STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of EM3 Don R. Marino, U.S. Navy (1955-1959)

I wanted to get the GI Bill before it was no longer available. I was sworn in on Jan 31, 1955, at 6 pm. GI Bill ended on Jan 31, 1955, at midnight.

Went aboard the USS Piedmont AD17, a Destroyer Tender right out of Boot Camp. I had a choice of working in the Ice Machine Shop (too cold, I thought), Engine Room (too noisy and hot, I thought), Boiler Room (way too hot, I thought), or the Ships Company Electric Shop, perfect, I thought, and I was right. I loved the electric shop in junior high and High School. This put me on a path that helped me find and keep jobs all my life. I went through Boot Camp in San Diego. My Company 092 graduated with Brigade Honors. I spent 1 1/2 years aboard the USS Piedmont and did a 6months tour overseas. I spent 2 days in Hawaii on our way to Sasebo, Japan. After 2 months there, we sailed to Hong Kong for 2 weeks R&R. After Hong Kong, we returned to Sasebo for another month, then off to Subic Bay for a few months.

Fortunately, I was never involved in any wartime duty. I was in during peacetime, from Jan 31, 1955, to Jan 19, 1959.

The only time I encountered any real danger was on our way to Hong Kong for R&R. We hit a typhoon, and the ship was leaning so far from Port to Starboard that there was concern the ship could roll over. All hands were ordered indoors. I thought it was pretty cool watching the expansion joints spread open an inch or more. My buddy and I had fun sliding from one side of the ship to the other until he slipped and slid to the edge. I thought for sure he was going over. His foot hit the metal lip on the edge, spinning him around, and the steel cable lifeline caught him in the armpit, keeping him from going over. He turned white as a ghost and said let’s go inside. At about the same time, they announced that over the loudspeakers.

My 2 years in Pearl Harbor were some of the best memories. I was a Yard Oiler and the only electrician on a nine-man crew. It was a great duty, and we had our own private cook. When we got underway to refuel ships in the harbor that couldn’t get to the refueling dock, I was the one who had to steer the ship. Of course, I took commands from our skipper. It was a great duty.

From your entire military service, describe any memories you still reflect on to this day.

I reflect constantly. Every time I get an email from my old Boot Camp buddy who became a SeaBee when he got out of Boot Camp. I went aboard ship, and he became a SeaBee. My ship was in Subic Bay repairing ships alongside ours while he was helping build the Air Base there. I didn’t know he was there until years later when we made contact with each other. We chatted a lot about our time in the Navy and how the training helped us land good jobs when we got out.

Being able to use my electrical knowledge to help others who couldn’t afford to hire contractors. It also helped me to get jobs and earn a good living. My electrical background helped me move up in the company to become an engineer on a NASA project until the Challenger Disaster. The funding for the project was shut down for almost a year, so not having a lot to do, we decided to move out of town to a house we had bought a few years before. That’s when I got a job as a building maintenance man at the Laser Company.

I’ve been to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. I’m not sure what ribbons, if any, I would get for that.

All my shipmate buddies had some effect on me even after leaving the service. I miss them all.

Bill Mooney (MOOSE) was a good buddy on the USS Piedmont. I remember New Year’s Eve in 1955 in Subic Bay, Philippines. Moose and another guy were going to see who could jump off this rock wall and land in the water further from the wall. We were all pretty gassed from drinking all day. Several of us tried to talk them down from the wall. They finally got down and would fight each other to see if they were the better fighters. Somehow, I got in the middle of them and tried to break them up. I’m 110lbs 5’8″ and Moose is 6′ 210lbs. It wasn’t long, and I was threatening Moose and going to kick his butt. He laughed his hardy laugh, and I started punching. He had his hand on my head, holding me back and laughing. That didn’t last long; our boat was there to take us back to the ship. The following day, I woke up with a swollen thumb from hitting Moose in the gut. When I entered the electric shop that morning, everyone started laughing and calling me “Mighty Mouse.” We all had a good laugh. I had a good time with Moose. Lost I lost one of my USS Piedmont shipmates when I got transferred to Pearl Harbor in Dec. 1956. I was able to track down Moose when I finally got a computer. I spent a few weekends with him and his family in the early 2000s. He is now with many other shipmates who are oiling the Pearly Gates.

There was a time in 1955 in San Diego when my buddy Moose and I were having a few beers in the VFW. We were under the age of 17, but they didn’t care as long as we behaved ourselves. The Shore Patrol or Police don’t come upstairs unless called. There was this retired Navy Captain who had befriended us and would buy us a few beers whenever he saw us. One night, Moose went to the restroom, and this Captain tried to convince me to get rid of Moose and come over to his house. I told him to give me his address, and as soon as I got rid of Moose, I’d be over.

I told Moose what had happened, and he tried to stop me because I felt betrayed and wanted to do some damage to him. The Mighty Mouse in me was alive again. Moose followed me down the stairs to the street and again tried to stop me from going after the Captain, but I took off running, and Moose chased me as I went around one corner after another until I finally lost him. I finally found the street, but there was no such address. I guess the Captain was afraid I’d bring Moose.

Anyway, we never did see the Captain at the VFW again.

Using my electrical background from the Navy, my first job was as a Coin Machine Repairman. I serviced and repaired Juke Boxes and Pinball Machines. Eventually, I got a job as a janitor at an Electronics Company. From there, I worked my way into a department where I worked with high-voltage capacitors and switches. In about a year, I began working in the maintenance department, repairing the vacuum systems and building the vacuum system manifolds out of glass. This led to my becoming the lead man on the swing shift, where I processed the capacitors and switches and did all the repairs. After 8 years, we moved to Hawaii, where I worked rewinding motors, and in time, I took a job on Kauai as an appliance repair man. A few years later, they divorced and moved back to the Mainland.

I got into the electronics companies and began working with TWT, which is “Traveling Wave Tubes.” These are similar to radio/TV tubes but are very high frequencies for guidance systems on space probes like the Voyager and Pioneer space probes. They were used for guidance systems for jets and missiles. I worked there for 18 years, then moved out of town and got a job as a Building Maintenance Man at a Laser company. With my Navy electrical and my self-taught mechanical background, I had no problem finding jobs. In the mid-90s, I started my own business at home and began making awards for businesses around. I did engraving and sandblasting awards on metals and glass. I retired and moved to the Las Vegas area. I still have all my engraving and sandblasting equipment for over 20 years. It makes for a fun hobby making glass ornaments for Christmas and other holidays. I’m soon to be 87 and still going.

I belong to the USS Piedmont AD17 Reunion Group. There’s a reunion every year in a different state. I try to make one every few years and make some coffee mugs with the location, date, and the ship’s logo sandblasted onto the glass. They make for nice raffle gifts.

The Navy taught me a trade that I was able to use throughout my life. It taught me responsibility, which helped me get my priorities straight. I raised my six children on my own after my divorce for 10 years. I had a 12-year-old son still at home when I met someone on a blind date. We’ve been married 43 years now and have one son who now has his own family. What I miss most since leaving the Navy was the friends I made in those 4 years. The ones I was able to keep in touch with have passed on, except two from Boot Camp, which we still email and visit when we travel. One was on the same ship and was in the electric shop with me.

Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to those who have recently joined the Navy?

One thing is, if you can, learn a trade that will be useful on the outside. Learn all you can and think about staying in for 20 years. You’re going to need the extra money and benefits in your later years.

TWS has helped me find some of the shipmates I served with. Reading other’s stories has brought back some good memories for me.

David Binder, Navy Petty Officer Second Class and Vietnam Combat Veteran.