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A Sailor's Journey
In 1966, most young men graduating high school in America only saw three go to college, wait to be drafted, or enlist. Ray chose enlistment, and for the next three years, embarked on the adventure of a lifetime around the world on a Navy Destroyer. Read firsthand accounts of working with NASA on Apollo capsule retrieval and participating in Naval rituals like crossing the Equator. Lose yourself in memories that have delighted friends and family for decades, now collected in this personal and honest look backward. In A Sailor’s Journey, Ray Perrotti shares genuine, personal stories about Navy life during Vietnam. This memoir captures the good, the bad, and the hustle of a not-so-typical enlisted man, just trying to get through his commitment to serve.
148 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 16, 2021
Ray and I have a very similar experience serving in the US Navy. We were both born in 1948, both graduated in 1966. I lived in Pa. he lived in NJ. He enlisted right after high school. I enlisted the next year in May 1967. One difference was he enlisted for 3 years, I had to enlist for 4 years. I'd like to know how he managed that? We were both assigned to a Navy Destroyer on the East Coast. I was stationed in Newport RI. I had wanted to be a Yeoman but of course there were no A school openings after boot camp so I was assigned to 1st Division just as he was when we reported on board. I got lucky and only worked in 1st Division (deck force) for 90 days. I met a storekeeper in Supply Division who was also from Phila. He told me they might have an opening in the near future and talked to the Supply Officer who was also from Phila. The Supply Officer talked to the 1st Division Officer and told me to work in 1st Division for 90 days, get promoted to Seaman and they would transfer me to Supply Division. While working in supply I passed the test for SK3. After 1 year on the ship I was transferred to a guided missile cruiser in Boston Naval shipyard. At the end of Ray's enlistment he was also stationed in the Boston Naval shipyard and in fact we were both there at the same time in 1969. After my ship left the Shipyard we switched home ports to Mayport Fla. A major difference between our service is that I never went to Vietnam. While he was there I was in Gitmo and the Carribbean Islands.
Reading his story brought back so many memories, a lot good and a few not so good. It reminded me of some things that I had forgotten about. The concern about the draft after graduation, going into the recruiter's office and signing up for 4 years. What I experienced in boot camp to reporting on board for my first sea duty assignment. Some not so good long days chipping and painting the ship. Some great liberty ports. Seeing places that I would have never visited if I hadn't been in the Navy. Taking leave while in the Mediterrnean Sea and driving from France to Rome with an over night stop at the leaning Tower of Pisa. Turning 21 in of all places Cuba.
I enjoyed reading about Ray's experiences during his enlistment. His visits to so many liberty ports and the opportunity to buy so many things at such reasonable prices. I do think he should have been able to squeeze into his rack with the Budda instead of sleeping on the deck ha ha. His eventual transfer from 1st Division to Supply Division. Running into his friend from New Jersey. His description of the Navy tradition when crossing the equator for the first time. Kudos to his Supply Officer for giving him the information he needed to get out a bit early to attend College. During my enlistment I met several Officers who looked out for enlisted men. Ray's book included a lot of stores about serving in a war zone. I won't go into any of them here you have to read his book.
I am so glad I found this book. I found it from a post on one of my Navy facebook pages. Ray and I don't know each other but we sure share a lot of similar experiences. I know that if Ray and I had served on the same ship at the same time we would have been friends. His recall of events from so many years ago is amazing. If you served in the Navy or know someone who did you should check out his book. If you didn't serve and are just interested in learning a bit about life in the Navy aboard a ship you should check it out.
Reading his story brought back so many memories, a lot good and a few not so good. It reminded me of some things that I had forgotten about. The concern about the draft after graduation, going into the recruiter's office and signing up for 4 years. What I experienced in boot camp to reporting on board for my first sea duty assignment. Some not so good long days chipping and painting the ship. Some great liberty ports. Seeing places that I would have never visited if I hadn't been in the Navy. Taking leave while in the Mediterrnean Sea and driving from France to Rome with an over night stop at the leaning Tower of Pisa. Turning 21 in of all places Cuba.
I enjoyed reading about Ray's experiences during his enlistment. His visits to so many liberty ports and the opportunity to buy so many things at such reasonable prices. I do think he should have been able to squeeze into his rack with the Budda instead of sleeping on the deck ha ha. His eventual transfer from 1st Division to Supply Division. Running into his friend from New Jersey. His description of the Navy tradition when crossing the equator for the first time. Kudos to his Supply Officer for giving him the information he needed to get out a bit early to attend College. During my enlistment I met several Officers who looked out for enlisted men. Ray's book included a lot of stores about serving in a war zone. I won't go into any of them here you have to read his book.
I am so glad I found this book. I found it from a post on one of my Navy facebook pages. Ray and I don't know each other but we sure share a lot of similar experiences. I know that if Ray and I had served on the same ship at the same time we would have been friends. His recall of events from so many years ago is amazing. If you served in the Navy or know someone who did you should check out his book. If you didn't serve and are just interested in learning a bit about life in the Navy aboard a ship you should check it out.
October 5, 2021
This memoir was one of the reading selections for my book club, to be reviewed October '21. I ordered and actually received my copy of A SAILOR’S JOURNEY back in June, and simply had to check out the “Editor’s Note” and “Author’s Note,” as the author is the husband of one of the members of the club. I was most touched, and truly pulled right in, and I looked forward to reading this book.
