Soon after the Quarter (yes, ISU was on quarters not semesters) started our house was to have a party. Since I only knew the guys in the house my pledge father arranged a blind date through his girlfriend. At the appointed hour I mad my way to the reception room at Roberts Hall. There I sat with a half dozen other guys waiting for our dates to come down from their respective rooms. This was the days of separate dorms for men and women. Men were only permitted in certain rooms in the women’s dorms and the lady was made aware of your presence by a phone call from the girl on duty at a little desk in the reception room.

Soon my date appeared. Not bad, not a beauty queen, but cute, certainly not the dog you expect on a blind date. We proceeded to my fraternity house where we had a good time at the party. As curfew hour approached (yep, there was even a specific time the dorm doors were locked for the night) we headed back towards her dorm.

There was a fairly large crowd around the stairs waiting for the lights to flash a final warning to the girls. Since this was a first date, and I really wasn’t looking for anything more than a date for the evening we proceeded to the reception room where I said goodbye and she promptly proceeded through the door and I headed home.

The first quarter of my freshman year was much the same as that of everyone else with a few minor exceptions. Instead of running to the bookstore to get my class books I would go to the Supply room at the NROTC Building first. There I was issued all the books that were being reused in courses that I was to take. Then it was off to the bookstore where all the remaining books were charged to the Navy account. In addition to my regular classes as an Electrical Engineer (yes, we did have to declare a major from day one) I had to attend an hour of class in naval subjects. Wednesdays were reserved for close order drill and we wore the uniform to class all day.

The uniform was the same one you see most Naval Officers wearing in the movies. The White cap with a black bill. The major difference in the cap to distinguish a midshipman is in the band and shield emblem. A Chief Petty Officer wears a black band and an Officer wears a ½ inch gold band, as Midshipmen we wore a ¼ inch gold band. The band, by the way also functions as chin strap. It expands and can be worn to hold the cap on under adverse wind conditions. I think in my entire career I actually used it as a chin strap three or four times. The Navy Blue coat or double-breasted jacket is actually called the Blouse. You can distinguish an Officer from a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) in that an Officer wears gold stripes around the sleeves starting a half-inch from the end of the sleeve. Thc CPO wears and insignia and his chevrons on the upper arm. As a Middy, we wore patches on the upper sleeve to indicate our status as a Midshipman and golden anchors on our lapels. The prescribed white shirt at the time was an Arrow Dart that provided the correct shape collar points. A long black tie, tied with a four in hand knot was prescribed. Navy blue trousers with no cuff, straight leg with sharp crease front and rear. Black socks and black smooth toed four holed highly polished shoes completed the outfit.

I went out with Pat, my blind date, again and had a nice talk on the second date about how I didn’t want any steady girl, wasn’t going to get serious until after I got my Commission and got my life going. She did, however, fit nicely under my chin for slow dancing. We seemed to be getting along fine and just continued to go out each weekend.

Soon it was finals week and time to make plans to go home for the break between quarters when all the dorms and fraternity houses would be closed. We had a system for arranging car pools. In the student union there was a map of the States. Over each destination for a car was a pack of slips with the appropriate phone number to contact. I found a couple of cars going to Boston and decided to try my luck. Soon I had a ride home. Four of us would take turns driving and by driving straight through we could make it in just a bit over a day. We, of course, would split the gas between the three riders as payment to the owner of the car.

Heading into the room for my first final some guy yelled out, "The President’s been shot". I thought "Sure", and went into the room where I proceeded to fill my blue book as directed. When I got back to the house the awful reality of what had happened finally penetrated. It was true, not only had President Kennedy been shot, but also he was dead. This was beyond belief. Everyone loved JFK and his wife. Everything he had done had been meet with approval. We had lived through the Cuban Missile crisis, where he had made the hatted USSR back down. He had put his brother in as Attorney General to speed the changes to a more equal rights situation.

Somehow we all managed to struggle through out finals while spending every spare minute glued to the television. The trip home was quiet except for the continuous radio coverage of the assassination, the killing of the shooter and the never-ending examination of every detail. We couldn’t get enough. We baby boomers couldn’t understand why or how a president could be killed.

The remainder of the year was spent deciding that Electrical Engineering, perhaps, wasn’t the best choice. I would see how things went in Civil Engineering. I continued to date Pat and began spending more and more of my free time with her. She had decided that Pre Veterinarian was not what she was cut out for either. She switched to Modern Languages and she spent most of her time at my fraternity, playing bridge with my brothers, attending parties, and of course, study dates at the Student Union and Library. I was still convinced that this was just a temporary thing.

