The Navy: How it Changed Someone's Life in the Late 1960’s

Introduction
Do you think you could make it in the Navy? The Navy is not for everyone. The Navy will teach you many skills that you need. The Honorable Raymond E. "Ray" Mabus states, “The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.” I interviewed Dan Richardi, who has been my boss since October 2007. Dan Richardi stated, “I think everyone should put in some military service...a couple of years. It teaches you how to survive and think for yourself and follow instructions.” With military service the world could become a better place because people would learn to live a good life.

Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, this research project will allow readers to know what it was like for some men to be in the Navy during the late sixties into the early seventies. The conditions in the Navy are not as everyone thinks. The conditions that some sailors had to go through may or may not shock some readers. This research project investigates the experiences of the U.S Navy in the late 1960s and argues that it has changed their lives forever.

Photo of Richardi’s sub shop 2010. Source: Premik, Zaneta.

Photo of Dan Richardi at work 2011. Source: Premik, Zaneta

Before Serving in the Navy

Many people have good home lives before they go into the Navy. For Dan Richardi, life was rather easy for him. His mom made his bed, lunch, and laundry. He had it made living with his mother. He was not a hippie but he knew people that were. Richardi stated, “I have never done drugs to this day but I dropped my share of beer.” Hippies did a lot of marijuana and drinking. Richardi had just graduated a technical high school. He did not go to college after high school because he went to a trade school and he knew that he wanted to be an electrician. Richardi decided to go into the Navy because he was patriotic and he knew that he did not want to go into the Vietnam War. He felt like it was “a less of two evils” by going into the Navy. Richardi knew that he could be sent into the Vietnam War by going into the Navy. He thought that there would be a better chance of him not going into the war by joining the Navy. The Navy felt like the better option for Richardi. Richardi stated, "Not a lot of men would admit this but I was scared to go to the Vietnam War, so I decided to go into the Navy.” He had a fifty-fifty chance of going to Vietnam on a ship called the west pack which was a west coast ship. His parents were glad that Richardi chose the Navy because they did not want him to fight in the Vietnam War.

Richardi had a friend that he went to school with and that he worked with that never made it back from Vietnam. Richardi’s really good friend Jerry Kenny that he graduated with went into the Vietnam War. Kenny went into the war right out of high school. He was killed within a year. His name is on a plaque in front of Braintree’s town hall. Another friend of Richardi’s that went to the Vietnam War was Ambrose Tonasso from Randolph and he was killed in 1968. When Richardi went to look for his name on the memorial in Washington DC, he couldn’t find his name but he did find Jerry Kenny’s name.

The Culture Shock of the Navy
Dan Richardi was 18 when he went into the Navy. He went in August 18, 1968 and left August 19, 1972. He left from the Boston Navy base to fly to boot camp. He was in boot camp for fourteen weeks. They got their clothes and none of them fit. After boot camp, they went to the chow hall and there was nothing to eat. All the kitchen workers had left because it was late at night. The only thing that was there was an eighty quart bowl with cold mixed vegetables like peas and greens. That’s all they had since they left Boston and after boot camp. It was very hot there. They could not even shower until the next day. In a 20 by 20 room there was a commode in the middle of it. Everyone had to share that commode. There was no privacy. Everyone would tell each other to hurry up. They had to go to bed because they had to be up in two hours. They did not get bedding only a cot and a filthy mattress. On the aircraft carrier they had all types of tanks for ballast filled with fuel and when the fuel ran out they would fill it with water. They used the same tank for fuel and water. Sometime it was salt water for showering. Sometimes they would make their own freshwater and they would put that in the tank too. They could taste the fuel in the water. They used the same water with cooking. You could taste the fuel in the food. Sometimes when you showered you would get fuel on your body. Richardi stated that, “It was absolutely horrendous. It was the worst night of my life.” The culture shock of his first day was very horrendous.
When they first went into the navy some men had long hair, real hippy looking. Or wore clothes that made them look tough and they were strutting their stuff. Richardi stated, “After a day or so after the Navy got through with them. Shaving their heads and having the same clothes. Everyone was the same. Everyone was on par with each other. Nobody was tougher or strutting their stuff.” They made you learn who was the boss.

Photo of the author’s boss in the Navy 1968. Source Richardi, Dan.

The Navy
Dan Richardi went to a technical high school and became an electrician. The Navy sent him for schooling to become an aviation electrician. An aviation electrician basically works on repairing aircrafts. He really enjoyed being an aviation electrician. He worked on airplanes called P 3C Orion. According to "P-3C Orion", “The P-3 Orion has been the Navy’s front-line land-based maritime patrol aircraft since the 1960s. The most capable Orion version is the P-3C, first delivered to the Navy in 1969.” (141) Richardi really enjoyed fixing the aircrafts.