A Sailor's Journey was a wonderful read. Ray Perrotti shared his experiences aboard a naval ship, the USS DuPont, during the Vietnamese War. Coming from a family of Marines, I understood some of the undertakings he went through, however, reading it in Ray's words was eye-opening.
The friendships made (and sadly, lost), ship-life, duties assigned, and liberties all rang familiar. The hustle for "souvenirs," to bring home, the pressing of uniforms, the initiation into "The Solemn Mysteries Of The Ancient Order Of The Deep," signed by King Neptune, himself (I know, as I have a framed certificate that hangs on my dinning room wall), making Ray an official SHELLBACK....these were some of the memories he shared.
The Vietnam War stateside was one of protests, antiwar slogans, and made for a most challenging time for sailors returning from stints on gun lines. Ray took was in front of him and made it as positive an experience as he could. Recognizing that many shipmates "never really 'came home,'" Ray attributed his success in coming home to a "rapid transition from sailor to student in 1969," thanks to the G.I. Bill (p. 130). Going straight to college, and continuing to receive an advanced degree, Ray was set for a wonderful life, with a beautiful wife, family and career.
Ray's son, Bobby, was his editor. Bobby did an excellent job, here, and truly honors his dad's time in the United States Navy - 1967-1969.
BRAVO!!!!!
A Sailor's Journey was a wonderful read. Ray Perrotti shared his experiences aboard a naval ship, the USS DuPont, during the Vietnamese War. Coming from a family of Marines, I understood some of the undertakings he went through, however, reading it in Ray's words was eye-opening.
The friendships made (and sadly, lost), ship-life, duties assigned, and liberties all rang familiar. The hustle for "souvenirs," to bring home, the pressing of uniforms, the initiation into "The Solemn Mysteries Of The Ancient Order Of The Deep," signed by King Neptune, himself (I know, as I have a framed certificate that hangs on my dinning room wall), making Ray an official SHELLBACK....these were some of the memories he shared.
The Vietnam War stateside was one of protests, antiwar slogans, and made for a most challenging time for sailors returning from stints on gun lines. Ray took was in front of him and made it as positive an experience as he could. Recognizing that many shipmates "never really 'came home,'" Ray attributed his success in coming home to a "rapid transition from sailor to student in 1969," thanks to the G.I. Bill (p. 130). Going straight to college, and continuing to receive an advanced degree, Ray was set for a wonderful life, with a beautiful wife, family and career.
Ray's son, Bobby, was his editor. Bobby did an excellent job, here, and truly honors his dad's time in the United States Navy - 1967-1969.
BRAVO!!!!!
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June 7, 2021MWSA Review
Author Ray Perrotti has provided us with a fun, easy read in his memoir A Sailor's Journey. In the spring of 1966, Ray is about to graduate from high school and doesn't consider himself college material. With the Vietnam conflict getting bigger and bigger, and the military draft looming over him, Ray decides to get ahead of the inevitable and enlists in the U.S. Navy. A Sailor's Journey takes us from his first day at Boot Camp through his two-year stint in the navy. Serving on a couple of destroyers in a multitude of jobs, the author's enlistment includes two separate tours of duty off the coast of Vietnam where his destroyer runs the gun line, firing at enemy positions on shore. Unfortunately, the North Vietnamese guns fire back, and on one occasion, a round hits his ship, killing and wounding his shipmates. More than just the experience in combat, this book gives us a good look at the life of a sailor at sea.
Review by Bob Doerr (June 2021)
Author Ray Perrotti has provided us with a fun, easy read in his memoir A Sailor's Journey. In the spring of 1966, Ray is about to graduate from high school and doesn't consider himself college material. With the Vietnam conflict getting bigger and bigger, and the military draft looming over him, Ray decides to get ahead of the inevitable and enlists in the U.S. Navy. A Sailor's Journey takes us from his first day at Boot Camp through his two-year stint in the navy. Serving on a couple of destroyers in a multitude of jobs, the author's enlistment includes two separate tours of duty off the coast of Vietnam where his destroyer runs the gun line, firing at enemy positions on shore. Unfortunately, the North Vietnamese guns fire back, and on one occasion, a round hits his ship, killing and wounding his shipmates. More than just the experience in combat, this book gives us a good look at the life of a sailor at sea.
Review by Bob Doerr (June 2021)
January 30, 2021
A walk down memory lane for any sailor
If you served in the Navy, you will enjoy this book. Written by an enlisted sailor, he walks us through his time in the Navy, sharing his experiences and exploits. Maybe I am biased, as we both served on the same ship (albeit at different times), but the life and times of a sailor are all pretty similar!
If you served in the Navy, you will enjoy this book. Written by an enlisted sailor, he walks us through his time in the Navy, sharing his experiences and exploits. Maybe I am biased, as we both served on the same ship (albeit at different times), but the life and times of a sailor are all pretty similar!
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May 26, 2021Read and scored for 2021 Military Writers' Society of America (MWSA) Award Season. See www.mwsadispatches.com for more details.
October 4, 2022
Sailors story
Good short story of the Navy life of a young man, and how the opportunity to make a decision the go to school change his life.
Good short story of the Navy life of a young man, and how the opportunity to make a decision the go to school change his life.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews