88...good goin sub sailor. Salud!
I was on the Grenadier (SS-525). ComSubRon 12, Key West (1972-73). After boot, training and such I went to sea at 17 years, 9 months.
Boat was in such bad shape we were in port over half the time. Made a 6 week stop in GTMO. Hit Haiti, Jamaica, P.R., Gulf Coast. Had a barracks room on base.
Cuban gunboats harassed us as we sailed 12 miles off the Cuban coast. Got to see the skyline of Havana through the scope.
We decommissioned in May of ‘73 and sold it to Venezuela. Poor bastards. They operated that damn thing into the ‘90s.
Caught the Bancroft (SSBN-643 Blue) out of Charleston/Rota after that, did 3 patrols in the Med (1973-75). That was enough for me.
TM/LT 3 (SS). Made E-5 but had been picked up by the shore patrol for drunk and disorderly in Rota after my last run and was busted down to E-3 (suspended). I was barred from getting it while the suspension was in place. It was worth it! lol
Got out in August 1975 at 21 years and 3 weeks old.
3 years, 11 months and 1 day.
Its still great being a sub sailor. I still remember some of the old salts on board., Real characters.
Again sir, salud!
Mine were the USS Cobia (SS-245) and USS Picuda (SS-382). When the Cobia was decommissioned, went to Portsmouth, NH for converting the 382 boat to a Guppy and went aboard the U-505 just a few berths away. Our boats were like Cadillacs compared to theirs - grudging respect for the Krauts going to war in them.
Hit Cuba in the pre-Castro days, Passed by Santiago Bay and saw a couple of beached hulks from the Spanish-American War - nothing but shells remained. Neat bit of history.
Didn’t really feel old until I saw the Cobia was a floating museum up in Wisconsin (!!) Went aboard her in 2003 and the smells were still there - memories came flooding back. The guide let me sound the diving alarm and I confess I felt a thrill ripple through me.
When I signed up, I was staying in for 30 - everything was an adventure at age 17. The last duty station in Key West turned chicken-shit, so I bailed after 3 years, 8 months and 24 days. Got out early as Eisenhower said that anyone who enlisted in ‘51 could get out if under 21.
Was at sea when I heard that and was all hyped up. Then the French lost at Dien Bien Phu and all enlistments were extended. Was in a purple snit until I found out it was scuttlebutt.
Shipmates are all gone now but still live in my memory.