My Dad & me

[knife7knut]

Going through some old photo albums the other day I came across this picture and decided to share it on this forum.My dad,who was born in 1904 and passed on in 1995 joined the Navy when he was 17 years old.This was one of the ships he served on and from what I can gather this ship was home ported in San Diego from 1925 to 1929.As the picture was taken there I can assume it was sometime during those years.He served 8 years in the Navy so this was likely when he was about to check out.
He is just under the life preserver on the right.
I then came upon a picture taken of me sometime in 1965 just after I had checked in to Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center.Think there is a bit of a similarity?I was roughly the same age as him when the picture was taken.

[jerryd6818]

You were a third class in '65. What years did you serve? You must have gone in somewhere around the same time I did ('62).

[knife7knut]

June 20 1964-October 11 1967. From Great Lakes NTC to NAS Key West to NAS Jacksonville to NATC Patuxent River with some side trips to NAS Oceana VA. Worked the transit flight line in KW and AO school in Jax.Part of the Service Test Division and All Services Evaluation Group at Pax River evaluating weapons systems mostly on Phantoms.Worked on some hush-hush stuff as well with civilian contractors and the Air Force.Sixteen hour days were the norm back then and we had to be ready at any time to prep a plane for flight.Not like combat but had some pretty hair raising incidents like a CBU inadvertantly opening while loading onto an aircraft.Kept the EOD guys busy for awhile.

[jerryd6818]

Thanks. Holy smokes! You went in the summer of '64 and made 3rd class the next year? That's movin'.

[knife7knut]

Thanks. Holy smokes! You went in the summer of '64 and made 3rd class the next year? That's movin'.

AO rate was pretty much open then;not many people staying in so there was a shortage. For awhile I had to work by myself using non-ordnancemen to assist me in weapons loading(which led to the CBU incident)which proved to be a very dangerous situation.
Although I was only signed up for 3 years I extended for 7 months so I could take an E-5 pay grade. Got lucky on that one.
I almost considered re-enlisting as even though we were working all these crazy hours it wasn't really all that bad.I got out because I wanted to get married to a girl I met while I was stationed at Pax River.For one reason or another we didn't get married then but eventually got back together in 1992 and married the follwing year.Still happily married too.A LONG story.

[royal0014]

Love seeing those old pictures, esp. with a story behind it.

Thank You, Sir, for your service. And congrats on the happily ever-after!

[Old Hunter]

Pretty cool pictures, and yes, the family resemblance is there. Funny how families end up in a particular service - my Dad was Army, so was I (most everyone in my family who served since the founding of the USA have served in the Army). There is a Coast Guard family (the Harkers) from Harkers Island, some go to my church - they have been USCG or USLSS since the beginning. Another good buddy of mine (deceased now) was a Marine, his son is a LtCol in the USMC now, the grandfather was a Marine; that seems to be the pattern in a lot of families. OH

[carrmillus]

.......what kind of ship is that in the first picture??.....the single gun makes me think submarine????.......... ...............

[jerryd6818]

Good eye Tommy. It would appear she's the USS S-24 (SS-129), launched on 27 June 1922.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_S-24_(SS-129)

[carrmillus]

...........hey, jerry, I'm beginning to think my eyes are better than I thought they were...finally got to take my new henry .22 out and shoot it yesterday(33 rounds)-put 'em all inside an 8 inch circle at about 25 yds. it's been 29 yrs. since I fired a rifle and I found out I can't hold one still anymore!!!........ ................