing decision. Thoughts about what all the negative effects could be. They were mostly thoughts that never came true. I realized at the sight of the Capital Dome that I completely blanked out the recruiters chat for most of the trip. I got to the testing center with complete confidence in my abilities. I took the test making sure that I worked on math and engineering sections the most. When completed they ran it through a machine which printed a score at the bottom. The clerk took out a stamp and in purple he press the word onto the paper. At this point my heart sunk and I asked how. He went over it and said I didn’t finish two sections and one was required to pass. He noticed that I did extremely well in the sections that I finished. He then asked how I did so well on the sections I finished, which were very hard and did so badly on the sections that are normally aced by everyone else. I told him it didn’t look important so I concentrated on the sections I thought would get me into a navy school. The clerk shook his head and took my test out of the room. After about 10 minutes he came back and said, “If I could stay I could take the afternoon test” I told him that would be great, not thinking about the recruiter that drove me there. The clerk pointed at the test and said rather sternly “Do this section first”. I was allowed to eat in the chow hall and was quite taken by the quality of the food. It was actuality good! After I ate way to much I went back and took the afternoon test. Wouldn’t you know it. The test was completely different, but on the same material. Still, this time I did just fine. On the way back I talked with the recruiter and listened a little more. At the office he went through some books with my test scores and came up with some choices. Torpedo man, but not on a sub, He told me some things about the time under water and it helped me not to regret missing out on subs. Fire Control Tech, ech! Machinist's Mate, ech! Gunner’s Mate Hmmm tell me more. I wasn’t sure about this rate but he said he could guarantee me getting a school right out of boot camp. So it was time to sign. I was in or so I thought. The recruiter mentioned I needed one more thing, to see a Doctor. I really don’t remember much other then getting poked, prodded, and asked the standard 101 questions. Tattoos, scars, diseases, etc. Then the next room. Raise your right hand and repeat after me …… I remember looking at all the others in the group at this point, somewhere else my mouth was repeating the words. I noticed all kinds of people, short, tall, wide etc. I could only think one thig about myself average. No girls, not one in the group. Why? Am I sure this was the right thing? So help me God. Congratulations you are now members of the armed forces of the United States. My brother insisted on throwing me a party. It was great that my civilian friends came to see me off, make fun, and try to get me to shave my head for them. I left early the next morning with a big hangover and my hair for Great Lakes. I was flown to Chicago O-hare and told to go to the USO booth. There they got me to a white bluebird school bus. The driver asked for the destination as it slowly filled with guys from the Army. When it finally pulled away I was the only sailor. As it turned out after about 40 minutes I was alone. The Army base came first. It was Fort Sheridan, and the Navy base was the end of the line.
Great Lakes |
