KEVIN
PAULETTE

Once I Was a Navyman
I like the Navy. I like standing on deck on a long voyage with the sea in
my face and ocean winds whipping in from everywhere, the feel of the giant
steel ship beneath me, its engine driving against the sea.
I like the Navy. I like the clang of steel, the ringing of the bell, the
foghorns and strong laughter of Navy men at work.
I like the ships of the Navy. Nervous darting destroyers, sleek cruisers,
majestic battle ships and steady, solid carriers. I like the names of
Navy ships: Midway, Hornet, Enterprise, Sea Wolf, Iwo Jima, Wasp,
Shangri-La, and Constitution - majestic ships of the line. I like the
bounce of Navy music and the tempo of a Navy Band, "Liberty Whites" and
the spice scent of a foreign port.
I like shipmates I've sailed with - the kid from the Iowa cornfield, a
pal from New York's eastside, an Irishman from Boston, the boogie boarders
of California, and of course a drawling, friendly Texan. From all parts of
the land they came, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England -
from the cities, the mountains and the prairies. All Americans, All are
comrades in arms. All are men of the sea.
I like the adventure in my heart when the ship puts out to sea, and I like
the electric thrill of sailing home again, with the waving hands of
welcome from family and friends waiting on shore. The work is hard, the
going rough at times, but there's the companionship of robust Navy
laughter, the devil-may-care philosophy of the sea. And after a day of
hard duty, there is a serenity of the sea at dusk, as white caps dance on
the ocean waves. The sea at night is mysterious.
I like the lights of the Navy in darkness. The masthead lights, the
red/green sidelights, and stern lights. They cut through the night and
look like a mirror of stars in darkness. There are quiet nights and the
quiet of the mid-watch when the ghosts of all the Sailors of the world
stand with you. And there is the aroma of fresh coffee from the galley.
I like the legends of the Navy and the men who made them. I like the
proud names of Navy Heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut and John
Paul Jones. A man can find much in the Navy - comrades in arms, pride
in a country. A man can find himself.
In years to come, when the Sailor is home from the sea, he will still
remember with fondness the ocean spray on his face when the sea is angry.
There will still come a faint aroma of fresh paint in his nostrils, the
echo of hearty laughter of the seafaring men who once were close companions.
Locked on land, he will grow wistful of his Navy days, when the seas
belonged to him and a new port of call was always over the horizon.

Remembering this, he will stand taller and say, "ONCE I WAS A NAVYMAN."

AUTHOR UNKNOWN
 

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