October 17, 2025 • 35 mins
A Detroit-area rebel who ran to Florida at fifteen didn’t just find his way—he found the ocean. We sit down with Tim Kirn to trace a life that arcs from a crowded Michigan home to the steel decks of the USS Nimitz, where a Hollywood film crew rubbed shoulders with sailors and a teenage dropout learned how to lead, endure, and grow. What starts with a shaved head and a stumble on ranks becomes a passport of ports: London’s clockface, Rome’s stones, Paris at night, and the River Jordan where faith first took hold.
The stories flow like sea lines. Tim turns polywog to shellback under King Neptune’s gaze, earns a Blue Nose beyond the Arctic Circle, and spends 144 straight days without land before shaking President Carter’s hand over a warm beer. He balances the Atlantic Fleet’s books on shore duty, then shifts into the TAR Navy, expediting parts to keep Hueys flying. A chance chat with a squadron captain morphs into a cinematic helicopter hop to the Netherlands—an X on a field, a quick wave, and rotors lifting like a secret mission. Threaded through all of it is a young marriage that lasts 25 years and five kids whose birthdays bookend deployments and detours.
After service, the path is tougher and real: chemical plants, factory shifts, a bad fall, and a hand sliced on sheet metal that still won’t bend like the other. A VA loan opens a door to a modest house with a lake view—the one he always pictured while staring at open water. Baptism returns in a megachurch, then deepens in an apostolic congregation. Tim talks honestly about mistakes, missed retirements, and the pride that comes from work done well, whether it’s tying down an aircraft, balancing an account, or showing up on Sundays.
If you’re curious about Navy life beyond the recruiting poster, about the rituals, risks, and quiet joys of carrier service, and about how faith can take root after the noise fades, this conversation delivers it with texture and heart. Listen, share it with someone who’s weighing the military, and if the story moves you, subscribe and leave a review—then tell us which port of call you’d choose.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
Today is Monday, August 18th, 2025.
We're talking with Tim Curran,who served in the United States
Navy.
So good afternoon, Tim.
Hi.
Pleasure to meet you.
SPEAKER_02 (01:10):
Nice to meet you too.
SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
All right.
Well, we'll start out simple.
When and where were you born?
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
I was born in Wayne, Michigan, in Annapolis Hospital.
And I grew up in Garden City,Michigan.
SPEAKER_01 (01:21):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
Um basically had a pretty decent childhood.
So went to um Lathers ElementarySchool.
Uh-huh.
And then from then I went toCambridge Junior High and then
Garden City East High School.
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
Okay.
Well, talk talk to me a littlebit about growing up then.
Did you have brothers andsisters?
Oh, yes.
I have uh five brothers and Ihave two sisters.
SPEAKER_02 (01:53):
That's a lot of kids.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (01:55):
Where do you fit in the pecking order?
I am one, two, third from thelast.
Okay.
So did you did you do a lot ofstuff with your brothers and
sisters when you were younger?
SPEAKER_02 (02:07):
I did a lot of stuff with my sisters.
My brothers really didn't wantus around because me and my next
brother, who's about a year anda half younger than me, that's
Ken.
He uh we were bothersome whenthey were having their parties.
We would sneak down into thebasement when they were having
their parties in the basement.
That's when the girls used towear paper dresses and things
(02:28):
like that.
Yeah.
Back in that era.
So it was in the 60s, late 60s.
I remember the Tigers went inthe World Series.
Really?
Yep.
And I know almost all theplayers.
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
So I was so did you actually did you go to the game
or did you just watch it orlisten to it?
SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
We went downtown in the 1984 World Series.
I was uh standing on theshoulders of my brothers, you
know, and uh just lookingaround.
There was people galore, thepolice were on horseback.
I didn't see anything bad downin Detroit, although the
newscast showed whatever badstuff they could find, but
(03:05):
that's not what it was like.
It was it was pretty decent.
Well, how was school for you?
School was good.
I got pretty decent grades.
Um I ended up dropping out ofschool in the tenth grade
because I uh kind of ran awaywith my girlfriend to Florida.
(03:26):
Okay.
So you were, yeah.
Kind of a rebel at a very youngage.
Yes, I was.
I got in some trouble.
I was uh I was uh I was ascoundrel sometimes.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (03:39):
So how long how long did you stay in Florida?
SPEAKER_02 (03:42):
I stayed in Florida for about a whole year.
That's when I joined the UnitedStates Navy.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (03:50):
I started out, we we rented a trailer.
Um it was$95 a month back then.
And uh, but there was no airconditioning, and then it's hot
in Florida.
Yes, it is.
So I went and got a job downtownPensacola at a Scooby Subs
making subs, so I was in anair-conditioned building all
day.
And my girlfriend, Karen, was uhat home in the trailer,
(04:15):
sweating, so and that wasn't agood life for her at all.
So I had to make arrangements todo something different, so I
decided to join the Navy and Iwent off to boot camp.
SPEAKER_01 (04:28):
So where'd you go to boot camp?
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
Went to boot camp in Orlando, Florida.
SPEAKER_01 (04:32):
Okay.
So it was a not a lot of airconditioning during boot camp,
was there?
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
No, but uh boot camp was pretty decent.
Yeah.
I come there.
I cut the tip of my finger whileI was in boot camp while we were
cutting melons in half.
Right.
And they had to take me out tothe hospital, which was good
because I got to see alldifferent kinds of people
besides boot camp.
But it it was it was anexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (04:55):
So what was it like when you first got to boot camp?
Was it what you were expectingor or not?
SPEAKER_02 (05:00):
Uh a little rough thing, you know, shave your head
and all that stuff when youstart and uh issue you what you
gotta get issued, you know,clothing and stuff like that.
So um I dealt with it and uh Ithink I did pretty decent.
So um I ended up getting sentback by a week at the end, so I
(05:26):
spent an extra week there.
But the unit that I went to gota lot more medals and flags than
the unit I came from.
So and I was part of that unitwhen they graduated, so um Yeah,
not necessarily a bad thingthough.
SPEAKER_01 (05:42):
Not necessarily a bad thing.
No, not at all.
And so um w if you don't mind measking, why were you why did you
get sent back?
SPEAKER_02 (05:49):
I when they held up the ranks of different officers
and stuff like that, I didn'tget one right.
So and if you fail, you fail.
And then so they sent me back aweek and I was okay.
But I learned them.
Right, right.
You got them done, right?
(06:09):
Yep, I got them done after that.
I didn't want to miss themagain, so yeah.
It was maybe a senior chief orsomething like that.
But I didn't get the exact rightwhen I seen the uh the symbol
for it.
So I still remember them nowthough.
I remember a lot of them.
Um so that's what I was tellingmy brother, my son joined the
army.
(06:29):
Uh huh.
I have no idea what the armyranks are.
I just know what the name is,and I know that you know E1, E2,
E3, and on are all the same forenlisted people, and he's
enlisted.
SPEAKER_01 (06:41):
So Okay.
All right.
