After six weeks of boot camp I was assigned to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet docked at Hunters Point, San Francisco .The first time we took a small boat out to the carrier I was amazed on how large she was. As I looked up at her and thought that if she sank there was no way I would jump of the flight deck into the water..

I could tell you of many stories about my navy experience but a few brief stories will suffice. I was a seaman….right of the bottom of the hierarchy. I was told that they would send me to radar school if I would switch over to the regular navy for two years of more. I declined since serve units were being discharged and I knew that I would get out sooner than if I transferred over to the regular navy. Hence I was denied any opportunity for advancement.

I remember going on shore in San Francisco and being bored spending all night in a movie theater rather than going back to the ship.

I remember that I was assigned coffee making duties. (There were three of us and none f us drank coffee (I was the only L.D.S.) We had our own system where we had one man on duty while two of us took leave. I had a friend on another ship that provided me with a pass so that I could get one and off the ship or base.

We were commissioning the ship. In one room we stored stacks of mattresses. When not on duty we would hide behind the mattresses and sleep. All the lights were off. I was asleep one day and inspection team of officers came into the room moved through the room and out. I was one frightened sailor.

I recall breaking ranks early to get a good bed in the barracks . As I ran around the corner of a building I ran into the commanding officer. He took my dog tags and ordered me to get my sea bag and run around the grinder(a large slap of concrete( as punishment. I went to the barracks, filled up my sea bag with pillows and followed up the officers orders.

One night I was sound asleep when a drunken sailor attempted to drag me out on my bunk (bunks ere four high aboard the ship) after a heated argument, some pushing and shoving, we discovered that the angry sailor was on the wrong ship. There was a sister ship docked right next to us.)

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