Bootcamp and Beyond
A younger E.A."Pat" Garrett Bootcamp and Beyond I graduated from Boot Camp at San Diego Naval Training Center at the end of December 1945 and was told to report to the Naval Receiving Station Terminal Island, Long Beach. From there I was told to report aboard the USS Cumberland Sound, AV-17. She was a seaplane tender that was being converted to be a part of Operation Crossroads, the Atomic Bomb test at Bikini Islands in the Marshall Island chain. Upon reporting aboard, I was assigned to the second division, which was responsible for every thing aft of mid ship, deck wise. After a few days on board, the leading petty officer told two other petty officers to take me down and teach me how to “run” a boat. We went down the gangway and over to a re-arming boat. This is a boat that was designed to carry two torpedoes for loading onto aircraft. We, the three of us, took off up the harbor and I figured soon they would show me how to run the boat. In...