50 Years Ago

50 years ago today I raised my right hand and swore an oath to my country and to the greatest navy the world has ever known. Five minutes later I boarded a bus to Union Station in Saint Louis and then boarded a train to Chicago and on to Great Lakes naval training station. That started a 10 year eight month trek that took me half way across the world. That began before and ended just before the official end of the Vietnam war.

A lot has changed since then, too much to mention in this post. It was not easy; it was not always good, but it enabled me to support my family through the rest of my working life. What I learned in the navy has carried me through the rest of my life until today, which I hope is not the end of my life.

I still remember a lot of my experiences in the navy and relish them for the most part. I don't know about the navy now, but it was good for me and I hope it is still good for young men today. I met a lot of the old chiefs who served in World War Two and grew to respect them greatly. I meet a lot of old veterans these days and they seem to be very good men who served with distinction. I am still in contact with a few sailors whom I met in the navy and they too are good men to this day. I can't say I would want to do it all over again, but I am glad that I did do it long ago.