I went through Hell Week. Not really much, a few all night jaunts around the campus learning more about the campus than we realized, some eggs on blindfolded faces, and a little paddling with hand carved Pledge Paddles. Soon I was a full-fledged Theta Delt. Having grown up in New Hampshire and suburban Boston I had seen black people, but I had never actually met one. Now I had a Brother who was black and another who was Japanese. College was to truly widen my field of knowledge.

Midshipmen were ranked according to class, freshmen were Midshipmen Fourth Class, sophomores were Midshipmen Third Class, etc. Each summer we would spend some time in orientation cruises, with the first cruise between freshman and sophomore year as 3^rd class Middies.

Before the summer break we were issued sea bags, uniforms for the summer cruise, instructions on what we were permitted to bring on cruise with us and in how to pack the sea bag. The uniforms were basically the enlisted uniform, complete with the rolled neckerchief. Everything had to be labeled with our names in indelible ink. Essentially, we were to bring no civilian clothes, just the sea bag and one hanging bag for the dress uniform and Officer like cap and shoes.

Supposedly, if the uniforms are folded correctly and placed in the sea bag correctly they will not need pressing when you take them out. Pat and I spent a weekend in the basement of the house with indelible markers making the prescribed markings. Half of the markings went through the cloth and marked something else and another large amount ended up all over us. The uniforms for 3^rd Class Cruise were the same as uniforms for other sailors with the exception of the hat. A blue rim around the top of the sailor cap distinguished our hat from that of the ordinary sailor.

Midshipman is a term that dates back to the days of sailing ships. The officers lived in the rear of the ship and the ordinary sailors lived forward. Midshipmen, who were in-between, also lived in between 0r mid-ship. We were truly in between even in the modern Navy. We were not officers, but were not quite the same as enlisted men either. Third Class cruise was designed to give us a taste of what the average sailor does. However, we only had about six weeks to experience this life, and there would be several events to take us away from the experience.

Summer soon arrived and after a short interlude at home I proceeded to Annapolis where we were to board the ships for 3^rd Class Cruise along with our fellow Middies from the Academy. The first reaction to meeting the boys from the Academy was not too favorable. They made it clear that they didn’t feel we were at all their equals. That was ok, we didn’t feel that we wanted to be their equals.

We got a very quick look at the Academy grounds and proceeded to the harbor where our sea bags were checked for completeness and we boarded the Naval Academy Yard Patrol (YP) Craft. These were boats that Middies used to learn formations, maneuvering table, and other exercises as well as annual cruises to teach planning. These and other on water training were much of what we missed out on in Iowa. Today they were used to ferry us out to several Destroyers waiting at anchor.

They had cleared out a crew-berthing compartment for the 35 of us assigned to the USS Forest Royal (DD-872). No sooner had we all been checked aboard than Sea Detail was set and the ships got underway. Sea Detail is a condition of readiness that provides better than normal watertight integrity and more readiness to handle emergencies than usual. Normally Sea Detail is in effect when you are in restricted maneuvering circumstances. It is in effect from the time you get underway until you reach the Sea Buoy (the most seaward buoy in the channel) and when entering port from the Sea Buoy to the mooring. Usually a majority of the crew has an assigned station during Sea Detail. Fortunately, we had not been assigned stations yet. We were welcomed aboard and allowed to settle in during one of the longest Sea Details in the world. We had to travel the entire Chesapeake Bay.

Our compartment (the room in which we lived) fit all 35 0f us. It had a few small tables, 36 bunks, in tiers of three bunks each, tile floors, and that’s about it. The only way out of the compartment was up a ladder (a slightly inclined ladder with flat steps), through a hatch (an opening of about 3’ by 5’) with a watertight door that closed down on it. The hatch had a Scuttle (an 18" opening with it’s own watertight cover in it). This hatch was located in the center of our compartment and opened into the center of the Mess Deck (the crew’s dining room).

The bunk is also your locker. Lifting your mattress and the metal support reveals a compartmented storage area about four inches deep. This is your only personal space on the ship and you need to fit everything you want to keep in it and make sure it is padlocked anytime you are not using it. You learned the fine art of storing a lot in a little space fast.

Personal modesty is a non-issue. Our showers and bathroom was up the ladder, forward through the Mess Deck, through a vertical hatch and to the left. Proper attire is a towel and your flip-flops while carrying your DOP kit (a little zip bag with your personal hygiene equipment).

You quickly adapt to that and the constant noise. In addition to the ship’s noise there is the noises from the Mess Deck. is the only communal social area on the ship other than the small tables in berthing compartments. In addition to the entire crew eating in the three normal meals in shifts there is the nightly movie and MIDRATS (midnight rations for the people changing watch at midnight). When none of those things are going on you can usually find groups of people paying cards or Acie-Ducie or just chatting.

