STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of AD2 Kenneth Wagner, U.S. Navy (1959-1962)

As a junior in high school, my two best friends, Bob Johnston and Bob Ely (a sophomore), and I were entranced by two Navy shows on TV. , “Men of Annapolis” and “Victory at Sea.” We lived in a small town, Lucerne Valley, on the Mojave Desert, and job opportunities after graduating were minimal. These shows seemed to pique our interest in the Navy as a job that would give us a trade, feed us, house us, and pay us. College was not an option at that time. Besides the distance we would have had to travel, finances played a part in our decisions. The more we looked into the Navy, the more we were convinced that that was what we wanted after graduation. We were so excited about this particular service that Bob Johnston and I decided to form a Navy club. A retired commander who lived in the valley agreed to sponsor us. He suggested calling it the Future Navy Men’s Association. Commander Wickware arranged a weekend for us at NTC San Diego, where we were treated royally. We contacted a recruiter in San Bernardino, Ed Futch, letting him know of our intentions to join.

Of course, as a recruiter, he was delighted to hear this. He made occasional trips to Lucerne Valley to answer our questions and show promotional Navy films to ensure we stayed interested. Johnston and I joined the reserves at the end of our junior year. Bob went to the nine-week boot camp, and I opted for the two-week version. It was a great deal different from our Wickware visit. This time, we weren’t treated royally. Immediately after graduating from Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, we both went to the regular Navy. Thus, what influenced us to join were several events.

After boot camp at NTC San Diego, I went to Aviation Jet Mechanic A School in Memphis, Tennessee. After graduation, I was assigned to VF-154 at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California. I was there only briefly. The squadron was to deploy on a lengthy Pacific cruise, one on which I did not want to go.

Another Seaman (rank), Larry Lister, who had the same credentials as I, was to go to VF-121 at Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego. He wanted desperately to go on the cruise. After discussing this dilemma amongst ourselves, we decided to reach out to our commanding officer and express our desires. To our surprise, he was amenable and said he was flying to the Eleventh Naval Headquarters and would see about changing our orders. He returned with good news for both of us. Larry went on the cruise, and I went to Miramar. VF-121 was a training squadron, which meant we would deploy to different carriers for two weeks at a time so that pilots in our squadron could gain flight experience. I was on the Oriskany, the newly commissioned Enterprise, and the Bon Homme Richard. My primary goal in life was to play and coach football. The Navy was only a stepping stone in my life. It was a haven for an immature young man after high school. I left after my enlistment was up to attend college and become an educator and football coach.

I had only three duty stations, excluding boot camp. Of the three, none was my “least” favorite. My first after boot camp was “A” school in Memphis, Tennessee. While I was 1800 miles away from my sweetheart, I enjoyed the camaraderie of those in the same barracks/company with me. I still vividly remember our marching song as we departed the barracks for the chow hall: “Lift your head and shout; Company A is moving out. Company A, oh yes, siree, the best at NATTC. Sound off 1,2,3,4, 3,4.” From Jet Mechanic School there, I went to VF-154 at Moffett Field near San Jose, California, for a brief stint. 154 was a tight-knit group of guys who immediately took me in.

Still sparking my high school sweetheart, who was now 400 miles away, I wanted to stay in California. A swap with another Seaman Apprentice put me at Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego. The swap sent him on a Pacific cruise. Now, I was a mere 150 miles from my girlfriend and in possession of a shiny 1956 Ford, which allowed me to visit her. However, shortly after I arrived at Miramar, she dumped me.

Miramar was fun for me, as I spent a good deal of my tenure there taking classes on the new F-4H fighter jet, playing on our squadron’s football team, shooting pool, and hitting the beach with my high school best friend, Bob Johnston. Bob showed up one day and surprised me while I was working on an F8U Crusader jet engine. I, a roommate on the base, Larry McGaughy, and another roommate had many adventures while “hitting the beach.” I ended my Navy stint at Miramar in 1962 and had two years left in the inactive reserves. The Cuban Missile Crisis happened during those two years, and President Kennedy was about to call up the reserves when Nikita Krushev backed down. I was prepared to put on my uniform again, but I didn’t need to, avoiding a fourth duty station.

There are so many. The camaraderie of the Miramar football team, on which I was the smallest player and a running back, is branded into my psyche. We were playing a team from Supply that had a small player, slightly bigger than me. Our left tackle, a monstrous human being by the name of Brown, and I were standing next to each other on the sideline during a break in the game when Brown turned to me and said, “Look at that little bitty guy, Wags. What’s he doing playin’ football?” Brown never thought of me, apparently, as a “little bitty guy,” even though I was 5’8″ and just shy of 150 pounds. He and another humongous specimen named Krammer were the right guard and tackled in front of me. I was the right halfback in the “T” formation. When my number was called, those two would blast a hole big enough to drive a tank through. Once they cleared a path in front of me, they continued downfield ahead of me, knocking to the ground every defender who was dumb enough to get in their way. I remember having visions of a bowling ball scattering pins as I witnessed defenders flying through the air as Brown and Krammer destroyed them. They made a hero out of me each time I danced into the endzone.

