November 22, 1963 - it's been Sixty Years
"Wooden ships, on the water..." - USS Swerve - MSO-495 by Bernie Campoli |
What were you doing when you heard…?
On the fantail of the USS Swerve, MSO 495, leaning on the rail taking in yet another magnificent tropical sunset. The way the clouds would compress into a two-dimensional form, like a projection on a planetarium dome fascinated me. And of course the colors and the sea and then “ATTENTION ON DECK” and Captain Cantecuzene appeared. This was strange. He generally stayed in Officer’s Country or on the bridge.
It was all Richard Rogers' fault.
Seriously. It was the music. And the narration. And the photography. And the story.
I was nine. This was the first run of one of the longest documentaries ever. I watched it alone.
All of us boy-kids of course scribbled pictures of battles - ships firing at aircraft and aircraft firing at them. Lots of explosions. The war was only a few years over and Korea was going strong.
But then those afternoons alone, watching the real deal. The aircraft being pushed over the side. The burial at sea. That music. The human beings trying to make the best of an unbelievable cruel existence.
There was the draft. I knew that if I had to go, it had to be Navy, and I hoped I'd be a photographer.
I got my wish, and then some.
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