You also have people coming into the compartment every four hours to notify the oncoming watch that their turn is coming up. Every sailor has a job, from scraping rust and painting to testing water to maintaining fire control radar equipment to maintaining torpedo tubes to cooking the food we eat. Additionally most will stands four hours on watch out of each twelve hours at various stations throughout the ship.

It was our job as midshipmen to become familiar with a ship, the various jobs the sailors did, and the watch standing routine. The ship had done a good job of setting up a program to make us familiar with the ship and learning about bridge and engineering watches at sea and the Quarterdeck watch in port. We were each assigned to one of the three watch sections and would rotate through various stations from watch to watch. Each day we would be assigned to a different work group so we could learn what they did. So one day we would be standing watch as a lookout and learning the fine art of removing rust to bare metal so it could be painted. The next day we might be standing watch in the engineering spaces taking temperature of bearings on the journal bearings of the propeller shafts and tossing potatoes into the peeling machine (no, we didn’t have to peel them by hand anymore). Potatoes were however stored in lockers on the weather deck of the ship.

Each day we would have a group tour of a different part of the ship. This was the only excuse for missing a watch. My most memorable space tour was of the ‘refer deck’. There was a set of rooms that were maintained at different temperatures to maximize the preservation of our foodstuffs. The seas were rough and we had only been out about a day when they took us down into the swaying bowels of the ship to tour the ship’s refrigerators. As I recall everything was fine until the tour of the fresh vegetable cooler where the movement of the ship and the smell of the few lettuce leaves hadn’t quite made it into the refer combined to create my first and last case of sea sickness. Fortunately, I managed to make it topside and as luck would have it on the lea side of the ship (opposite the side the wind was blowing on). Having spent my youth in small boats in and on the water this was completely unexpected.

This was a Midshipman’s Cruise and was, in spite of all protestations to the contrary, not a routine outing for these ships. A little after four and a half days at sea during which we did learn a lot including adjusting to days where watches were shortened by an hour to adjust the clocks and you didn’t get your expected eight hours off we pulled into a fjord. I had seen pictures, but this was amazing!

We were on the way to Oslo and were being introduced to another old Navy tradition, manning the rail. Everyone who is not needed during Sea Detail is dressed in a dress uniform and evenly spaced on the main deck completely around the ship. It is an impressive site from other ships, boats and the shore. It also enabled all the Midshipmen to spend this lovely summer afternoon on deck gazing at the wonders of their first fjord. We did have to stand in one place for the entire transit to Oslo, but it was worth it. On the way I got a chance to see my first operational hydrofoil. Norway was using it as a commuter boat between different places.

Middies had unusual freedom while in port. Although the ship was required to keep one third of the crew on board at all times and to be able to get underway in less than four hours we were given permission to leave the ship even on days when our duty section was on duty. We only had to be on board for our Quarterdeck watch. The QuarterDeck dates back to the days of sailing ships too. It is the rear portion of the ship and is where everyone is received on board the ship. It is set up as a ceremonial area and is manned twenty-four hours a day by an officer and a security party as a minimum. When an honored guest is expected up to six side boys will great the guest while the Boson of the Watch pipes an appropriate song, the ships bell is rung the number of times appropriate for the guest. Normally a large plaque will be stationed at the quarterdeck with pictures of the Commanding Officer, and other officers aboard. Each person coming aboard requests permission of the Officer of the Deck to do so. Anyone who is not a crewmember must be escorted from the quarterdeck to the appropriate place on the ship. The routine of the ship is run from the quarterdeck and the ship’s log is maintained there.

We did have scheduled events that all midshipmen must attend, but otherwise we have freedom to come and go as we pleased. We found our way around the city and environs with very little trouble. The people were friendly and most helpful. We took full advantage of the late night sunshine and the local brew. I remember being truly amazed to see a goat grazing on the grasses on the roof of a house as we approached the sight of the Olympic ski jumps. I was equally amazed by the shortness of the run out after the skier landed. The beauty of the palace, the city hall, and a fantastic park of remembrance impressed me.

It was in Oslo that we were given our first introduction to what we came to call "Tea Parties". In this case we were dressed in a uniform I never again wore. The official designation was Dress Blue Charlie, it was referred to as Yachting Dress and was essentially our normal Blue blouse but with white trousers and shoes instead of the Navy Blue trousers and black shoes. This is an amazing event for a young man. All of the best looking women anywhere close to out age seem to come from every possible place in their finest cocktail dresses to meet and dance with us. At every one of these that I experienced on three cruises we must have been out numbered by twenty to one. It’s a rough job, but someone had to do it.

