Best Moment I went TAD to Yeoman "A" School in Bainbridge, Maryland for six weeks. I found out I had passed the YN3 advancement exam and was advanced to YN3(SS) during YN "A" School. Needless to say, that was the closest I ever came to being "God" while in the Navy. As a YN3(SS) in "A" school I didn't have to march to class or put up with any crap the other students were taking.
Worst Moment In April 1963 I was told I would be required to drive the Commodore up to Kittery, Maine and ride the USS TRESHER (SSN 593) out on sea trials with him to get my sea time for Submarine Pay. The night before we were scheduled to leave, the Commodore received a call from Admiral Grenfell (COMSUBLANT) telling him to cancel his trip to THRESHER and come to Norfolk for an important meeting. Three days after our trip to THRESHER was cancelled we received a message that THRESHER was missing. Later it was determined that THRESHER had sunk at sea in the Atlantic Ocean with 126 men aboard. Everyone in the Submarine Force was shocked. We had not lost a submarine since WWII. I felt very lucky that fate had left me back in New London instead of riding the THRESHER out on sea trials. I was extremely saddened at the loss of all those men. I had served with both of the Yeoman while on the ALBACORE. I also lost a 19 year old Seaman cousin of mine from who I had helped get assigned to THRESHER and an Uncle who was a shipyard worker who were both from Portsmouth, NH. I had also been shipmates with several of the other navy men that went down with THRESHER.
Other Memories Our Commodore was responsible for the investigation to search and locate the THRESHER and find out what happened. All of us on the Staff were working long hours typing and preparing the investigative reports of the THRESHER Search Team. For several months the Staff was frantically trying to assist the families of the men lost on THRESHER in getting their affairs in order and obtaining their benefits and entitlements. There is no way to describe the horrible experience it was for those families during that period. At that time there was no government sponsored life insurance for active duty men and very little financial assistance to provide their families. Only a couple of the men had a Will. But because of that horrible situation, Congress quickly acted and passed laws to provide active duty military life insurance , legal assistance for wills, and more death benefits to help families in the future.