I served aboard Raton from July 1960 to April 1962. I came aboard while the boat was at 32nd Street Naval Base, San Diego, undergoing upkeep. I came aboard as a seaman apprentice straight out of Reserve Submarine Division 11-43. Being a non-designated striker I quickly was assigned as a mess cook for 3 months and then advanced to the seaman gang chipping paint and standing lookout, diving planes and helmsman watchs. I eventually decided to strike for engineman and joined the guys in the after engineroom. In April 1962 as a Engineman 3rd Class I shipped over for 6 years and left the Raton for Engineman C School in Great Lakes. After Great Lakes in August 1962, I joined the Medregal (SS480) in Pearl as Engineman 2nd Class and throttleman in the forward engineroom. In February 1963 I left the Medregal for Nuclear Power School in Vallejo, California and Windsor Locks, Conneticut. Just as I completed Nuc school I was selected for the Navy Enlisted Scientific Education Program (NESEP) and sent to the University of Oklahoma to study Aerospace Engineering in September 1964. While attending college I advanced to Engineman 1st Class. After completion of college and Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, it was off to Pensacola for flight training and I eventually added navy wings of gold on 6 February 1970 to my silver dolphins. I spent the remainder of my naval career (11 years) in various fighter, training, and experimental squadronms before retiring in 1981 as a LCDR.
I am now completely retired in Woodinville, WA. I'm still married to the girl I met at the University of Oklahoma; we have one daughter and two lovely granddaughters. Although I had many adventures in the Navy after leaving the Raton I was always proud to wear my dolphins along with my wings of gold and I still cannot smell diesel exhaust without immediately being transported back to the boat and to the, all too brief, life I experienced aboard Raton.
P.S. If you are curious about my E-mail address, Lizard was my nick name in the after engine room aboard Raton and Spectre was my call-sign as a fighter pilot.
Spectrelizard@aol.com
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