My first assignment out of photo school was Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Eight (HS-8) at NAAS Ream Field, Imperial Beach, California. They did not have photo equipment so before we had embarked aboard Princeton I spent my time entering our pilots' flight times in their logs (and not much more).
Boarded Princeton (CVS-37) for its 1957 WESTPAC cruise, which included stopping in Singapore to pick up pallets of food to take to Ceylon. Helicopters from my squadron (HS-8) transported the food to the interior of Ceylon. I know they lost at least one helo in the jungle there and another at sea during the cruise.
Aboard Princeton I was assigned to the ship's photo lab, where I spent an awful lot of time preventing other members of the photo lab from having to participate in extra assignments like tending the incinerator burning classified material and, of course, side-cleaning (in other words, it was me who was assigned to those tasks). It could have been worse, but fortunately I had already spent five weeks mess-cooking while I was at NATTC Norman, Oklahoma for Airman Prep School.
Spent seven years as a navy photographer before I realized I was not cut out to be a photographer and converted to radioman.