Um, I do want to go back just alittle bit, and if if you don't
mind, what so we talked a littlebit about childhood.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your parents, your mom and
dad, and what they did and whatthey were like?
SPEAKER_02 (06:53):
My dad worked at General Motors Hydromatics down
in Willow Run area.
Uh-huh.
Uh he retired from there, workedthere quite a few years.
And um he was working there thewhole time.
We used to go fishing all thetime.
My dad used to take me fishingall the time, so I'm an avid
fisherman.
Yeah.
I love doing that.
Uh, it kind of stopped after hegot a little up there in age a
(07:16):
little bit.
So um, my mom didn't work untilI was probably like an early
teenager, and then she got awork job working at uh Comfort
Inn, I think it's Comfort Inn.
One of the hotel changes.
Oh, okay.
And um she used to do thelaundry, fold clothes.
(07:37):
She met a lot of importantpeople working there, you know,
that would fly in to Detroit forone reason or another.
So that was interesting.
So, but she was away a lot oftimes, and basically I had a lot
of freedom to do whatever Iwanted to do, run around and you
know, didn't have to check inlike a lot of kids, like all my
(07:59):
friends had to.
Right.
You know, I'm so what do you gotto check in for?
I'm uh, you know, wasn't used tothat, but I understand it now.
Right.
So when you have your own kids.
Yes, I have my own kids.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:13):
Okay.
Well, I just kind of wanted tocover that because you didn't
really talk about it.
So you uh you get you get toboot camp, you make it through
boot camp after that one weeksetback, and um what happens
next?
Where do you go next?
SPEAKER_02 (08:24):
Well, I asked for brother duty on the USS Nimitz
because of my girlfriend who Ihad run away with.
Right.
I had her go from Pensacola,Florida, where she was staying,
to um, and the reason we werethere was my brother, I had
another brother that was in thethat was in the Navy too.
He was in Pensacola, stationedin Pensacola.
(08:46):
So she was staying there for awhile, and then um I had her go
to Norfolk, Virginia, where mybrother was my other brother.
Uh-huh.
One was Glenn, that was thefirst one.
Skip was uh oldest, my oldestbrother, he was in Norfolk.
Okay.
So I had her go to Norfolk, andum so I got back about a week
(09:08):
before I got out, which explainswhy I got sent back a week, I
guess.
Um she ended up getting caughtand having to go back to
Michigan.
Cause she still wasn't 18 yet,right?
No, she was not.
She was only 15 at the time.
Right.
So and uh so she got caught, andthen uh I had to go visit her
(09:31):
whenever I got a chance,whenever I had any days off.
You know, and so that was a lotof driving back and forth.
It's about 700-mile drive.
So and uh her parents finallydecided that they would go ahead
and let me marry her since youknow uh we went through all what
(09:53):
we went through.
Right.
So and then um so we got marriedthe day after part of the week
after she turned 16.
And then I had five kids withher.
SPEAKER_01 (10:04):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (10:05):
So I've got uh my daughter Jennifer, the oldest,
she was born in 1980, and thenMelissa, born in 1983, and then
we took a long break, and thenMark was born in 1992, and then
Jessica was born in 1995, andthen all of a sudden the last
(10:25):
one came in 2001, which she wasmore of a surprise, and that's
Stacy.
SPEAKER_01 (10:32):
Okay.
So and so how long were youmarried?
25 years.
Wow, it's a long time.
SPEAKER_02 (10:37):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
All right.
Well, let's go back a little bitthough.
So you uh you get done withbasic training, and then um did
you go on to other training ordid you just go to the fleet?
SPEAKER_02 (10:49):
What I did was I went to as a as a just a regular
recruit.
And it was a uh not even anairman yet.
I was just a regular recruit.
Um went on board the USS Nimitz.
Um well we when I got stationedon the Nimitz, they had a they
were making a movie called TheFinal Countdown.
SPEAKER_00 (11:11):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:12):
So I was in one scene.
Um so it was so quick thoughthat I don't think you notice me
now.
During one of the generalquarters, we all got up and ran.
It was uh just part of themovie.
Yeah.
So but I met uh Kurt Douglas andCaptain Ross and uh and the
(11:33):
little dog and and uh there wasother people.
I sat in the director's chairjust like you're sitting in.
Uh-huh.
And uh because uh I think theson was the director and the dad
was the and one of the actors,he played the uh the captain of
the ship.
Okay.
So that's pretty exciting.
(11:54):
Yes, it was real exciting.
I like to watch the moviebecause it reminds everything I
see in that movie is exactly asit was.
You know, there's that movie isreal.
I'm gonna have to watch thatmovie again.
Yeah.
See if I can pick you out.
Oh, yeah.
I tried to do that.
I tried to stop it and Icouldn't.
So fast.
(12:14):
You can't tell anyway.
I was a lot smaller than than Iam now.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So we all were, I think.
Yes.
Back in the day.
So yeah, so you uh you so youwere a non-designated seaman at
that point or non-designatedseven.
SPEAKER_02 (12:27):
Yes, I was a seaman, seaman recruit.
And then um I decided I wanted Iwell, I was colorblind.
Okay.
So I had a choice of becoming aparachute rigger, or I could
become an aviation storekeeper.
Um I think it was about the onlycouple of ranks that I was
allowed to become.
So I decided to go into theaviation, so I became an uh
(12:50):
airman recruit.
Uh-huh.
And after that, I became athird-class petty officer um as
an aviation storekeeper.
SPEAKER_01 (13:00):
Okay.
And how long were you on the uhNimitz for though?
SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
Oh, quite a f quite a few years.
I don't remember the exactdates, but I would say we went
on two Mediterranean cruises andwe went to the Virgin Islands,
um went to Port Lauderdale,which was really exciting.
SPEAKER_00 (13:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (13:20):
One of the best ports that I've been in.
So I've been to a lot of ports.
Um but we also stopped and Iwent to Israel, got baptized in
the River Jordan.
First time I was baptized.
Um baptized.
Uh baptized.
(13:41):
Anyway, and then I went to umAthens, Greece.
I've seen all parts of Italy,Venice, the Leaning Tower at
Pisa, the Cathedral in Rome.
We went to England and I seenthe London Bridge in the in the
Big Clock Tower.
Oh, yeah.
Big Ben.
(14:02):
Big Ben.
Yeah.
And um went to Paris, seen theEiffel Tower.
Um The Rock of Gibraltar, wepassed by many times going
through the little so did youget your order of the rock
certificate?
SPEAKER_01 (14:19):
That's another one that's in there.
SPEAKER_02 (14:20):
Um, no.
They didn't give me any kind ofcertificate for that.
Oh, well that that existsbecause I have one.
Well, then I need to ask them toget me that.
Yeah, you should find out.
I need to get it because I needto put my certificates in in uh
in a frame.
I got a bunch of them.
We uh we went across theequator, so we went through uh
(14:42):
the shellback initiation.
Uh-huh.
And uh my brother was with me atthe time.
We had to dress up in um as apolywog.
You put your clothes on insideout, and you had to make a tail.
So we made a tail.
