Author Archives: admin
Introduction
In recent years the writing world has developed a category called “creative non-fiction.” Problem is, best I can tell, there is no agreement on a definition. I think Lytton Strachey may have originated the approach in his 1918 historical account, “Eminent Victorians.” In that breakthrough history (or “history” as his critics would prefer) he often …
Just Arrived and Out of Shape
When I first arrived in Coronado, I had a pretty rough time. In a moment of boredom and frustration I had applied for Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training and had arrived at the NavPhib Base with my orders. As it turned out the program was probably harder for me than for others because I was so far …
Nakamoto
Major Nakamoto Haitani arrived late, after the first week or so of training. He just showed up one morning at muster and our lead instructor, Lieutenant Chico Waldrop, introduced us. There was a formal acknowledgement but no handshakes. As things developed, our cool relationship never got much better. Chico explained that Nakamoto was a surname, …
Meeting with Chico
On the wall next to the door was a cartoon figure of a goofy-looking frog smoking a cigar and carrying a lit dynamite stick: Freddy the Frog. The faded sign underneath said Underwater Demolition Team 11 and below that, in new paint, SEAL Team One. I had just come in from surf drills over on …
Just Off the Ship
It was 1958. I was fresh off the destroyer Samuel N. Moore and looking forward to my new assignment—Basic Underwater Demolition-SEAL (BUD/S) training. I was on my way to becoming a frogman. That is, if I could get through the training, which had been described as the toughest physical test in all the military. So, …