53+ years with a Navy pal. We summered together in the Gulf of Tonkin, 1972. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
I was the Special Services Officer on board the ship and therefore had the only key to the Special Services locker where we had all kinds of baseballs, softballs, footballs, basketballs, swimming/snorkeling equipment, etc. In 1971, shipmates had liberated an Army truck full of beer parked next to the EM club in Da Nang. They brought it back on board and confounded the CO's efforts to find it for a week. Finally, the XO found the beer and since we were out at sea, stored it in the Special Services locker intending to return it to the EM club in Da Nang. We never made it back to Da Nang.
So the beer sat in the Special Service locker in the custody of me.
So my good pal's birthday rolls around in August 1972. He was feeling pretty miserable after almost five continuous months at sea with his pretty young wife back in Long Beach. I stopped into his stateroom and he was in a pissed off mood on his birthday. I asked if he'd like a beer. He said sarcastically, "yeah, right." (No alcohol officially allowed on Navy ships except for medicinal purposes). I told him I'd be right back. I got my trusty steel battle helmet, went to the wardroom galley and filled it with ice, put a towel over it to conceal the ice, went down three decks to the main deck, up to the forecastle, down three decks to the Special Services locker, put two cans of beer into the battle helmet, went back up to officers' country, knocked on his door, flipped him a beer and said "happy birthday".
We downed those two cans of beer and I said, "do you want another?" Does a bear, etc, etc. So I repeated my trip, got back to his room and we downed two more cans. We got a couple hours of rack time and then it was time to go back on watch - this time with a much better attitude on things.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
