Joining the Navy

By: Jerry Blackerby

I convinced Dad to allow me to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1951. Since I was only 17, Dad had to sign an agreement for me to enlist and the Navy would release me from active duty the day before I turned 21. News reports made war seem exciting and romantic to a young boy growing up during World War II. We were now at war with North Korea and I was gung‑ho.

I was never away from home more than a few weeks at a time during the summers before enlisting. I spent several weeks most summers with cousins on the farm or at my grandparents. Now I was leaving home for the Navy for nearly four years.

Dad dropped me in Dallas at the recruiting office, where I had my physical. We were sworn in and given meal tickets for a meal in Dallas before leaving. We boarded a train about 6 p.m. in Dallas. This was my first time in a Pullman car and only my second train ride ever. There were about 15 of us from Texas leaving at the same time, all in the same car. I took an upper bunk.

One guy with us was wearing a Zoot-suit. The bottoms of his trouser legs were pegged and the seat looked like it would drag the floor. He thought he was really some cool dude. He had blonde hair with dark roots showing. He did seem to make out with the girls okay.

Our second night out, he found himself a compartment to sleep in with some woman that he met. A year later while we were in training at Memphis, Tennessee, he was in the brig for going AWOL and was discharged from the Navy with a Bad Conduct Discharge.

The first morning, we were nearing Amarillo while eating breakfast in the dining car. I remember highway 287 alongside the railroad as we neared Amarillo. There was a car driving toward Amarillo, with a man, woman and two girls. The girls in the backseat would wave at us and the windows of our train car were crowded with guys waving back.

Sometimes the man or woman would turn and say something to the girls and they would quit waving. Then after a few minutes they would wave again. They looked like late teenagers. Of course, most of us were only teenagers, also.

We rode through New Mexico and Arizona and spent another night on the train before we reached Los Angeles. As we walked through the train on our way to the dining car, the guy wearing a Zoot-suit came out of a compartment and joined us. We changed trains in Los Angeles that morning and rode a day coach to San Diego.

We arrived at San Diego late in the afternoon and were mustered into a company of about 40 men. We were marched to the chow hall and then to a temporary barracks after the meal. The next morning, we were issued a complete set of Navy clothing and a Seabag. We were instructed how to roll our clothing to fit within the Seabag and packaged our civilian clothing to be shipped home.

We were marched into a barber shop and literally sheared. I think the longest hair on my head was about one-eighth inch. We were marched through a medical room and given shots. We formed two lines of men and walked through with medics on each side of us. We were given several shots in both arms.

We went through another physical exam and a psychological exam. I could not believe the questions the psychologist asked me. He asked me if I was interested in sex with other men and when I said no, he wanted to know why not. When I replied that it was just wrong and that the Bible taught that it was wrong, the psychologist kept re-asking the question. I began to wonder if my answer was not the answer he wanted and was worried that I would be kicked out of the Navy, but I did not get kicked out.

Basic training in the Navy was a shock to most of the young recruits. I had grown up around the Army so was not quite as surprised as everyone else.

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