My memories of the Long Beach would take much more room to record than the few pages that I am providing for the "Memories" section of the her website. I plan to cover them in detail in my personal memoirs. Suffice it to say that the US Navy and open sea were my first loves and the greatest passions I have ever had. I was a sailor then and now with "sea time" aboard destroyers and private vessels I have owned over the years. I will attempt, time permitting, to make additions to this section and the highlights of my years aboard an unquestionably distinguished Cruiser.a ship, her fine crew and officers that have provided me with a lifetime of happy recollections.

The Forward Brow:
It is drilled into an enlisted sailors head from the time he enters boot camp until the time he graduates that he is never to use the forward brow. The forward brow is for officers only. There has never been a sailor in the fleet that doesn't know this.
To use the forward brow erroneously is unthinkable. The penalty for an enlisted man mistakenly using the forward brow was never discussed by our instructors while at the Great Lakes Training Center and exact ramifications arising from such a violation of Naval Regulations were never provided. Therefore, as a new recruit, I assumed they would be death or something very similar.

My epic begins upon my arrival in "Old Norfolk Town" back in '64 to report aboard our fine ship. The flight arrived early in the day and I found myself with 60 dollars in my wallet and a long time before midnight (the last minute I could report aboard without offending anyone. So off to Granby Street I went, an innocent hillbilly from Copper Creek. Innocent? Partially, but not to the sanctimonious extent of not trying to get a real beer while under age and finding a pretty Norfolk girl to temporarily fall in love with. Needless to mention, I found a bar that would serve me and there were numerous girls with varying degrees of physical beauty and conversational skills that seemed to adore me.

After several hours of drinking and buying beer for my admirers I realized that I was not as intoxicated as I should be based on intake and asked the bartender why the beer tasted funny.she laughed and said "it's 3.2".My God!! that was the first 3.2 beer I had ever drank and it was disgraceful for a two fisted sailor to be in the same company with. What a mean trick.what a cruel deed she had done to a fleet sailor! The lady took pity and told me to keep quiet and she would sell me the real McCoy.I had some catching up to do and by 11:00 PM I was the Toast of Norfolk, the transitory Don Juan of Granby Street, nearly broke and well edified of the fact that if I wanted to temporarily fall in love it would take more than a few beers and my self determined good looks.

Not wanting to make a bad first impression on my superiors aboard Long Beach (who were at that time, everyone not still in boot camp) I wisely opted to get a cab and head for NOB. The driver was an honest sort and took me to the right gate with 15 minutes left before I turned into a pumpkin or much WORSE. Down the pier I strolled, swaying in the southern breeze; sea bag hoisted upon my shoulder and looking at the largest, prettiest thing I had ever seen in my life with missile launchers everywhere, weaponry amidships and 5 inch 38's standing proudly "at ease". It was on that pier beside Long Beach that I noticed that a ship had a certain smell.it comes from all the haze grey paint I suppose.it is a good smell, a distinct, serious, powerful but beautiful smell.one of which I still remember.

I ascended the brow smartly, rehearsing how I was to salute the Ensign and the Petty Officer of the Watch and ask "permission to come aboard, Sir".I had it down perfect and would execute it with my best salute, thus-an instant success. Up I climbed. taking care not to plummet over the side (ships brows shake and move) and to my untimely, embarrassing demise. Alas I gained the better purchase of solid deck and saluted the Officer .the wrong deck, the wrong brow, THE WRONG CAREER! I had accomplished the unthinkable upon arriving!! My first official act.poor wretched soul that I was.condemned without ever having the chance to prove myself. Condemned and disgraced- a discredit to my family name and the naval officers and enlisted members that honorably served before me.

He was a LTjg, a salt, probably one of those that went 'round the world in her and no doubt a Golden Shellback.he was a lesser God.this man before me. My fate in his hands.such humiliation.from the brow to the brig! Then something miraculous happened, he smiled and there was a twinkling of humor in his eyes.the jg stifled a laugh. 'You're on the wrong brow, sailor' said he. Go aft.down there, and try again! And with that incident.began my naval service, an unending love affair with the United States Navy, its ships, its people and the Long Beach. I had found a home.

Fred Lane, former DC2
Aboard CGN-9 1964-68