We all walked around with tailsand stuff, and I remember all
that part and remember crawlingaround all the stuff.
(15:05):
We've seen uh King Neptune andyou used to wash your face in
Greece.
SPEAKER_01 (15:11):
Oh, yeah, you gotta kiss Neptune's belly, don't you?
SPEAKER_02 (15:14):
Yes.
Yeah.
That was that.
And uh they would smash eggs onyour back and stuff like that.
Um and then we would blow thepat eyes.
Well, pat eyes are how you tiedown the aircraft to the deck.
We would uh blow those out.
You have to clean every one ofthem out, even though they were
all cleaned a hundred timesalready.
(15:35):
But uh we crawled around allover the place, and then we'd
come to a final pool area, andthey would ask you if you're a
shellback or a polywog.
If you said polywog, you had tostart all over again.
So, but you kind of learn thatas you're going through from the
people that have gone throughalready.
Right.
So I didn't have to go throughtwice, but I said shell back.
(15:58):
Jumped in the in the water andcleaned yourself off as much as
you can.
And I was that, and so I was ashell back.
Now I got to walk around and beone of the bosses, I guess you'd
call it.
So I went over to my brother whowas still walking through, and I
put an S on his back because Iwas just joking around.
He wasn't not happy.
(16:20):
That means special case.
Yeah.
Some reason this guy messed up,so they bust more eggs on you
and just treat you a littlerougher.
I can imagine he'd be upset.
Yeah, he was upset.
But I said it was just jokingaround.
So, but he got over it, so heyou know, he probably would have
(16:40):
done the same thing.
He says, I would not have.
So pretty sure he would have,yeah.
Yeah.
So, but uh we both ended upmaybe becoming shellbacks.
SPEAKER_01 (16:51):
What a great interest.
SPEAKER_02 (16:52):
There wasn't a celebration like that when we
went across the Arctic Circle,but we did get a certificate
called the Blue Nosecertificate.
So um, that's anothercertificate I earned.
Um we spent 144 days at sea onetime.
We were on a Mediterraneancruise, and the captain came
(17:15):
over to the speaker and saidthat we were extending our
cruise.
So we ended up spending 144 daysat sea straight without seeing
any land.
I think the only thing we sawwas a couple of rocks sticking
out of the bottom of the of theocean when we went around the
Cape of Africa all the way down.
And we sat in the Indian Oceanfor a long time, and um
(17:39):
President Carter came aboard theship, and we should I shook his
hand, and um he gave us all awarm beer.
SPEAKER_01 (17:47):
I was gonna say you earned a beer, right?
SPEAKER_02 (17:49):
Because after so many days.
Yes, we earned a warm beer, soum, which I'm not a beer drinker
anyway.
I'm not a drinker at all.
So but uh it was it was decent.
So we used to have picnics upthere on the flight deck and
stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
So when you um when you uh finished your time on the
Nimitz, did you get out of theNavy then or did you re-enlist?
SPEAKER_02 (18:16):
I uh when I got off the Nimitz, I went over and
worked at Fleet AccountingDispersion Center for the
Atlantic Fleet.
Yeah.
And I balanced the checkbooksfor the Atlantic Fleet.
Um, different aircraft carriersand going through adding them up
and subtracting them just tomake sure they come out to and
they're always out of balance.
(18:39):
No small task, right?
Right, it's no small task, butuh it's called Fatzy Land.
So I when I first got ordersthere, I said, Man, I'm going to
Fantasyland.
Not exactly.
Not exactly, but uh but Iremember thinking that when I
got stationed there.
But that was a reallyinteresting job.
So um so we did that, and thenum I think that's when I got out
(19:06):
and I ended up getting uhhonorable discharge with
immediate reenlistment into theTAR Navy.
Uh-huh.
That's the uh trainingadministration of reservists.
So now my off days were Mondayand Tuesday instead of Saturday
and Sunday, so we can train thereservists all the time.
Right.
And we went on detachments andstuff.
I was in um um HalfordHelicopter Squadron, uh-huh,
(19:31):
worked with uh the Rambo-typehelicopters, uh Huey's.
Yeah.
And um, so I ordered parts forthem and I'd expedited.
That was my main job isexpediting, finding parts
wherever I can find them.
Um and uh we went on detachmentto to uh Denmark.
(19:54):
Oh.
And I was sitting at weeverybody was in civilian
clothes, and I was sitting at apicnic over in Denmark, and I
started talking to this one guy,and he ended up being the
captain of the of the squadron.
Oh, and I'm like, oh, okay.
You know, so but he we I mean hewas just a normal human being,
(20:15):
just a regular guy, right?
Yeah, and uh so we were talkingabout if we knew anybody that
lived overseas in in this area,and I my brother had a foreign
exchange student, can't rememberher name right now, but she uh
lived in the Netherlands.
Uh-huh.
So I was talking to him aboutthat, and he asked me, Do you
(20:35):
want to go see her?
I thought, I don't know, I guessso.
Uh we could do that.
You know, if that's possible,that would be cool.
SPEAKER_01 (20:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:43):
So um I got the information of her address and
stuff.
So I never met them, and theirparents don't speak any English,
so that wasn't adventure.
But um, what happened was uh hewe picked the day that we were
gonna go.
This was just me and the captaintalking.
Uh-huh.
Okay.
And then we got times a day togo, and I packed my sea bag
(21:07):
with, you know, a few things andgot ready to go.
We're only going for one night.
And um so I go to go, and thewarrant officer comes up and
says, Where do you think you'regoing?
And I told him, well, going tothe Netherlands.
Right.
You know, the first partyofficer knew that my my
supervisor.
And um, so he said, No, youain't going nowhere.
(21:31):
You didn't follow the chain ofcommand.
I said, He asked me.
I didn't ask him.
So uh about an hour after theycame and got me and said, You
can go as long as you can fityour stuff on the you can fit on
the helicopter, because they'retaking a bunch of Navy SEALs
wherever they're supposed to go.
So uh I went ahead and went overthere and they found a spot for
(21:52):
my seabag, and they got me, andI was sitting between the pilot
and the co-pilot, looking downin this big bubble like glass
sitting there.
And then so we took off and wewe went and uh so they flew to
Germany first.
We stopped to refuel in Germany,they dropped off all the seals
in Germany, and then we took offand went towards the
(22:15):
Netherlands, and they werelooking for the spot, and they
almost couldn't find it.
But finally we found a big X ona like a football field.
Uh-huh.
And so he went ahead and landedthere, and I jumped out of the
uh helicopter and went runningover to these people that I
didn't know.
And then the helicopter takesoff, sort of made me feel like I
(22:35):
was James Bond or something.
And then the next day, you know,I won't just kind of roamed
around the town and stuff likethat.
The girl that I was going tosee, she was in school all the
time.
That's all they do over there isgo to school, right?
Almost 24 hours.
So um, but I slept in the uhthey're upstairs.
It was house just like I grew upin.
SPEAKER_00 (22:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:57):
So um there was windmills and stuff like that.
(23:38):
I've never seen that.
