“YOUNG & INNOCENT”
DECEMBER 1967
 

When I reported to OCS in Newport, RI, in early fall 1967, the temperature was nice. When I graduated in December, I realized I NEVER wanted to be in that part of the country during the winter again!
Rick Woolf, a close friend who had also gotten his MBA at the University of Miami (FL), enlisted with me in the Navy and we ended up in the same company at OCS. If Rick were not helping me tuck my shirt prior to an inspection, I’d be REALLY worried about that look on his face!
The thrill of having exhilarating PT immediately after an “O-Dark-30” reveille (followed by a quick run to the chow hall and standing formation for colors each brisk December morning) is truly something I would simply just like to forget!
After about the first 6 weeks, we were finally allowed to venture out on liberty into Newport, RI, on Saturday nights. This particular shot of Rick and I having some refreshing beverages was taken at a company party sometime about mid-way through our 16 week indoctrination at OCS.
The USS Massassachuttes (BB-59)is tied up in Newport. As young, impressionable OCS types, we were awed by its size and inspired to go back aboard base and do good things to earn our commission and be able to serve on something like this battleship!
Rick Woolf is dwarfed by the size of the forward 16 inch gun turret. These monsters used bags of black powder to fire a 2,700 LB projectile more than 26 miles with great accuracy so as to be able to hit a target the size of a football field at that range.
Later, aboard my first ship and stationed off Vietnam, I saw the USS New Jersey (which had been recommissioned and upgraded with the latest technology) being used to provide gunfire support for the troops ashore. This is a photo of the USS Iowa (BB-61) firing all 9 of its 16 inch guns at the same time.
The previous photo and this photo (which were taken by Navy photographers) demonstrate the horrendous recoil of these monstrous guns actually pushing the huge battleships sideways in the water.
During the last month or so of OCS, we did get to venture out on 2-day weekend liberty and were able to travel as far as Boston and New York. On one such trip to Boston, we visited the oldest US ship still in commission—the USS Constitution.
This is probably one of three times in his career that Steve ever actually wore his Officer’s long woolen overcoat. (Of course, after a few years’ of active duty, I had gained weight and was no longer able to fit into the damn thing!)
Of course, young Officers (in training) also have to engage in less nautical ambitions and pursue more serious pedestrian activities...like DRINKING! In this photo we were introducing Rick to a the concept of how to quaff a “Yard of Ale” in Boston, MA.
As Rick discovered, drinking a “Yard of Ale” is sort of like listening for a train coming through the tunnel: When you finally see it, it’s TOO LATE!
When your room is absolutely spotless (but, has not yet been inspected), the only place to relax, read the newspaper, and have your coffee while waiting on the inspector is on the deck in the main passageway.
Navigation is an art which essentially escaped Steve. Thank God that the Navy never had to depend upon his Celestial Navigation (or any other kind of navigation) to get the ship back to homeport! [Now, if you wanted to know how to get to the closest BAR, he could have probably helped you with THOSE directions!]
One of the major joys of OCS was getting to march in formation with an M-1 rifle. Of course, as Steve demonstrates, we were expected to keep it clean and ready for inspection.
Rick took to cleaning his M-1 like a duck takes to water....
Fire-fighting school is a mandatory requirement for all Navy personnel—both Officers and Enlisted. There are, however, better times in Newport, RI, than November (when the temperature was about 2 degrees above freezing) in which to gain this valuable knowledge.
As we approached the end of our OCS tour of duty, our junior (to ourselves) class members got to take over the daily cleaning of the rooms and hallways...
...and this delegation of work left Rick and Steve with a lot more time on their hands for other more important activities.
This photo was taken at the time of our “Million Second” count down to graduation in OCS training. I have never been in this good of physical condition SINCE that point in my life.
We took this “Million Second” event SERIOUSLY—all most of us wanted from Santa that Christmas was our Ensign rank and a ticket out of Newport to our new duty station. Rick Woolf and I were more than ready to head down to Supply School in Athens, GA for the next 6 months.
One of the happiest days of Steve’s life was graduation from OCS and leaving Newport—FOREVER! I just couldn't wait to get to Supply School in Athens, Georgia where I figured that everything I would be taught would have a direct purpose and application to my future job as a Supply Corps Officer.
However, I had no idea when I left OCS and reported to Athens that I would end up living in a 60 foot trailer...with two other guys...in a muddy, wooded area...during a very COLD WINTER...for the next six months. Steve has NEVER had any interest in living in any kind of 'mobile home' since that time!
On one of our ventures from the Supply School in Athens, GA, to nearby Atlanta, GA, Rick and Paula (his wife) and I visited one of the more upscale hotels which had a fountain into which guests had thrown COINS. These coins proved too much of a financial attraction to Rick who rolled up his sleeves and went diving for MONEY!
The O'Club at the Navy Supply School in Athens was the only oasis for LIQUOR in an otherwise DRY TOWN. Athens also has the University of Georgia....and the COEDS from that university simply LOVED NAVY OFFICERS (and the evils of readily-available liquor in the O'Club)!
Rick and Paula visited Steve's 'no-frills' trailer for some LIQUID refreshments and...
..a little music at some point during our six-month tour of duty. At that point in Steve's life, he could only afford "Ancient Age" bourbon, "Robin Hood Ale," "Ripple" wine, and the cheapest beer being sold in the Navy Exchange's Package Store that week.
After 6 months in Supply School, I reported as “Supply Officer” aboard my first ship, the USS DIACHENKO (APD-123). The ship was homeported in San Diego, but deployed to Vietnam at the time I reported aboard. Rick Woolf headed off to the USS Platte...the OLDEST OILER in the US Navy!