The book you are about to read is a true story about my four years in the U.S. Navy (1975-1979.) I did not write it with the purpose of glorifying the Navy, nor to denigrate it. I only wanted to remain faithful to the truth, and to describe what it was like to serve in the military at that time. And yet most of the Navy veterans who have read this book hated it (though a small minority loved it.) I was quite surprised by their reaction, as I had so much enjoyed reliving my four years in the Navy through the act of writing about them. I can only imagine that, over the years, they have cleaned up their own memories of what they’d lived through, perhaps subconsciously forgetting all the bad stuff (and the raunchy stuff,) so that only a sanitized version remained, something they wouldn’t be ashamed to tell to their wives, children, and even grandchildren. But what I’ve written is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, allowing for lapses in memory over precise details and the proper chronology of events. I do not try to excuse the behavior of the naïve and rather immature young man I was back then; this book describes his awkward coming of age. There is much that he did then which I would condemn today. Yet those were different times, post-Vietnam, pre-AIDS, wild and wooly. Is the book politically correct? Hell, no! The only audience I had in mind when I wrote it were my buddies and former shipmates who, I presumed, would be the only ones able to understand my crazy behavior. But I also wanted to give non-Navy people a taste of what it was like to be a sailor at that particular time in history.
If I’ve done my job right, you will feel as if we’re sitting in a bar enjoying a drink together, and I’m spinning out sea stories one after another, and you’ll be nodding and saying, “Yeah, something like that happened to me once….” I haven’t tried to be literary with this book, just amusing and entertaining…and truthful. My favorite writer is Charles Bukowski, and I hope I’ve been able to emulate his clear, straightforward way of telling a story.
The book is in six parts: Boot Camp, Andros Island, Sea Duty, Honeymoon Cruise, Liberty Hound, and Short-Timer.
If you are prepared to experience the unexpurgated adventures of a sailor in the U.S. Navy in the late 1970s, I invite you to share my memories of times past….
So, without any further ado:
Anchors aweigh!
If I’ve done my job right, you will feel as if we’re sitting in a bar enjoying a drink together, and I’m spinning out sea stories one after another, and you’ll be nodding and saying, “Yeah, something like that happened to me once….” I haven’t tried to be literary with this book, just amusing and entertaining…and truthful. My favorite writer is Charles Bukowski, and I hope I’ve been able to emulate his clear, straightforward way of telling a story.
The book is in six parts: Boot Camp, Andros Island, Sea Duty, Honeymoon Cruise, Liberty Hound, and Short-Timer.
If you are prepared to experience the unexpurgated adventures of a sailor in the U.S. Navy in the late 1970s, I invite you to share my memories of times past….
So, without any further ado:
Anchors aweigh!