But anyway, um, the next daythey brought me back to that
same field and a helicoptercomes landing in, and I run
over, jump in a helicopter, andthey take me back.
So it just made me feel prettyspecial for them to take the
time out to do something likethat.
You know, just for visitingsomebody.
(23:58):
So it was great.
That's really cool.
Yep.
Things I'll tell my grandkidsabout.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
So yeah.
So so and you were married atthis time, right?
By now?
Had you got married?
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (24:12):
Yes, I was I was already married.
This was um, I don't rememberwhat year it was, but it was uh
quite a few years after Ienlisted.
I was already in the Tower Navy.
SPEAKER_01 (24:24):
And now had you made uh Petty Officer Second Class by
by now?
SPEAKER_02 (24:29):
Uh yes, I was in E5 for a long this time.
Yeah.
Kept trying to make E6, but Ikept passing it down advanced.
SPEAKER_01 (24:36):
And that test, man.
PA.
I hate that.
I hate those three letters.
SPEAKER_02 (24:41):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (24:42):
Yeah.
So then um what year did you endup getting out of the out of the
service then?
SPEAKER_02 (24:47):
I got out in 1984.
SPEAKER_01 (24:50):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (24:51):
Um so the year after your no, excuse me.
Got out in 1993.
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (24:56):
Okay.
Okay.
So so you're all your kids areare born by then, right?
So you have all five of yourkids you get out.
And so what did you do after?
SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
No, I had um I got out in 1993.
I still had another girl born in1995.
Okay.
My son was born, he was only ababy.
Okay.
And I had another daughter in1995, and then I had my last
daughter in 2001.
Oh, geez, I skipped two.
Oh no.
So, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (25:25):
So, what did you do once you got out of the
military?
SPEAKER_02 (25:27):
I got out of the military and I ended up getting
odd jobs.
I worked at PBS Chemicals indowntown Detroit for uh six
months.
Uh, I was filling up trucks withlike uh it's called ferric
chloride uh for um sewagestreamer plants.
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
So did a lot of that.
Um, it was a kind of a dirty jobon the inside.
They had dry powder stuff theymade on the inside, and then
they had a liquid.
That's what I used to load thetrucks up, work on this theme,
and it took a long time to loada truck up.
So um so I did that for a while,and then after that, I worked a
(26:08):
couple little odd jobs here andthere, and then I ended up
getting a job at DaimlerChrysler.
And I worked at Daimler Chryslerfor nine years, and then um I
took a buyout from DaumlerChrysler and ended up going on
Social Security Disability, andI've been on Social Security
Disability since then.
SPEAKER_01 (26:26):
Okay.
What what did you do forChrysler?
SPEAKER_02 (26:29):
I worked as a spot welder basically.
Um pushed buttons, okay, andthey put the parts in.
That's how I cut my hand reallybad.
Oh.
Um I was walking up some stairsand slipped, and there was sheet
metal parts.
Yeah.
And there was no railing tocatch.
So I grabbed the parts and theyjust sliced right in the bottom.
(26:50):
It was I left a deer trail.
Oh, yeah.
I could follow you to whereveryou want.
I went all the way to medical,which I was on the opposite end
of the of the warehouse.
So walked all the way of thefactory, all the way into uh
medical, and they wrapped myhand up so tight that I thought
my little finger was busted.
Right.
It just didn't have no bloodgoing to it.
But um they stitched it upinside and out.
(27:13):
Yeah.
And so I have but I can use myhand.
I can't bend it as much as I canthis one.
Right.
But it's it works.
That's that's the importantthing, right?
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (27:23):
Yeah.
So you uh you did that for nineyears and then uh now you're on
uh social security disabilityand I've been on social security
disability since.
SPEAKER_02 (27:31):
Yeah.
And living here in Jackson andfishing and no, I was living in
uh in um Garden City, my backgarden city for a while.
And then after that I got anapartment in Northville.
SPEAKER_00 (27:45):
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02 (27:46):
I stayed in Northville for a year, and then
I decided uh my mom passed awaywhile I was away.
Uh-huh.
And um, so she would have lovedthis house.
I seen this house, I looked out,I look out over a lake, and uh,
it's what I wanted my wholelife.
(28:07):
Yeah.
So I said, well, I'm gonna gofor it.
And so I went ahead andpurchased the house using a VA
loan.
Uh-huh.
So because I didn't have nomoney for down payment or
nothing like that.
So still had come up with alittle bit of it, little little
bit of it, but we rolled it intothe price of the house.
Yeah.
Also, plus they did concessions.
And um I got the house.
(28:31):
So happy.
It's a perfect size for me.
Yeah.
So I got a bedroom that's neverused.
It's not much of a bedroom, butit's a bedroom that I never
used, so we'll see.
Things will work out.
So um I started going toNorthville Church.
(28:51):
Um and uh it's a mega church,and I got baptized there, and um
I've got a lot closer to God andJesus since.
Um and uh now I go to uh uhapostric church in Albion,
(29:15):
Michigan.
Oh, apost is apostolic.
SPEAKER_01 (29:18):
Yes, it's a hard word to say.
SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Yeah, it's you're right.
I won't want to say apostles orsomething like that, but
apostolic church in uh Church ofChrist, Christ Apostolic Church
in Albion, Michigan.
Uh-huh.
So I drive there at least everySunday, sometimes on Wednesdays,
and um and I attend church allthe time there.
(29:42):
And uh I did do a bunch of Biblestudies.
I did uh crossroads Bible studytier one and tier two.
Tier three sits on my dresser,and it's a lot different than
tier one and tier two, so that'swhy it's still sitting on my
dresser.
Right.
A lot of reading in a differentbook, so and but it's that book
(30:06):
plus the Bible, so um, but Ithink I've been blessed with
lots and lots of good things inmy life.
Yeah, I had some bad things inmy life, but the I think the
good outweighs the bad anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (30:22):
Yeah.
So yeah.
So um, you know, we've covered alot of your life and things that
you've done.
Um, is there anything that wehaven't talked about that you
want to talk about?
SPEAKER_02 (30:34):
Um I don't can't think of anything super special.
Um I know I went to Israel andand I walked uh path that Jesus
walked.
Yeah.
Um that's one of the things wedid.
And then I I mentioned all theother, most of the places that I
went, I might have missed uh afew of them.
(30:57):
Um Venice.
I don't know if I mentionedVenice.
SPEAKER_01 (31:00):
Yep, you did Italy and Venice and what was the
thing when we so back in the daythe Navy was join the Navy, see
the world.
And uh it's true.
SPEAKER_02 (31:09):
Yes, it is true.
Yeah, absolutely.
Very true.
The only thing I didn't get tosee was I didn't go on any kind
of uh a Westpac type cruise.
I didn't get to go to Australia,I didn't go to go to Japan and
uh Philippines and those kind ofplaces, which I would have
absolutely loved.
Right.
I already know I would haveloved it, and uh so who knows
(31:29):
what my future will bring,though.
I might still get a chance to goto some of those places too.
SPEAKER_01 (31:35):
Well, that's true.
So well, then really, I justhave one.
