Quite a pain to grow is what it was! I recall that I got helo'd from my ship to a Cruiser to analyze their Electronic Warfare division. I think it was the Cruiser San Diego, though I could be wrong. In any case I gave them a good grade and when the Cruiser got back to San Diego from local ops. I needed to get off the gangway and get back to my ship.
Now, the Admiral of the Navy at that time was Elmo Zumwalt. The Adm. decided to let sailors grow "groomed" beards. Mine got a bit wild for Navy standards and it was so when I got flown out to that particular Cruiser.
On my way across the Quarter Deck the ships Captain was giving pre-shore inspections. You know what happened next, eh? I got taken to task by said Captain and I struggled to explain that I was not a crewman aboard his "spit and polished" ship but had been flown in to do what I did with his EW team. 20 minutes later I got free of him and the Cruiser after sweating it out for what seemed an eternity. The USS Jouett gangway never looked so good as it did that afternoon.
That's the thing about the Navy, the bigger the ship the higher rank of the commander and the more expectorant and shoe black ya gotta put up with. The Jouett had the rank of Captain assigned, and, if you remember your history, the Captain of our ship just happened to be Samuel P. Gravely and on our way back from our second combat tour he became the first Black Admiral of the US Navy. Look it up. Perhaps you can find some photos of he and the Jouett. I have the opposite of regrets when I remember that time. It peeled back the trappings of society for me. I went to Vietnam at age 19 and came back 4years later at the age of 40. No regrets. I would do the whole thing over again to serve my country. TCrowe RD 2 (Radarman 2nd class or E5)
Here is a ship side photo of Guam on the way to Vietnam the second time. that is the only stop after Hawaii for refueling and picking up Nuc. warheads.Next stop, the Phillipines.
