Background

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the end of my senior year of high school in 1974. Because of the delayed enlistment program at the time, I didn't report to basic training (boot camp) until Sept. After boot camp I attended 3 different electronics schools in San Diego and Chicago before arriving at my first sea duty assignment, the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. The "Hawk" was an aircraft carrier named for the site of the Wright Brothers first successful powered air flight.

I came aboard the Kitty Hawk just as she was returning from a West Pac cruise and preparing for a 13 month overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state. I was assigned to the PLAT/LENS shop in the Air Dept., but when the cruise started I was the lead petty officer (LPO) of the ship's closed circuit TV system maintenance shop.

Although I had been a crew member for 2 years, I still hadn't gone overseas yet. I decided to write a journal of my thoughts and experiences of that cruise.

I recently found the book and haven't read it since I wrote it more than 30 years ago. I plan to publish this journal here as it was written. I'll reserve the right to edit as I see fit, but will try to keep it as intact as possible. I may also comment on passages from the perspective of 30+ years of hindsight, and hope that readers will comment as well. I would really like to hear from any fellow shipmates from that cruise and read their memories also.