More questions for you thisafternoon, and that is for
someone who listens to thisyears from now, what message
would you like to leave forpeople?
SPEAKER_02 (31:49):
Well, join the Navy and see the world, number one.
Absolutely.
And uh it's it's actually uh avery good job.
Uh the Navy to me is better thanthe other services because we
get to sit on the ship, and it'sI know they said the Titanic was
unsinkable, but these aircraftcarriers are basically
(32:12):
unsinkable, and then if they dosink, then it didn't matter
anyway.
Right, right.
So um but yes, it's a good it'sit's that's what more kids,
teenagers need to do is join assoon as possible and uh lead a
(32:35):
lead a decent life for the restof your life.
If you I could have joined Icould have retired at 37 years
old if I would have been wise,but yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (32:46):
Oh, we all learn from our mistakes, right?
All right.
Well, Tim, thanks for takingtime out this afternoon to sit
and talk to me.
I appreciate it.
You're welcome.
Today is Monday, August 18th, 2025.
We're talking with Tim Curran,who served in the United States
Navy.
So good afternoon, Tim.
Hi.
Pleasure to meet you.
SPEAKER_02 (01:10):
Nice to meet you too.
SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
All right.
Well, we'll start out simple.
When and where were you born?
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
I was born in Wayne, Michigan, in Annapolis Hospital.
And I grew up in Garden City,Michigan.
SPEAKER_01 (01:21):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
Um basically had a pretty decent childhood.
So went to um Lathers ElementarySchool.
Uh-huh.
And then from then I went toCambridge Junior High and then
Garden City East High School.
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
Okay.
Well, talk talk to me a littlebit about growing up then.
Did you have brothers andsisters?
Oh, yes.
I have uh five brothers and Ihave two sisters.
SPEAKER_02 (01:53):
That's a lot of kids.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (01:55):
Where do you fit in the pecking order?
I am one, two, third from thelast.
Okay.
So did you did you do a lot ofstuff with your brothers and
sisters when you were younger?
SPEAKER_02 (02:07):
I did a lot of stuff with my sisters.
My brothers really didn't wantus around because me and my next
brother, who's about a year anda half younger than me, that's
Ken.
He uh we were bothersome whenthey were having their parties.
We would sneak down into thebasement when they were having
their parties in the basement.
That's when the girls used towear paper dresses and things
(02:28):
like that.
Yeah.
Back in that era.
So it was in the 60s, late 60s.
I remember the Tigers went inthe World Series.
Really?
Yep.
And I know almost all theplayers.
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
So I was so did you actually did you go to the game
or did you just watch it orlisten to it?
SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
We went downtown in the 1984 World Series.
I was uh standing on theshoulders of my brothers, you
know, and uh just lookingaround.
There was people galore, thepolice were on horseback.
I didn't see anything bad downin Detroit, although the
newscast showed whatever badstuff they could find, but
(03:05):
that's not what it was like.
It was it was pretty decent.
Well, how was school for you?
School was good.
I got pretty decent grades.
Um I ended up dropping out ofschool in the tenth grade
because I uh kind of ran awaywith my girlfriend to Florida.
(03:26):
Okay.
So you were, yeah.
Kind of a rebel at a very youngage.
Yes, I was.
I got in some trouble.
I was uh I was uh I was ascoundrel sometimes.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (03:39):
So how long how long did you stay in Florida?
SPEAKER_02 (03:42):
I stayed in Florida for about a whole year.
That's when I joined the UnitedStates Navy.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (03:50):
I started out, we we rented a trailer.
Um it was$95 a month back then.
And uh, but there was no airconditioning, and then it's hot
in Florida.
Yes, it is.
So I went and got a job downtownPensacola at a Scooby Subs
making subs, so I was in anair-conditioned building all
day.
And my girlfriend, Karen, was uhat home in the trailer,
(04:15):
sweating, so and that wasn't agood life for her at all.
So I had to make arrangements todo something different, so I
decided to join the Navy and Iwent off to boot camp.
SPEAKER_01 (04:28):
So where'd you go to boot camp?
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
Went to boot camp in Orlando, Florida.
SPEAKER_01 (04:32):
Okay.
So it was a not a lot of airconditioning during boot camp,
was there?
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
No, but uh boot camp was pretty decent.
Yeah.
I come there.
I cut the tip of my finger whileI was in boot camp while we were
cutting melons in half.
Right.
And they had to take me out tothe hospital, which was good
because I got to see alldifferent kinds of people
besides boot camp.
But it it was it was anexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (04:55):
So what was it like when you first got to boot camp?
Was it what you were expectingor or not?
SPEAKER_02 (05:00):
Uh a little rough thing, you know, shave your head
and all that stuff when youstart and uh issue you what you
gotta get issued, you know,clothing and stuff like that.
So um I dealt with it and uh Ithink I did pretty decent.
So um I ended up getting sentback by a week at the end, so I
(05:26):
spent an extra week there.
But the unit that I went to gota lot more medals and flags than
the unit I came from.
So and I was part of that unitwhen they graduated, so um Yeah,
not necessarily a bad thingthough.
SPEAKER_01 (05:42):
Not necessarily a bad thing.
No, not at all.
And so um w if you don't mind measking, why were you why did you
get sent back?
SPEAKER_02 (05:49):
I when they held up the ranks of different officers
and stuff like that, I didn'tget one right.
So and if you fail, you fail.
And then so they sent me back aweek and I was okay.
But I learned them.
Right, right.
You got them done, right?
(06:09):
Yep, I got them done after that.
I didn't want to miss themagain, so yeah.
It was maybe a senior chief orsomething like that.
But I didn't get the exact rightwhen I seen the uh the symbol
for it.
So I still remember them nowthough.
I remember a lot of them.
Um so that's what I was tellingmy brother, my son joined the
army.
(06:29):
Uh huh.
I have no idea what the armyranks are.
I just know what the name is,and I know that you know E1, E2,
E3, and on are all the same forenlisted people, and he's
enlisted.
SPEAKER_01 (06:41):
So Okay.
All right.
Um, I do want to go back just alittle bit, and if if you don't
mind, what so we talked a littlebit about childhood.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your parents, your mom and
dad, and what they did and whatthey were like?
SPEAKER_02 (06:53):
My dad worked at General Motors Hydromatics down
in Willow Run area.
Uh-huh.
Uh he retired from there, workedthere quite a few years.
And um he was working there thewhole time.
We used to go fishing all thetime.
My dad used to take me fishingall the time, so I'm an avid
fisherman.
Yeah.
I love doing that.
Uh, it kind of stopped after hegot a little up there in age a
(07:16):
little bit.
So um, my mom didn't work untilI was probably like an early
teenager, and then she got awork job working at uh Comfort
Inn, I think it's Comfort Inn.
One of the hotel changes.
Oh, okay.
And um she used to do thelaundry, fold clothes.
(07:37):
She met a lot of importantpeople working there, you know,
that would fly in to Detroit forone reason or another.
So that was interesting.