I was most proud of achieving confidence as a mechanic. It’s a great responsibility to get a jet engine in perfect running order so that the pilots can fly confidently that the engine won’t fail.

I received only one award, which I still proudly display – a Good Conduct medal. I was fortunate to have served in arguably the most peaceful time in our country’s history, beginning with the Eisenhower presidency and ending under the Kennedy presidency.

A petty officer named Welty (first name escapes me) had the most positive influence on me because he was the most creative person I have known. Having only an eighth-grade education and no civilian job opportunities, he joined the Navy as soon as he became old enough to do so.

While at Miramar, he invented several items that improved the job and the aircraft. He received no recognition for that except a note of achievement. When I told him that he could make a lot of money from his inventions in a civilian job, he told me that, because of his lack of education, he would be unsure of getting a good civilian job. He was secure in the Navy. Because of him, my attitude about the necessity of an education was enhanced tenfold. Thus, after the Navy, I acquired an eight-year college degree. And became a professor of English.

Larry Lister was the young man with whom I switched orders at Moffett Field so that I could go to Miramar Naval Air Station and so that he could go on a Pacific cruise.

Larry McGaughy (deceased), with whom I had many adventures at Miramar. One of my best memories with Larry was New Year’s Eve when we were stopped in a left turn lane with two young ladies in the car ahead of us. Larry jumped out of my car, ran up to their car, and told them to pull over after we made the turn. We both approached their car and, as we often did, gave them a non-stop litany of B.S. that seemed to overwhelm them into agreeing to go somewhere secluded, park, and drink. Larry was old enough to buy beer. We all drank and made out until the wee hours of New Year’s Day, when we decided to drive to the Rose Parade area, park, and walk to the parade site. We parked a few blocks from one of the parade routes at about 6 a.m., talked for a while, and then fell asleep, waking up around noon after the parade had ended. We drove the ladies back to where they had left their car and never saw them again.

Bob Johnston is someone I’m still in contact with. We also had a lot of good times at Miramar. Probably the most memorable time was when we decided to go ice skating in San Diego. Bob, at 6’3″, towered over all the young ladies except for one, Bridgett. When it came to a partner’s only skate, she asked Bob to be her partner. They hit it off and skated together the rest of the evening. Bridgett was there with a friend, Ginny, whom she introduced to me. She and I hit it off and went on a few dates afterward. After my time was up in the Navy, I moved in with my folks in Gardena, California, and attended El Camino Junior College. In my absence, Bob moved in on Ginny, and the two of them just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. They are a great couple.

“Bud” James Crowe was a roommate at Miramar. He was from Arkansas and an extremely good person, except when someone was rude to him or crossed him. Then, he would fight. I remember the time his sister sent him some cookies and misspelled cookies. She said, “I hope you enjoy these ‘cookis’. ” He was irritated at the spelling and threw the “cookis” across the room.

Brown and Krammer (first names escape me) – my football teammates who made a hero out of me by opening holes in the line as big as a barn. I was a running back behind them at right guard and right tackle. Other teammates who are memorable are Freddie Combs, Lynch, and Whitaker. I wish I could recall all their first names, but it was typical in the service to simply use last names.

Again, there were several, but I’ll just name a couple. Larry McGaughy, one of my roommates at Miramar, got angry with me for a reason that I can’t remember. Rather than taking his anger out on me, he hustled to the back door of the barracks and started pounding it with his fists. The door was extremely heavy, and Larry ended up with a broken hand after a couple of blows.

Another escapade with Larry involved him driving his car over a small hill and crashing. In the process, his engagement ring flew out of an open window and was lost. He intended to marry his young girlfriend, whom he got pregnant, but hadn’t yet given her the ring. He was uninjured in the crash, so the next day, I drove him out to the site of his wreck to watch a tow truck pull his car back up to the road and to see if we could find his ring, a task akin to looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. After an hour or so, he spotted it under a bush about 10 yards from where his car came to rest. I was his Best Man at their wedding.

I became a professor of English with an emphasis on grammar and composition. I retired at 55 to pursue my hobbies of fishing, skiing, and traveling. Now, at 82, I still fish and travel. My passion for skiing has been curtailed by bad knees and declining health. The latter is being addressed by my local VA clinic. I am 60% disabled because of my hearing loss from being around jet engines.

I am not in any association other than the VA, where I receive 100% of all my medical needs and a monthly compensation for my hearing loss.

My time in the Navy helped me mature and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It gave me the discipline I needed to become successful in college.

Make the most out of learning the trade in which you’re involved. Enjoy the time with the friends you make.

Giving me a chance to reflect on my time in the Navy and relive some of my most memorable times.