He started in the Great Lakes Michigan and didn't get to see the area very good. It was somewhere between Milwaukee and Chicago. He only got to get off base one time. After that he was stationed in Jacksonville Florida. He went to more schooling there. It was a nice area, the weather was pretty good. It was swampy, humid and the air smelt like sulfur but you got used to it. Then he was transferred to an aircraft carrier, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. Larry stated that, “Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) was launched 29 April 1945 by New York Naval Shipyard as Coral Sea (CVB-42); sponsored by Mrs. John H. Towers, wife of the Deputy Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet.” The Roosevelt was towards the end of its career. It was a World War II ship and it was tired. It was old and rusty. They spent a lot of money on it in dry dock. Larry stated that the ship was, “renamed Franklin D. Roosevelt 8 May 1945 following the death of the President; and commissioned 27 October 1945 Captain A. Soucek in command.” He was stationed in the East Coast and some of the ships went to Vietnam. They had bigger ships that went to Vietnam that could carry more planes not bigger planes. But most of the ships that went to Vietnam came from San Diego.

It was pretty good duty. They spent a lot of time in Virginia then they went to Cuba. They were on that ship for almost a year. Richardi stated that, "After a year you are made what is called sea vay which meant you were on sea duty for a year and you got four or five places to transfer to.” He transferred to patrol squadron in packs river Maryland vp 56 and worked on P 3C Orion and they fly around and tracked subs. The Honorable Raymond E. "Ray" Mabus stated that, “The P-3C has advanced submarine detection sensors such as directional frequency and ranging (DIFAR) sonobuoys and magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment.” They can track subs submerged under water seventy five miles out. That’s how sensitive the radar was. In 1971 he went to Iceland for four months in the winter. Richardi stated, "It was cool out there, literally cool." It was dark all the time. They tracked subs coming out of Norway and Sweden. They used to keep track of where they were all the time. The sun would come out during noon time and an hour later it would be gone. It would be dark for the next twenty three hours. After that he was with them about a year and then transferred to Quonset point Rhode island and it was kind of nice. He worked for what was called operation maintenance department. They would take care of the transit planes like if they had a problem they would fix them. He worked nights in Quonset point and his last year in the Navy he bought his uncles sub shop called Richardi's sub shop which he still works at now.

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt Ship. Source: USS

There was a lot of protest against the Vietnam War but he didn’t really see it. He would just read about it in the newspaper and see it on the television. He never had any problems expect when he was in dry dock on the Roosevelt but he didn’t think it had to do with the protest. He thought the area was just tired of dealing with drunken sailors. He saw many signs that said “dogs and sailors stay off the grass”.

The Navy Sergeants
The Sergeants were there to make sure that the sailors were on top of their game. They talked down to them. They yelled and screamed. If they did not do something correctly then you would be punished by having dumpster watch all night. They have to stand an eight hour watch next to a dumpster if they didn't learn something that they were supposed to learn. They teach you everything. They had to fit their own clothes, stencil their all our clothes names and had to their own laundry by hand and hang it. The Navy has its own way of doing things and you had to do it their way. They gave you a string and you had to hang your clothes like a clothes line. They did personal inspections. Richardi stated, “They would get in your face and pull your shirt out and if there was a little sweat line or if there was blood where you cut yourself from shaving, you were in trouble.” Instead of going to the chow hall you would do calisthenics or you ran laps around the field or something like that. The simplest things like if you didn't make your bed right. Richardi stated, “They would take a quarter and they threw it on your bed and if didn't bounce then you were in trouble because that meant that you didn't tuck your sheets in tight enough.” They had a little stand next to their bed where in a drawer they could lock up their wallet and watch. On top of the drawer, they had shelves and they had to have their clothes stacked up in a certain way. They would get in your face and feel your cheek and if there were stubbles then they would make you do fifty pushups. Richardi stated, "I've seen guys being thrown out because they couldn't do anything right." The Navy is clearly not for everyone. They teach you a lot. Some people don't know how to take care of their personal hygiene like how you should wash your hair first and then work your way down. They would teach you how to easily communicate with others. Richardi stated, “If you had to job to do and people were in your way you would say “make a hole people” and they move for you. If you miss what someone said you would say “say again”. If you misspoke or made a mistake you would say “belay my last”. It was just much easier for everyone to communicate with each other.” The sergeants made the sailors tough.

What Got Him through the Days
Richardi wrote home every day and he used to get letters from his family. He had a lot of friends and he put his head down and did the best he could. Richardi stated, “If we had to do some physical test, I thought, I’m at least in the middle. I’m at least half as good as these guys. As it turned out I was. I was always ok. I never got a hit on an inspection." They put the fear of God in them. If they told you to fold your clothes a certain way you would do it. If they told you to tie your laundry a certain way you would think hey, if that’s what you want. He became a mail petty officer. He used to get the mail and everyone would all gather around after everyone showered, right before lights out and Richardi would say “mail call” and he had eighty guys at his company and he would call out the names and pass out the mail. He had a lot of fun being the mail petty officer. It gave him a little prestige and some friends.