So, but she was away a lot oftimes, and basically I had a lot
of freedom to do whatever Iwanted to do, run around and you
know, didn't have to check inlike a lot of kids, like all my
(07:59):
friends had to.
Right.
You know, I'm so what do you gotto check in for?
I'm uh, you know, wasn't used tothat, but I understand it now.
Right.
So when you have your own kids.
Yes, I have my own kids.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:13):
Okay.
Well, I just kind of wanted tocover that because you didn't
really talk about it.
So you uh you get you get toboot camp, you make it through
boot camp after that one weeksetback, and um what happens
next?
Where do you go next?
SPEAKER_02 (08:24):
Well, I asked for brother duty on the USS Nimitz
because of my girlfriend who Ihad run away with.
Right.
I had her go from Pensacola,Florida, where she was staying,
to um, and the reason we werethere was my brother, I had
another brother that was in thethat was in the Navy too.
He was in Pensacola, stationedin Pensacola.
(08:46):
So she was staying there for awhile, and then um I had her go
to Norfolk, Virginia, where mybrother was my other brother.
Uh-huh.
One was Glenn, that was thefirst one.
Skip was uh oldest, my oldestbrother, he was in Norfolk.
Okay.
So I had her go to Norfolk, andum so I got back about a week
(09:08):
before I got out, which explainswhy I got sent back a week, I
guess.
Um she ended up getting caughtand having to go back to
Michigan.
Cause she still wasn't 18 yet,right?
No, she was not.
She was only 15 at the time.
Right.
So and uh so she got caught, andthen uh I had to go visit her
(09:31):
whenever I got a chance,whenever I had any days off.
You know, and so that was a lotof driving back and forth.
It's about 700-mile drive.
So and uh her parents finallydecided that they would go ahead
and let me marry her since youknow uh we went through all what
(09:53):
we went through.
Right.
So and then um so we got marriedthe day after part of the week
after she turned 16.
And then I had five kids withher.
SPEAKER_01 (10:04):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (10:05):
So I've got uh my daughter Jennifer, the oldest,
she was born in 1980, and thenMelissa, born in 1983, and then
we took a long break, and thenMark was born in 1992, and then
Jessica was born in 1995, andthen all of a sudden the last
(10:25):
one came in 2001, which she wasmore of a surprise, and that's
Stacy.
SPEAKER_01 (10:32):
Okay.
So and so how long were youmarried?
25 years.
Wow, it's a long time.
SPEAKER_02 (10:37):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
All right.
Well, let's go back a little bitthough.
So you uh you get done withbasic training, and then um did
you go on to other training ordid you just go to the fleet?
SPEAKER_02 (10:49):
What I did was I went to as a as a just a regular
recruit.
And it was a uh not even anairman yet.
I was just a regular recruit.
Um went on board the USS Nimitz.
Um well we when I got stationedon the Nimitz, they had a they
were making a movie called TheFinal Countdown.
SPEAKER_00 (11:11):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:12):
So I was in one scene.
Um so it was so quick thoughthat I don't think you notice me
now.
During one of the generalquarters, we all got up and ran.
It was uh just part of themovie.
Yeah.
So but I met uh Kurt Douglas andCaptain Ross and uh and the
(11:33):
little dog and and uh there wasother people.
I sat in the director's chairjust like you're sitting in.
Uh-huh.
And uh because uh I think theson was the director and the dad
was the and one of the actors,he played the uh the captain of
the ship.
Okay.
So that's pretty exciting.
(11:54):
Yes, it was real exciting.
I like to watch the moviebecause it reminds everything I
see in that movie is exactly asit was.
You know, there's that movie isreal.
I'm gonna have to watch thatmovie again.
Yeah.
See if I can pick you out.
Oh, yeah.
I tried to do that.
I tried to stop it and Icouldn't.
So fast.
(12:14):
You can't tell anyway.
I was a lot smaller than than Iam now.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So we all were, I think.
Yes.
Back in the day.
So yeah, so you uh you so youwere a non-designated seaman at
that point or non-designatedseven.
SPEAKER_02 (12:27):
Yes, I was a seaman, seaman recruit.
And then um I decided I wanted Iwell, I was colorblind.
Okay.
So I had a choice of becoming aparachute rigger, or I could
become an aviation storekeeper.
Um I think it was about the onlycouple of ranks that I was
allowed to become.
So I decided to go into theaviation, so I became an uh
(12:50):
airman recruit.
Uh-huh.
And after that, I became athird-class petty officer um as
an aviation storekeeper.
SPEAKER_01 (13:00):
Okay.
And how long were you on the uhNimitz for though?
SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
Oh, quite a f quite a few years.
I don't remember the exactdates, but I would say we went
on two Mediterranean cruises andwe went to the Virgin Islands,
um went to Port Lauderdale,which was really exciting.
SPEAKER_00 (13:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (13:20):
One of the best ports that I've been in.
So I've been to a lot of ports.
Um but we also stopped and Iwent to Israel, got baptized in
the River Jordan.
First time I was baptized.
Um baptized.
Uh baptized.
(13:41):
Anyway, and then I went to umAthens, Greece.
I've seen all parts of Italy,Venice, the Leaning Tower at
Pisa, the Cathedral in Rome.
We went to England and I seenthe London Bridge in the in the
Big Clock Tower.
Oh, yeah.
Big Ben.
(14:02):
Big Ben.
Yeah.
And um went to Paris, seen theEiffel Tower.
Um The Rock of Gibraltar, wepassed by many times going
through the little so did youget your order of the rock
certificate?
SPEAKER_01 (14:19):
That's another one that's in there.
SPEAKER_02 (14:20):
Um, no.
They didn't give me any kind ofcertificate for that.
Oh, well that that existsbecause I have one.
Well, then I need to ask them toget me that.
Yeah, you should find out.
I need to get it because I needto put my certificates in in uh
in a frame.
I got a bunch of them.
We uh we went across theequator, so we went through uh
(14:42):
the shellback initiation.
Uh-huh.
And uh my brother was with me atthe time.
We had to dress up in um as apolywog.
You put your clothes on insideout, and you had to make a tail.
So we made a tail.
We all walked around with tailsand stuff, and I remember all
that part and remember crawlingaround all the stuff.
(15:05):
We've seen uh King Neptune andyou used to wash your face in
Greece.
SPEAKER_01 (15:11):
Oh, yeah, you gotta kiss Neptune's belly, don't you?
SPEAKER_02 (15:14):
Yes.
Yeah.
That was that.
And uh they would smash eggs onyour back and stuff like that.
Um and then we would blow thepat eyes.
Well, pat eyes are how you tiedown the aircraft to the deck.
We would uh blow those out.
You have to clean every one ofthem out, even though they were
all cleaned a hundred timesalready.
(15:35):
But uh we crawled around allover the place, and then we'd
come to a final pool area, andthey would ask you if you're a
shellback or a polywog.
If you said polywog, you had tostart all over again.
So, but you kind of learn thatas you're going through from the
people that have gone throughalready.
Right.
So I didn't have to go throughtwice, but I said shell back.
