Like Pat Furlong, I was fortunate to serve during the Viet Nam Era without having to participate in that conflict.  Since I had a full NROTC scholarship to Duke, I didn't have to make many choices upon graduation.  Fortunately, both of the ships to which I was assigned from 1968-1972 were based in Norfolk, VA, so we sailed the Atlantic and Mediterranean primarily (with one foray into the Arctic Ocean). 

While I didn't agree with the VietNam War, I felt that shouldn't be held against the military since it was a decision of the elected political leadership to fight there and that those of us in the military were just doing our duty.  Nevertheless, I do recall being spat upon at LaGuardia and taunted and ridiculed in numerous other situations.  I did participate in a couple of peace marches in DC and was rather conspicuous with my short hair!!  I had a bumper sticker that read "How Many Vietnamese Fought in Our Civil War" for a while.  My XO told me he couldn't force me to remove that sticker, but he did say that my parking privileges could be revoked and that I would have to pay to park off-base over a mile away, so I reluctantly folded on that issue.   I absolutely detested my first ship, the USS Wright (CC-2).  That ship was the national emergency command post, designed to take to sea with the president on board in the event of some conflagration that threatened DC.  Consequently, the emphasis was spit and polish and ceremony, not my strong points.

I do recall one instance from that time that was rather humorous, however.  My fiance was still at Duke and I was attending a football game there when I was paged at the stadium.  We were on a six hour "leash" from the ship and some dust-up with the Soviet Union resulted in a recall of the whole crew.  My friends who were there thought it was pretty impressive that I was paged at the stadium to get back to defend the country.

My second ship, USS Damato (DD-871), however, provided many treasured memories.  My department head was essentially worthless and our skipper thought I was pretty capable, so the CO had him transferred off the ship and promoted me to department head and full Lieutenant (= captain in the other services) at the ripe old age of 24.  We had deployments to the Med and North Atlantic duirng my time on board and really enjoyed the old saw, "Join the Navy and See the World."  Our wardroom still gets together for occassional reunions after all these years. I finished up the last few months of my committment doing public relations and recruiting doctors, dentists, and nurses in Louisville, KY.  Other than my older son being conceived during that stint, I have few pleasant memories of that duty.

Like most of us in our generation, I had freinds/relatives who made the ultimate sacrifice in Viet Nam.  I am so pleased to see that our country's current atitude towards military personnel has changed.  Even those who disagree with our forays in the Middle East seem to honor the contributions and sacrifices that our individual soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen/women are making

I appreciate your service, Jack, and I thank you.

Thank you, Donna,

Those of us who are posting are the fortunate ones--we are still around to recall our experiences.  I will add a comment similar to one that somebody else posted.  When you are 24 years old, it's 0200, you are steaming through 20' seas, and you are Officer of the Deck with the fate of 270 people in your hands, you grow up quickly!

I look forward to seeing you at the reunion.

Jack