Iwas born on May 6, 1933 in Palo Pinto County, Texas about 300 yards from my current residence (50 miles West of Fort Worth). I joined the Navy on 18 DEC 50 and spent Christmas in Boot Camp at NTC, San Diego, CA with Engineman 1/c(SS) Cogswell as my company 50-600 commander. I got the submarine fever right away.
    After recruit training, I attended the Class "A" Radar school on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Yes, I stood security watches with leggings at "Sonar by the sea". Two weeks of CIC team training at Point Loma was next and then to  a pre-com detail at Long Beach NSY for the recommissioning of the U.S.S. McGOWAN DD-678 (2100T). After commissioning and moving aboard my first ship as a designated striker, RDSA, I went to the mess decks for a tour in the scullery & the spud locker (messcook!).
    After shakedown testing/refit  and training while at San Diego and another Christmas approaching, I met a classmate buddy from Radar school that was stationed aboard the U.S.S. SOUTHERLAND DDR-743 (2250T) that wanted to "swap" duty with me. Can't remember why, but it sounded good at the time! I had graduated from the mess decks and was ready for some real Combat Information Center Radar experience (what better place than a radar picket?). The commands approved our swap. The McGOWAN was going to move to the East coast & the SOUTHERLAND was deploying to WESTPAC.
    As the newest RDSN on board SOUTHERLAND, I was volunteered to be the CPO Quarters
messcook & compartment cleaner! Now let me tell you, that was an enlightening experience: this 18 year old lad thrown to the wolves in the Goat Locker. Did I ever learn why the Chief's shoes were spit shined? You better believe it. About JAN 52 we sailed for Pearl Harbor for underway training and Operational Readiness Inspection.
    My first deployment. Our Destroyer Division stopped over at Midway and visited the Gooney birds.  Left there as escort for a jeep carrier the U.S.S. Badoeng Strait that was ferrying replacement aircraft for Korea. The HMCS Nootka D-213 was in our DD screen also.  Experienced my first typhoon enroute to Yokosuka. When the seas started ripping aircraft off the flight deck of the "Bing Ding", things were getting just about right aboard the "Southbound" with her tall and heavy tripod radar mast between the stacks where a normal tincan had a torpedo mount. Know what a 52 degree roll feels like? Have you ever walked on the bulkheads? Lost our motor whaleboat right off the davits in that one. Nuff said  that subject! Got into Yokosuka and learned that the WW2 occupation was still in effect.
    Several runs to the Yellow Sea & Sea of Japan. Task force ops/screen, radar picket duty, shore bombardment, plane guard and whatever else a "greyhound" was supposed to do in support of the Police Action. Made Repair & Refit (R&R) in Buckner Bay Okinawa, Sasebo and Yokosuka. Finally after an assignment patrolling the Formosa Straits in the summer of '52, we made it to HONG KONG.
    Liked the liberty and promptly visited the Station Ship, U.S.S. EVERETT PF-8 (1430T) and found me a swap! Those guys on the North Korean side shot back and the Yellow Sea is frigid in FEB! My luck, the EVERETT made a Korean tour with the ROK Navy! Our evaporators broke (we took on potable water when we fueled from a tanker or tincan) and continued with cold salt water showers. Did some plunking at floating mines in Wonsan Harbor with a 20mm. I'm a salty Radarman 3/c by now! This is getting too lengthy. We decommissioned the EVERETT in Yokosuka Japan and turned her over to the Japanese Self Defense  Force (JSDF). Spent a couple of months as a patient at USNH 3923 and helped off load a Hospital Ship of Marine Evacuees to the USNH there. After 19 months in the Western Pacific [WESTPAC], I was just about Asiatic.
    Returned stateside on a troop ship, the USNS ______________, from Yokohama to Seattle.  The Korean ARMISTICE was signed during this voyage. Wound up in sickbay with blood poisioning and was offloaded by stretcher at pier 91 in Seattle and transported to the Bremerton Naval Hospital for treatment. Spent about ten days "confined" there. Then took 30 day leave, and reported aboard the U.S.S. SAINT PAUL CA-73 (17,000T)  at Long Beach as RD3/c in King Division.  Had to buy  new uniforms because after the Station Ship Hong Kong tour all I owned was Levi's & tailor-mades! Welcome to the flagship of the cruiser Navy. Regulation, I reckon! Learned about Holy Stoning of the beautiful wood decks topside .
 

To be continued...