(15:58):
Jumped in the in the water andcleaned yourself off as much as
you can.
And I was that, and so I was ashell back.
Now I got to walk around and beone of the bosses, I guess you'd
call it.
So I went over to my brother whowas still walking through, and I
put an S on his back because Iwas just joking around.
He wasn't not happy.
(16:20):
That means special case.
Yeah.
Some reason this guy messed up,so they bust more eggs on you
and just treat you a littlerougher.
I can imagine he'd be upset.
Yeah, he was upset.
But I said it was just jokingaround.
So, but he got over it, so heyou know, he probably would have
(16:40):
done the same thing.
He says, I would not have.
So pretty sure he would have,yeah.
Yeah.
So, but uh we both ended upmaybe becoming shellbacks.
SPEAKER_01 (16:51):
What a great interest.
SPEAKER_02 (16:52):
There wasn't a celebration like that when we
went across the Arctic Circle,but we did get a certificate
called the Blue Nosecertificate.
So um, that's anothercertificate I earned.
Um we spent 144 days at sea onetime.
We were on a Mediterraneancruise, and the captain came
(17:15):
over to the speaker and saidthat we were extending our
cruise.
So we ended up spending 144 daysat sea straight without seeing
any land.
I think the only thing we sawwas a couple of rocks sticking
out of the bottom of the of theocean when we went around the
Cape of Africa all the way down.
And we sat in the Indian Oceanfor a long time, and um
(17:39):
President Carter came aboard theship, and we should I shook his
hand, and um he gave us all awarm beer.
SPEAKER_01 (17:47):
I was gonna say you earned a beer, right?
SPEAKER_02 (17:49):
Because after so many days.
Yes, we earned a warm beer, soum, which I'm not a beer drinker
anyway.
I'm not a drinker at all.
So but uh it was it was decent.
So we used to have picnics upthere on the flight deck and
stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
So when you um when you uh finished your time on the
Nimitz, did you get out of theNavy then or did you re-enlist?
SPEAKER_02 (18:16):
I uh when I got off the Nimitz, I went over and
worked at Fleet AccountingDispersion Center for the
Atlantic Fleet.
Yeah.
And I balanced the checkbooksfor the Atlantic Fleet.
Um, different aircraft carriersand going through adding them up
and subtracting them just tomake sure they come out to and
they're always out of balance.
(18:39):
No small task, right?
Right, it's no small task, butuh it's called Fatzy Land.
So I when I first got ordersthere, I said, Man, I'm going to
Fantasyland.
Not exactly.
Not exactly, but uh but Iremember thinking that when I
got stationed there.
But that was a reallyinteresting job.
So um so we did that, and thenum I think that's when I got out
(19:06):
and I ended up getting uhhonorable discharge with
immediate reenlistment into theTAR Navy.
Uh-huh.
That's the uh trainingadministration of reservists.
So now my off days were Mondayand Tuesday instead of Saturday
and Sunday, so we can train thereservists all the time.
Right.
And we went on detachments andstuff.
I was in um um HalfordHelicopter Squadron, uh-huh,
(19:31):
worked with uh the Rambo-typehelicopters, uh Huey's.
Yeah.
And um, so I ordered parts forthem and I'd expedited.
That was my main job isexpediting, finding parts
wherever I can find them.
Um and uh we went on detachmentto to uh Denmark.
(19:54):
Oh.
And I was sitting at weeverybody was in civilian
clothes, and I was sitting at apicnic over in Denmark, and I
started talking to this one guy,and he ended up being the
captain of the of the squadron.
Oh, and I'm like, oh, okay.
You know, so but he we I mean hewas just a normal human being,
(20:15):
just a regular guy, right?
Yeah, and uh so we were talkingabout if we knew anybody that
lived overseas in in this area,and I my brother had a foreign
exchange student, can't rememberher name right now, but she uh
lived in the Netherlands.
Uh-huh.
So I was talking to him aboutthat, and he asked me, Do you
(20:35):
want to go see her?
I thought, I don't know, I guessso.
Uh we could do that.
You know, if that's possible,that would be cool.
SPEAKER_01 (20:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:43):
So um I got the information of her address and
stuff.
So I never met them, and theirparents don't speak any English,
so that wasn't adventure.
But um, what happened was uh hewe picked the day that we were
gonna go.
This was just me and the captaintalking.
Uh-huh.
Okay.
And then we got times a day togo, and I packed my sea bag
(21:07):
with, you know, a few things andgot ready to go.
We're only going for one night.
And um so I go to go, and thewarrant officer comes up and
says, Where do you think you'regoing?
And I told him, well, going tothe Netherlands.
Right.
You know, the first partyofficer knew that my my
supervisor.
And um, so he said, No, youain't going nowhere.
(21:31):
You didn't follow the chain ofcommand.
I said, He asked me.
I didn't ask him.
So uh about an hour after theycame and got me and said, You
can go as long as you can fityour stuff on the you can fit on
the helicopter, because they'retaking a bunch of Navy SEALs
wherever they're supposed to go.
So uh I went ahead and went overthere and they found a spot for
(21:52):
my seabag, and they got me, andI was sitting between the pilot
and the co-pilot, looking downin this big bubble like glass
sitting there.
And then so we took off and wewe went and uh so they flew to
Germany first.
We stopped to refuel in Germany,they dropped off all the seals
in Germany, and then we took offand went towards the
(22:15):
Netherlands, and they werelooking for the spot, and they
almost couldn't find it.
But finally we found a big X ona like a football field.
Uh-huh.
And so he went ahead and landedthere, and I jumped out of the
uh helicopter and went runningover to these people that I
didn't know.
And then the helicopter takesoff, sort of made me feel like I
(22:35):
was James Bond or something.
And then the next day, you know,I won't just kind of roamed
around the town and stuff likethat.
The girl that I was going tosee, she was in school all the
time.
That's all they do over there isgo to school, right?
Almost 24 hours.
So um, but I slept in the uhthey're upstairs.
It was house just like I grew upin.
SPEAKER_00 (22:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:57):
So um there was windmills and stuff like that.
(23:38):
I've never seen that.
But anyway, um, the next daythey brought me back to that
same field and a helicoptercomes landing in, and I run
over, jump in a helicopter, andthey take me back.
So it just made me feel prettyspecial for them to take the
time out to do something likethat.
You know, just for visitingsomebody.
(23:58):
So it was great.
That's really cool.
Yep.
Things I'll tell my grandkidsabout.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
So yeah.
So so and you were married atthis time, right?
By now?
Had you got married?
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (24:12):
Yes, I was I was already married.
This was um, I don't rememberwhat year it was, but it was uh
quite a few years after Ienlisted.
I was already in the Tower Navy.
SPEAKER_01 (24:24):
And now had you made uh Petty Officer Second Class by
by now?
SPEAKER_02 (24:29):
Uh yes, I was in E5 for a long this time.
Yeah.
Kept trying to make E6, but Ikept passing it down advanced.
SPEAKER_01 (24:36):
And that test, man.
PA.
I hate that.
I hate those three letters.