It wasn’t until much later on in our training that we learned what was going on. If you have ever seen the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" with Richard Gere and Debra Winger. I think you will understand. That movie hit the mark. I lived another part of that movie the following summer, as you shall see.

Another memory of that visit that springs to mind is sitting at an outdoor café with a lovely young thing and looking at the beautiful sunlight filtering down to us. I looked at my watch and noticed that was 11PM. That was a glorious memory of a glorious visit.

Alas we had to depart Oslo and continue our riger9ous training. That training continued a short overnight transit away in Antwerp Belgium. It was in Antwerp that I learned to check carefully which ship I was on. We were tied directly to the pier in a nest of three ships. That is one ship was tied directly to the pier, a second tied along side her, and the third tied directly alongside her. The gangplank of one ship lead directly to the adjoining ship. All three ships in the nest were of the same class; in other words, they were physically the same. After a hard night of touring the local pubs I lost count of which ship I was on and didn’t realize my problem until if found another Middy in what appeared to be my bunk. He rather abruptly pointed out my error and I soon found the correct bunk on the correct ship. I do remember some beautiful canals, and lovely parts of the city and surrounding area. I even got to see genuine Belgium lace being made. After returning to Iowa I learned that I had sent a picture postcard to Pat. It depicted the little Town Square that I had indicated that I particularly liked because from there I could find my ship and from there I could find my favorite bar. No, it wasn’t all drinking, just too much drinking. We had a tea party there and it was quite as enjoyable as the first.

This 18-year-old learned something from the experience. I found that I had limits to my drinking and that if I exceeded them I missed out on a lot. I may not have been as entertaining, but I learned to enjoy watching others.

A short time after leaving Antwerp we arrived in our next port of call, Le Havre, France. Paris was temptingly close; alas our required affairs prohibited a visit. In addition to a huge ‘tea pasty’ at one of the biggest cruise ship terminals we took part in a street dedication. This was the year of J.F.K.’s death and buildings, streets, and even towns around the world were being renamed in honor of him. We Midshipmen marched in a parade and took part in the ceremony that created Rue De John F. Kennedy. Although we didn’t have the time to go to Paris, we were able to spend some time exploring this charming port city. All to soon we were on our way to our final port for the cruise.

South Hampton was the last stop on this fantasy tour. By this time we were getting a bit tired of the ‘tea party’ and would rather scout the territory on our own, alas duty called once again. Never the less We managed to find a MECCA dance hall where an up and coming group kept singing about Satisfaction, some group named the Rolling Rocks or something like that. It wasn’t until a long time later that I realized we had see an early live performance by the Rolling Stones.

Another Middy and I decided that we couldn’t let the chance to see London pass as we had done with Paris and we had two days free. Unfortunately, we could barely scrape together enough money to buy the train tickets and maybe grab a sandwich or two along the way. We bought our tickets and upon arrival in London we found our way to the United Seamen’s Hall where we found we could actually afford a room with a single bed. We would worry about the logistics later. It was time to explore. Being financially restricted to walking put a rather firm limit on how much of the big city we could see. Fortunately, the Old City of London is a very small area within the city of Greater London. We managed to exhaust ourselves and had no trouble with one guy sleeping on the bead and the other on the floor. The next day we had just a few hours to see a little more of the town before we had to catch the train back south.

We saw very little of London, but at least we could say we had been there. We made it back to South Hampton in time to board the ships. It was back to work for a few more days. We did, in fact learn while at sea. We were able to learn some of the complexities of formation steaming and learned to communicate with some degree of confidence among the ships by voice radio.

In a little over four more days we were dropped off in Norfolk to disperse for the remainder of our summer vacations. We had certainly been treated to the best the Navy had to offer in seeing the world and we had learned an amazing amount in the few days we actually spent at sea. Our sudden immersion into the world of the ordinary sailor had been an eye opener to many of us and made us better future officers. We were able to get our sea legs and understand how much movement there is in a small ship on a great ocean. We learned how tiring the watch schedule can be on top of a work schedule. We learned a bit of the physical labor it takes to keep a ship going. It was a truly valuable and memorable time.

I proceeded to the Cape and resumed my life-guarding job for the remainder of the summer. I learned another valuable tip along the way. In addition to flying standby at half the price on airlines I could fly on military transports for free. It turned out that there was a regular flight from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts to the Strategic Air Command Base in Nebraska. My father could drive me to Westover and a Fraternity brother from Omaha could pick me up for the trip back to Ames. This was another learning experience for me. There is a priority system in place which means that even if you get on a flight, if it stops along the route, you can be booted off by someone with higher priority. You learn to sleep in airport terminals.

I had learned a lot in this short year but had no idea what was to come.