I would like to thank the U.S. Navy for naming a ship after me. I knew I made an impression, but...really...I'm not worthy.
In the early 1970's, I had the "pleasure" of serving in the United States Navy. After enlisting at the recruiter's in Cullman, Alabama, I boarded a Greyhound Bus for beautiful Montgomery, Alabama.
After a 'restful' evening in Montgomery, we were placed aboard an aircraft for a 'leisurely' flight to Orlando, Florida where we would be guests at the marvelous Recruit Training Center. We were treated by a 'courteous' staff where everything imaginable was given to us.
After completing recruit training, I was transferred to the Naval Training Center in North Chicago, Illinois just north of Chicago. Here I was trained on the operation and maintenance of engineroom equipment in Machinist Mate 'A' School.
My next duty station was the USS Dixon, AS-37, a submarine tender ported at Point Loma in San Diego, California. I was assigned initially to the engineroom and later to the boat shop as a boat mechanic. While on board, we accomplished one short deployment in the Pacific.
A few months later, I was sent to Nuclear Power School in Vallejo, California for my basic nuclear power class training. This class lasted about seven months. While in Vallejo, I took several trips to San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and the Napa Valley wine country. I enjoyed Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge. Going to University of California at Berkeley was an experience - for someone in the military at this time - that was interesting to say the least.
Upon completion of nuke school, I moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho for nuke training at an active nuclear engineroom simulator. This site is miles west of Idaho Falls and we were required to catch buses to the site. You have got to picture this ole' country boy from Alabama standing on the side of street waiting for a bus early in the morning while standing in four feet of snow. Talk about culture shock.
During my stay in Idaho, some of my friends convinced me that I should try snow skiing. They told me that since I could water ski, snow skiing would be 'simple' for me. After several days of coercion, I agreed to try this 'skiing'. Upon arriving at the slope, I observed snow falling on the mountain. After dragging me out of the car, my friends strapped my skis on me and shoved me into a lift chair. Next thing I know, I'm on top of this mountain with no place to go but down. When I completed my day of skiing, I was hooked. Before leaving Idaho, I spent three days at Sun Valley.
While at Idaho, I submitted requests to be stationed on a submarine in Charleston, South Carolina or New London, Connecticut. In the 'needs of the Navy' decision, I received assignment to a surface cruiser in Norfolk, Virginia. So with packed bags, I arrived at the dock looking at the USS South Carolina, CGN-37. I won't go into to much detail of life aboard ship, but I will list places I went to while onboard. I completed three Mediterranean Cruises, one North Atlantic deployment, one South American deployment, one Caribbean deployment and many weekly deployments.
After four years onboard the SoCar, I received my discharge and went home to Alabama.
Following is a list of the places I visited while on the USS South Carolina, CGN-37:
