My Story by Donald L. Kersten

The following is a brief summary of my 40 year career and those experiences influence in my life. I began as boot at Bainbridge, Maryland. This is the story of one sailor who went through the gates of the Naval Training Center and now reflects back upon it with fond memories.

Having graduated from high school in the summer of 1956, I plan to attend Theil College in Meadville, PA providing I would earned enough money to at least pay the first years tuition. My hopes of earning the money through construction job we’re dampened (literally) with rain almost daily during June July and into August. By that time my patients was at & and without any hopes of earning to tuition money, I joined the Navy on August 15 – two days before my 18^th birthday. Dad and mom had to sign for it for me since I was then only 17 but being realistic and probably relieved that they would not go into debt to finance a college venture, the agreed to my tour with the Navy.

Other than served in both European and Pacific campaigns during WWII. In France for nine months, his unit the 38^th Chemical Maintenance Company was assigned to the Free French army after landing in Marseilles during the Southern Invasion also known as Operation Dragoon. They push the Germans north from the west bank of the Rohne River, through Digan and on into Belgium. They took no prisoners and I understand the French even shot French women who were known to have fraternized with the Germans.

Dad had told me that he would have preferred going into the Navy, but couldn’t get in because the processing people told him he was color blind (which was not so), so dad ended up in the army at the age of 29 with two young children and a wife at home. After the Rhineland campaign he went to the Philippines to burn out the remaining Japs. Dad unit consisted of flamethrowers and mortars. As a reward for the Philippine liberation, he went on to Tokyo as the first occupation troops. I was six years old and starting first grade when dad came home and that’s experienced my first remembrance of him. I guess growing up was a father that was a true war hero made me at ease to enlist in the service.

So I want to Bainbridge, first by train from home town, new Kensington, to Downtown Pittsburgh, then another train from Pittsburgh to Baltimore, then a 35 mile bus ride from Baltimore to the training center at Bainbridge. I believe I heard there were some 20,000 recruits there during the summer of 1956. I was assigned to Company 79 – comprised of some 96 recruits mostly from Pennsylvania and New York. On August 17 I said I celebrated my 18^th birthday and was quite happy after receiving many cards from friends back home – even though some arrived several days late. I was actually looking forward to the next three years with USN and entertained thoughts of maybe even making a career and going to OCS (Officer Candidate School). I was sure I would be a full Captain if I decided to stay in. However such thoughts dwindled as my three-year obligation gradually dissipated.

Our company 79 Commander was a Machinist Mate First Class named Warren Press, a good CEO in my estimation since it didn’t take him long to sort me out and make me his 2^nd Platoon leader with promotion to Recruit Petty Officer 2^nd Class. My buddy, Bill Clayton was made 1st Platoon leader. Bill was from Niagara Falls – his folks ran a mom-and-pop store there.

We were near the end of our three-month Boot Camp when Press decided to take our RCO and Company Scribe out for a night on the town. On the way back to camp crashed his 1952 Studebaker killing himself or our CEO, a nice fellow named Harry Spalding who had previously served in the Marines and was now looking for a career with the Navy. The scribe was banged up a little but returned to the company. We were assigned a new CEO, a nice BT chief named Chesire, but he had a very weak voice and we could not hear his commands with marching, thus our hope of competing with the other companies for performance awards was no longer possible. Under Press we would’ve been a sure winner.

After boot camp, A leave back home, then returned to Bainbridge for Class “A” School. Life at the school was not as regimented as boot camp, but we still had to stand many inspections and since it was winter we had to constantly polish our shoes. We had to march to the Chow House during the weekdays and were restricted to the barracks in the evenings when we were supposed to be studying. I didn’t mind – new friends were made and I still corresponded with Bill Clayton who went to Treasure Island for Radio School. Bill would then be assigned to a repair dock ship in Guam for the remainder of his tour.

Then in March 1958 I grabbed an opening for a Yeoman onshore at Quonset Point with a squadron of AD5W Douglas Skyraiders named VAW-12 which of course means Carrier Early Warning Squadron 12. The squadron flew off every carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. I worked in the Administrative Office handling mostly records and was very soon promoted to YN2 which put me into the 2^nd Class Petty Officer dorm. And so the last year of active service was pretty nice. I had my 1953 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and civilian clothes on base. Leisure time was spent traveling around the area, i.e. Boston, Providence, Brown University, Narragansett Beach and when funds were low – and they usually were- staying on the base with 10 cent movies, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, an Enlisted Men’s Club with sometimes live entertainment all made it not so uncomfortable.

All this time, having the GI Bill, I made preparations to attend college. I would attend the University of Pittsburgh (evening classes) after taking a refresher Algebra course sponsored by Penn State University in my hometown campus. My instructor was my former Junior High School principal – fine gentleman named Walter Moony. At the same time I became employed at Duquesne Light Company at their main office in Downtown Pittsburgh. After eleven months in the Treasury Department, I moved to the CEO’s office as an office administrator. This position afforded me the opportunity to observe first hand how the corporate elite operated.

At this time Duquesne Light was involved in the construction of the Shippingport Atomic Power Station. Our CEO had a red phone in one of his desk drawers. This was the “hot” line for Admiral Rickover to converse and at times interfere with the atomic project. The Admiral would invariably call when the CEO was having lunch with his lawyer friends at the Duquesne Club. The secretaries were all afraid to answer the phone, fearing Rickover’s wrath, so I was elected the official Rickover communicator. We got to know each other (I had actually met previously during one of his visits to our Board room) and I guess since I was “Navy” he and I could communicate without one of his tantrums or lectures. I kept making various excuses whenever required and this process went on for approximately the next three years.

In 1963 I was interviewed by John Jackson , Chairman of the Board of Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company. After 2 or 3 more visits to the PDM headquarters on Neville Island I was hired as personal secretary to the Chairman and would spend the next 30 years at PDM. In 1969, after nearly 10 years of night classes at Pitt, I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree, with a Business major. After Mr. Jackson passed away in 1973 I supervised the Office Services until my retirement in 1993, then managed the estate of Mrs. Jackson until her death in 1995. In 1969 my son Brian was born. Brian also served in the Navy, going through the SEAL program and switching to Sea Rescue Team after a leg injury. Brian and I co-own a sloop upon which we unfurl the sails together and enjoy the wind and surf.