It was a tradition in the U.S. Navy to sport a beard and this was mainly due to the fact that there was a lack of water aboard ships at sea. Dad was 20 in 1943 and he wanted to grow a beard like some of his shipmates had. There was a standing rule that if you grew a beard, you had to keep it for a whole year before you could shave it off. Captain's orders, and that was that. Dad went to the skipper and asked for and got permission to grow a beard and he grew a beauty. It was as thick as fur and curly (I had the same type of beard for several years before I came back on Active Duty) and he thought the world of it. Well, after one patrol where they got beat-up pretty badly by a Jap destroyer, they were ordered back to Mare Island for repairs that could not be accomplished at Midway and also to refresh the crew with some of that good ol' USA liberty! Well, they got back to the states and they were all getting ready to go on liberty when dad decided that he wanted to lose the beard. He went to the Old Man (the skipper) and asked him for permission to shave off the beard. Of course, the skipper knowing the rule, reminded Dad of the rule and said NO. Well, as it turned out, they were just getting ready to walk/run down the gangplank on liberty when the Old Man came up to dad and told him he could shave off the beard but it had better be FAST!! Well, not only did dad shave at warp speed but he made it out on liberty with his buddies!!

Get your own