in the ranks

  I had posted a picture of a coffee mug I used during my time aboard USS Yellowstone AD-41. A memento from the past. I received a few likes and comments which is why we post such things in the first place. We like to call that sharing but it is really for ourselves. It's the 21st century way of telling our stories. People like pictures much better than words. And there is no denying the 21st century is all about speed. The instant society. No longer about the journey, today it is about the destination. Let's get to the point as fast as possible. We'll talk about the journey later, when we have arrived and survived. 

 That coffee mug survived from that time while several others did not. That wasn't my first coffee mug! It made it home with me somehow and sits gathering dust for the most part, a relic. One person did ask if I would write a book about my time in the Navy as she felt so many stories weren't told. I appreciate the asking, its very kind, but all I would have to write is a few stories and anecdotes. When I joined the Navy the advertising slogan was, It's not just a job, it's an adventure." Well, in my case it turned out to be little more than a job, I missed out on the adventure part. I suppose that is the stories and anecdote's part and as I said, far and few between. Mostly just hours spent on watch or working. Nothing too adventurous about any of that.

 I wasn't alone at any time. I served alongside thousands of other men and women. Now it's true that I wasn't always with family or friends, but I was never alone. Homesickness isn't something I ever really felt. I came close to getting seasick once in the north Atlantic Ocean. We were sailing in a hurricane and the seas were angry that day my friends, (a line from an episode of Seinfeld). The rocking of the ship combined with the smells of diesel fuel and oils made me feel a bit queesy. I didn't get sick however, just feeling less than 100%. Real sailors do not get seasick, ever! You don't get homesick either. I have to say I wasn't always happy with the company I had to keep, and they weren't always happy to be with me either. No great lasting bonds were created between myself and anyone I ever served with. They have all just been friends or shipmates, nothing more. Probably due to the lack of adventure.

 I wrote a little bit about this before, what haven't I written about. The adventure I speak about would be valor. I was never engaged in any life-or-death battles, no adventures on the high seas involving any real risk of danger. To attempt to tell any such stories would be akin to stolen valor in my eyes. It just wouldn't be factual. I served on auxiliary ships. My first was a fleet oiler. Our job was to refuel other ships at sea and transport oil and fuels wherever they were needed. My next ship was a Destroyer Tender, its' job is to provide repair services. I served on a second Destroyer Tender before finishing my career aboard an Ammunition ship. Designated an AE we delivered fuel and ammo to the fleet. We were not on the forward lines at any time. Not that any major Naval engagements took place during my time, they didn't, but we would have been in the back anyway, protected from attack. 

 It was just a job that lasted twenty years for me. I have no big story to tell. My story is the tale of thousands of others. Consider the great battles through the ages and how many of those names you remember. We only hear about the heroes. I'm certainly not a hero. I did nothing heroic at any time, just did my job. I am simply one of those that served in anonymity. Grateful for that while serving, but looking back wishing for some adventure. 

 It's far easier to be a hero after the fact, if you know what I mean. Fortune never presented me with a choice. The ancients would say the Gods smiled upon me. I can't argue with that. It's been said "fortune favors the bold" and I'm not very bold. I'm more of a "risk and reward" kind of person. Something I learned as young child. In most situations it isn't worth the risk. Living to fight another day always struck me as good advice. Join the Navy and see the world. I did see the world is mostly water, and I saw a good deal of that! Growing up on Long Island I was already aware of that. Good memories but little else became of that adventure. It was just a job. 

 There are hundreds of quotes about serving in the military. Quotes about honor, duty, vigilance and bravery. Quotes about self-sacrifice and guarding the gates of freedom. There are no quotes about just doing your job. But I know there are thousands of others that I served alongside that did just that. They did their jobs, did as they were told to do without question, without complaint, and with their best efforts. Mostly unrecognized they just "soldiered" on. The length of their commitment varied from a few years to a career. Heroes? No, just in the ranks fulfilling an obligation. I think it is unfair to ask or expect anything more than that. But, that doesn't make for a very good story.