Spare time was hard for the sailors to get. Richardi stated, “There wasn’t a lot of spare time because the Navy kept us going and if we did have spare time we were burnt out and just wanted to rest." When Richardi did have spare time, he could remember that in Jacksonville Florida they could rent boats and fish. There was something called the Blue jackets Inn that was the enlisted man’s club where they would serve them three two beer which barely had any alcohol in it. They had a band playing and there was dancing. Sometimes they would go to town just to see the sites.

He didn’t want to leave home because it was such a good life. He always wanted to leave the Navy every day. He had this man who was in boot camp with him. The day Richardi got back, the man called him up saying “I’m in Boston come pick me up” he picked him up. He said that he came to visit him. Richardi was shocked and said that he couldn’t stay with him. After a day Richardi sent him back on a plane. Richardi thought that he probably didn’t have a home life. “I never saw him after that”. Another man who was from Minnesota had a two weeks leave and he spent it with his friend in Rhode Island. Richardi also assumed that he had no home life.
He had a lot of good memories. He liked the job he had but he didn’t like being away from home. He wasn’t really a military person. He liked working on the planes and he still likes tinkering with things. Iceland was very interesting. He saw some volcanoes. They heat their houses with geothermal, they drill pipes in the ground. The steam comes out of the pipes and heats the house from the volcano. It’s an unbelievable thing. In the country side you see ponies and cattle with foot long hair because of the harsh winters. The language barrier was pretty tough. The women were pretty. They were Scandinavian and were blondes and redheads. They couldn’t understand each other. They rented a car and went north and they saw crevasse in the earth that went down 100-200 ft. They couldn’t get what they wanted in restaurants. Richardi asked for a salad and got a bowl peas and carrots with some cream sauce. Richardi stated, “The landscape was barren and harsh but it was beautiful.” Iceland is a beautiful place to go to.

He used to write to his girlfriend every day and if not every day then pretty close to it. He was able to come home sometimes. When he was in Florida he couldn’t go home that much. When he was stationed in Virginia he was sometimes able to catch a military hop like if there was a plane going north and if he asked if he could get on. They would have to wait at the tower to see if they had room for them. They would drop off somewhere close like Quonset point Rhode island and then he would hitch hike his way to Braintree. Richardi stated, “All I had to do was stick my thumb up, and boy someone would pick up a sailor.” Sometimes you could fly standby if you dared. It cost seventeen dollars and it would drop you off in Virginia. You have to wait sometimes five or six hours depending on how much room they had. Richardi would try to go home as often as he could.

Contact with the outside world
They had newspapers, television and got letter from home. There was times when you couldn’t get all the worldly information because you were on a ship. Richardi stated, “I remember in 1969 I missed out on the lunar landing. I read about it afterwards. Everyone was glued to their TV’s.” Right now they probably have satellite on ships. For entertainment on the ships they had talent shows. If someone had a talent, they would get on stage and perform.

A whole new world
There were relatives that passed away. Richardi stated, “I almost still keep waiting to bump into them because I didn’t get to go to their funeral and say bye. I know that they are dead but there is just that feeling sometimes that I have.” The landscape was completely changed. Richardi stated, “There were extra stop lights, strip malls, businesses where there was nothing before.” Tremendous changes occurred. Behind his father’s house there was nothing and now there is an industrial park. There is a big wall separating the park from the houses. The biggest thing was all the industry that came about.

He had a job all set. He bought the sub shop from his uncle in his last year in the Navy. He had his then wife and brother take care of it while he was in the Navy. He worked during the morning. He didn’t have to be in Quonset point Rhode island until 4 pm. It took him an hour and a half to get there. He would go there after work and be back at midnight and be at work at 8 in the morning. In his first year in business he only had one or two days off. It wasn’t a very good business. It was very run down when he bought it. But Richardi kept building it up a little more each year. He was thankful to come out of the Navy and have a job.

Conclusion
The experiences of the U.S Navy in the late 1960s changed their lives forever. Dan Richardi’s life was changed for the better by the Navy. He was glad that he joined the Navy because it was a life changing experience. They were taught many things. They were taught how to communicate easily with each other. They were taught how to take care of themselves. They were taught how to do their jobs. If everyone did some military service, the world might be a better place.


Works Cited
Larry. History. USS. Franklin D. Roosevelt., 2011. Web. 8 May 2011. < http://ussfranklindroosevelt.com/?page_id=2264>

"P-3C ORION." Sea Power 46.1 (2003): 141. Military & Government Collection. EBSCO. Web. 1 May 2011.

Premik, Zaneta. 14 Apr. 2010. Photograph.

Richardi, Dan. Personal Interview. 29 Apr. 2011.

Richardi, Dan. 1968. Photograph.

The Honorable Raymond E. "Ray" Mabus. The Official Website of the United States Navy. Web. 13 May 2011. < http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp>

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt at sea.Navy. n.d. Web. 3 May 2011. <http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h97000/h97636.jpg>