“It was a different Navy thats for certain.”
Yes it was. We use to wear beards. n/s
I cut mine off for a total of nine months while on the ship. I was T.A.D. in Fire Department twice {volunteered for it} while in the yards. I liked the job and I didn't mind. Afterward I went back to A-division and grew it back. Since 1980 my beard has been off my face maybe a total of a year because I had joined the National Guards for a year hitch. My wife has not seen me without my beard. There are rumored pictures though LOL