Was it Lee Marvin that was just up for star veteran that was also a Sonar guy? I wonder if Ernest might have trained him up?
Found it - it was Lee Van Cleef. They might have crossed paths:
[Van Cleef] entered service on Oct 16, 1942 and went to Sonorman School and graduated as a third class petty office Sonorman. His reported to his first vessel a subchaser with no name called USS SC-681 from March 15, 1943 to January 16,1944. During his time on board he was promoted to 2nd Class Petty Officer Sonorman. This SC-681 patrolled the Caribbean in search of German U-Boats.
He went for more training at Fleet Sound School, Key West, FL, for a few weeks. He was was transferred to Savannah, GA to be part of the pre-commissioning crew of a new ship.