It was Friday and mid-April of 1961 when this newly minted PFC and recent graduate of Sea School, MCRD San Diego, arrived dockside at North Island in San Diego to report for duty aboard the USS Ticonderoga CVA-14.
I don't recall a lot of specific details about my boarding the ship. Nor do I remember any specific introduction to the way I was to live on the Ticonderoga for the next two and a half years. However, I do remember the scent of the ship's fuel, the salty perfume of the bay waters, and my astonishment at how large the ship was. Remarkably I was quickly integrated into traditional shipboard life for seagoing Marines.
At this time, one long standing tradition was that carrier (ship's crew) Marines were assigned duty as brig guards. And so it was within 24 hours of my arrival I found myself standing guard duty my first Sunday aboard on the 0400-0800 brig watch and some three decks below the hangar bay.
This was my first brig assignment, and having been woken before 0400, I was indeed fully awake and alert, and doing pretty much nothing as we had only a single prisoner, a Sailor, who was sleeping soundly in his cell. The Corporal of the Guard had given me my instructions; "Stay awake, don't screw around, and call me if you have a problem or questions. I'll be back in an hour or so."
All was quiet when around 0600 I heard and then saw some shoes and legs descending the ladder to the brig. I was fully aware that a naval officer was coming down into the brig. A reflexive act on my part, as I came to attention was to call out; "attention on deck". My prisoner certainly did not snap to attention, but I sure did!
The officer, a Commander, asked to see the prisoner. I quickly obliged his request by entering into the cell area and shouting quite loud; "prisoner attention!" My prisoner was out like a light. I shouted again "prisoner attention! On your feet!" Again, nada, no response. Ah ha, a bright idea came to mind, as the officer stood in the entrance watching my performance… the rack in which the Sailor slept ended near the bars of the cell, I would just reach in and give a good yank on his foot to wake him up and get him to stand at attention. And so I did with the same result. No response. He wasn't dead as I had heard him snoring for the past hour or so.
The officer (who turned out to be the ship's executive officer) took over and the prisoner was soon standing at attention. The officer really gave him h-ll.
It was only a few minutes after the officer left that I realized that this prisoner, a very large prisoner… did I say large? I meant this huge prisoner, had he been awake rather than asleep, could have taken my arm and broken it quite nicely, or had he a mind to, perhaps he even could have torn it from my shoulder.
I found out later that the prisoner was something of a living legend aboard ship being known for fighting and rather violent behavior towards those he did not like. Needless to say that it was my first and last time I reached in between the cell bars when trying to get the attention of a prisoner.
I wondered later if this was what my father meant when he suggested I try for Sea Duty as he told me I would see and learn a lot by going to sea?
R. D. Behr LCpl
Plt. 188, MCRD San Diego, 1960
USS Ticonderoga CVA-14 1961-1963
H & S Co. 1st Service Bn., 1st MarDiv 1963-1964
P.S. I am enclosing a photo of the Ticonderoga Marine Detachment
taken in Seattle in 1962.