Not every story is glory or grief. Sometimes they're just funny.
So here I was, seaman apprentice aboard the USS Blue Ridge, one of the original crew as the ship was still being built in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Had to be careful where you stepped, might be an unfinished deck and it's a long way down if you're not paying attention.
One day I was in the Air Ops compartment when a phone rang, so I answered it with "Hello?"
On the other end was none other than Captain Kent J Carrol, commanding officer. He barked, "This is how you answer a phone, sailor? Who is this?"
I said, "You mean you don't know who this is, sir?"
He actually said "No!"
So I actually said "Good!" Hung up and ran my ass off out of there as fast as I could!
Captain Carrol commanded Blue Ridge through her maiden voyage around the horn, and into the South Pacific. My station was on the bridge the day Blue Ridge came under fire following operations off the coast of North Vietnam, and it was Captain Carrol who gave orders to turn the ship into the fire and for us to open fire - engaging the shore battery.
Enemy guns were silenced. Wow! What a great Captain!
Chicago, IL