SPEAKER_02 (24:41):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (24:42):
Yeah.
So then um what year did you endup getting out of the out of the
service then?
SPEAKER_02 (24:47):
I got out in 1984.
SPEAKER_01 (24:50):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (24:51):
Um so the year after your no, excuse me.
Got out in 1993.
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (24:56):
Okay.
Okay.
So so you're all your kids areare born by then, right?
So you have all five of yourkids you get out.
And so what did you do after?
SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
No, I had um I got out in 1993.
I still had another girl born in1995.
Okay.
My son was born, he was only ababy.
Okay.
And I had another daughter in1995, and then I had my last
daughter in 2001.
Oh, geez, I skipped two.
Oh no.
So, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (25:25):
So, what did you do once you got out of the
military?
SPEAKER_02 (25:27):
I got out of the military and I ended up getting
odd jobs.
I worked at PBS Chemicals indowntown Detroit for uh six
months.
Uh, I was filling up trucks withlike uh it's called ferric
chloride uh for um sewagestreamer plants.
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
So did a lot of that.
Um, it was a kind of a dirty jobon the inside.
They had dry powder stuff theymade on the inside, and then
they had a liquid.
That's what I used to load thetrucks up, work on this theme,
and it took a long time to loada truck up.
So um so I did that for a while,and then after that, I worked a
(26:08):
couple little odd jobs here andthere, and then I ended up
getting a job at DaimlerChrysler.
And I worked at Daimler Chryslerfor nine years, and then um I
took a buyout from DaumlerChrysler and ended up going on
Social Security Disability, andI've been on Social Security
Disability since then.
SPEAKER_01 (26:26):
Okay.
What what did you do forChrysler?
SPEAKER_02 (26:29):
I worked as a spot welder basically.
Um pushed buttons, okay, andthey put the parts in.
That's how I cut my hand reallybad.
Oh.
Um I was walking up some stairsand slipped, and there was sheet
metal parts.
Yeah.
And there was no railing tocatch.
So I grabbed the parts and theyjust sliced right in the bottom.
(26:50):
It was I left a deer trail.
Oh, yeah.
I could follow you to whereveryou want.
I went all the way to medical,which I was on the opposite end
of the of the warehouse.
So walked all the way of thefactory, all the way into uh
medical, and they wrapped myhand up so tight that I thought
my little finger was busted.
Right.
It just didn't have no bloodgoing to it.
But um they stitched it upinside and out.
(27:13):
Yeah.
And so I have but I can use myhand.
I can't bend it as much as I canthis one.
Right.
But it's it works.
That's that's the importantthing, right?
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (27:23):
Yeah.
So you uh you did that for nineyears and then uh now you're on
uh social security disabilityand I've been on social security
disability since.
SPEAKER_02 (27:31):
Yeah.
And living here in Jackson andfishing and no, I was living in
uh in um Garden City, my backgarden city for a while.
And then after that I got anapartment in Northville.
SPEAKER_00 (27:45):
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02 (27:46):
I stayed in Northville for a year, and then
I decided uh my mom passed awaywhile I was away.
Uh-huh.
And um, so she would have lovedthis house.
I seen this house, I looked out,I look out over a lake, and uh,
it's what I wanted my wholelife.
(28:07):
Yeah.
So I said, well, I'm gonna gofor it.
And so I went ahead andpurchased the house using a VA
loan.
Uh-huh.
So because I didn't have nomoney for down payment or
nothing like that.
So still had come up with alittle bit of it, little little
bit of it, but we rolled it intothe price of the house.
Yeah.
Also, plus they did concessions.
And um I got the house.
(28:31):
So happy.
It's a perfect size for me.
Yeah.
So I got a bedroom that's neverused.
It's not much of a bedroom, butit's a bedroom that I never
used, so we'll see.
Things will work out.
So um I started going toNorthville Church.
(28:51):
Um and uh it's a mega church,and I got baptized there, and um
I've got a lot closer to God andJesus since.
Um and uh now I go to uh uhapostric church in Albion,
(29:15):
Michigan.
Oh, apost is apostolic.
SPEAKER_01 (29:18):
Yes, it's a hard word to say.
SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Yeah, it's you're right.
I won't want to say apostles orsomething like that, but
apostolic church in uh Church ofChrist, Christ Apostolic Church
in Albion, Michigan.
Uh-huh.
So I drive there at least everySunday, sometimes on Wednesdays,
and um and I attend church allthe time there.
(29:42):
And uh I did do a bunch of Biblestudies.
I did uh crossroads Bible studytier one and tier two.
Tier three sits on my dresser,and it's a lot different than
tier one and tier two, so that'swhy it's still sitting on my
dresser.
Right.
A lot of reading in a differentbook, so and but it's that book
(30:06):
plus the Bible, so um, but Ithink I've been blessed with
lots and lots of good things inmy life.
Yeah, I had some bad things inmy life, but the I think the
good outweighs the bad anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (30:22):
Yeah.
So yeah.
So um, you know, we've covered alot of your life and things that
you've done.
Um, is there anything that wehaven't talked about that you
want to talk about?
SPEAKER_02 (30:34):
Um I don't can't think of anything super special.
Um I know I went to Israel andand I walked uh path that Jesus
walked.
Yeah.
Um that's one of the things wedid.
And then I I mentioned all theother, most of the places that I
went, I might have missed uh afew of them.
(30:57):
Um Venice.
I don't know if I mentionedVenice.
SPEAKER_01 (31:00):
Yep, you did Italy and Venice and what was the
thing when we so back in the daythe Navy was join the Navy, see
the world.
And uh it's true.
SPEAKER_02 (31:09):
Yes, it is true.
Yeah, absolutely.
Very true.
The only thing I didn't get tosee was I didn't go on any kind
of uh a Westpac type cruise.
I didn't get to go to Australia,I didn't go to go to Japan and
uh Philippines and those kind ofplaces, which I would have
absolutely loved.
Right.
I already know I would haveloved it, and uh so who knows
(31:29):
what my future will bring,though.
I might still get a chance to goto some of those places too.
SPEAKER_01 (31:35):
Well, that's true.
So well, then really, I justhave one.
More questions for you thisafternoon, and that is for
someone who listens to thisyears from now, what message
would you like to leave forpeople?
SPEAKER_02 (31:49):
Well, join the Navy and see the world, number one.
Absolutely.
And uh it's it's actually uh avery good job.
Uh the Navy to me is better thanthe other services because we
get to sit on the ship, and it'sI know they said the Titanic was
unsinkable, but these aircraftcarriers are basically
(32:12):
unsinkable, and then if they dosink, then it didn't matter
anyway.
Right, right.
So um but yes, it's a good it'sit's that's what more kids,
teenagers need to do is join assoon as possible and uh lead a
(32:35):
lead a decent life for the restof your life.
If you I could have joined Icould have retired at 37 years
old if I would have been wise,but yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (32:46):
Oh, we all learn from our mistakes, right?
All right.
Well, Tim, thanks for takingtime out this afternoon to sit
and talk to me.
I appreciate it.
You're welcome.
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