From the desk of EX-DRAGONITE MM2(SS) Bob Young
(59-61).
I like standing on deck at sunrise with salt
spray in my face and clean
ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters
of the globe--the ship
beneath me feeling like a living thing as her
engines drive her through
the sea.
I like the sounds of the Navy--the piercing
sound of the boatswains
pipe, the clang of the ship's bell on the
quarterdeck, the squawk of the
1MC and the strong language and laughter of
sailors at work.
I like the vessels of the Navy--nervous darting
destroyers, sleek
submarines, laboring amphibs and steady solid
carriers.
I like the proud names of Navy capital ships:
Midway,
Lexington,
Saratoga,
Coral Sea
- memorials of battles won.
I like the lean, angular names of Navy
'tin-cans': Barney, Dahlgren,
Mullinix, Cowell, Parsons, McCloy--mementos of
heroes who went before us.
I like liberty call and the spicy scent of a
foreign port.
I like the surge of adventure in my heart when
the word is passed "Now
go to your stations all the special sea and
anchor detail -- that is,
Now go to your stations all the special sea and
anchor detail -- all
hands to quarters for getting underway"
I like the serenity of the sea after a day of
hard ship's work, as
flying fish flit across the wave tops and sunset
gives way to night.
I like the feel of the Navy in darkness--the
masthead lights, the red
and green navigation lights and stern light, the
pulsating
phosphorescence of the ship's wake.
I like drifting off to sleep lulled by the
noises large and small that
tells me that my ship is alive and well, and
that my shipmates on watch
will keep us safe.
I like quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong
coffee.
I like the sudden electricity of "General
quarters, general quarters,
all hands man your battle stations," followed by
the hurried clamor of
running feet on ladders and the resounding thump
of watertight doors as
the ship transforms herself in a few brief
seconds from a peaceful
workplace to a weapon of war--ready for
anything.
I like the traditions of the Navy and the men
and women who made them.
I like the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey,
Nimitz, Perry, Farragut,
John Paul Jones.
In years to come, when sailors are home from the
sea, they will still
remember with fondness and respect the ocean in
all its moods--the
impossible shimmering mirror calm and the
storm-tossed green water
surging over the bow. And then there will come
again a faint whiff of
stack gas, a faint echo of the engines and a
vision of bright signal
flags snapping at the yardarm, a sound of hearty
laughter on the mess decks.
Gone ashore for good they will grow wistful
about their Navy days, when
the seas belonged to them and a new port of call
was ever over the horizon.
Remembering this, they will stand taller and
say:
"I WAS A SAILOR ONCE. I WAS PART OF THE NAVY.
THE NAVY WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF ME."
(Author Unknown)
And don't
forget: "Sweepers man your brooms,
clean sweep down fore and aft, sweep
down all ladders, decks and
passageways."
and
from the
head cook over the 1mc:
"Will the
duty chicken lay aft to the galley for
another run through the soup."
and
After diving
to ordered depth:
"Open all
bulkhead flappers and recirculate"
or as
one diving officer put it:
"Open all
bulkhead circulars and reflapperate."
This could
go on all day. However, the shipmate
that wrote "I like the Navy" really did
get it all.
Jack DeWitt
