Paul E. Rickman, CTTCS USN Retired, 1962 - 1984


It was August 1962, I'm sitting in my hotel room and my buddy George called. 
Wanted to know if I'd like to go join the Navy. My first reaction was to ask 
if he was crazy, "Did you ever notice those uniforms?", I asked. So I talked 
George into going to see the Army while I was on break at the restaurant, 4PM 
the next day. While I had skills from various jobs during high school, I really 
didn't want to put any of them to use for the rest of my life. My last job 
before graduation was as a foreman of a roofing crew, two bucks an hour. My 
sights were slightly higher but jobs were tough to come by, Vietnam was a 
real threat to employers and employees. C & O Rail Road had hired me and fired 
me in the same second when they found out I had just graduated and my military 
time had not been satisfied. So for a short time, I found this job busing tables 
in one of the finest restaurants in Huntington, WV.  $35 dollars a week and two 
free meals each day. My hotel room was only $12 so that looked real good to me.  
So George and I head off to see the Army at 4PM the next day. The place was packed, 
but we were met by this Army Sargent, big guy smoking an even bigger cigar. 
"Boys, we are really busy, do you think you could come back tomorrow?", he said. 
So I said to George, "C'mon George, let's go see your Navy Recruiter." Nobody there, 
except this Chief all dressed up in white. "Come in, put your feet up, do you want 
something to drink?" He also asked what we wanted to be, didn't much matter to me as 
long as I got a good school out of it. My grandfather had been a Yeoman. So I was 
promised an A school and signed up for the end of the month.  What happened to George, 
you asked? After all he is the one who started this story. Well George failed his physical, 
you see, he was cross-eyed. Later in life, as I recall, George became friends with a doctor 
who fixed his eyes for free. He also earned his Doctor's degree, volunteered as a Navy 
Chaplin (civilian) for the Navy Reserve Unit and spent some time on a Navy ship out of Hawaii.  
George had more sea time than I did, because I didn't have any.


Paul Rickman, CTTCS USN Retired 1962 - 1984