First tour of duty, was a grunt (4th from right, standing with captured AK-47)......
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2nd tour, rode and worked on the subs during the (not so) Cold War years......
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USS Gudgeon directly behind me in this photo. My favourite. One of the diesel boats that incorporated much of what was learned from the advanced Type XXI U-boats following WWII.
She was like an old car that if you just took care of her would run forever. Ended up being sold to the Turkish Navy in '83 long after I mustered out and they kept her in active service until 2004. She's now a museum ship at the Turkish Naval Base in Istanbul.
We had both diesel boats and nukes back then. Played chicken with the Russkies quite a bit and at times, would come back in a bit worse for wear. Cover story to news agencies was usually something ridiculous such as we had 'collided with an underwater mountain'. After some time in the floating drydock or tied up next to the tender repairing collision damage, it was back out on station.
DBF,
Harry