ONCE I WAS A NAVY MAN
Author Unknown
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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,
it's 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 battleships 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 of a foreign
port. I like shipmates I've sailed with...the kid
from an 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, and red and
green sidelights, and stern light. 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 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 mand 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 hwo 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 NAVY MAN."
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