Jesse Richards and Louis Richards

[00:01] JESSE RICHARDS: My name is Jesse Richards. I am 66 years old. Today's date is June 18, 2019. I'm in Marina, California with my husband, Louis A. Richards.

[00:18] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: And I am Louis a. Richards. I'm 71 years old. I just turned 71. Today's date is June 18, 2019. We're in Marina, California at the lovely Vet center. And my interviewer is my wonderful wife.

[00:39] JESSE RICHARDS: So, Louis when did you go into the military?

[00:44] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I joined the service in August of 1966. Can you believe it? That's a long time ago and I'm dredging up memories.

[00:56] JESSE RICHARDS: What do you remember about the day you enlisted?

[01:02] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Very, very little. It's all that long ago is just a blur for me. I remember raising my hand at the military entrance station and I think it was in la. I think my parents drove me to L. A and then once I was sworn in, I got on a bus and headed down to San Diego, California for Navy basic training.

[01:33] JESSE RICHARDS: How did you tell your friends that you were joining the military?

[01:40] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I don't think I told anybody. I don't think anybody but my family knew I was going. I might have had a couple of neighbors that I told and that would have been just about it.

[01:54] JESSE RICHARDS: If I remember correctly, your family encouraged you strongly?

[02:00] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Oh, absolutely. My father was in the army, my mother was in the Coast Guard during World War II, and we were a very military oriented family. And I was going in the service kicking and screaming whether I wanted to or not. You're going into service, we don't care what service you pick, but you're going into service.

[02:28] JESSE RICHARDS: How did you choose what branch of service?

[02:32] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Well, in 1966, it was just about the time that the draft was being initiated and I knew I didn't want to go in the army and end up in Vietnam. And I knew I didn't want to go in the Marine Corps and end up in country in Vietnam. So I went in the Navy and I ended up in Vietnam.

[03:04] JESSE RICHARDS: What are some of the things you remember about adapting to military life?

[03:10] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: The things I remember about adapting were just basically how to deal with the discipline, how to fold my clothes, how to become a squared away sailor. And I learned the ancient lore of the Navy.

[03:35] JESSE RICHARDS: Was that a difficult time for you?

[03:39] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Basic training was not really that hard that I recall. I was one of the company petty officers, so I had a little bit more responsibility and a little bit more freedom than the other people in the company did. But outside of that, I had to work as hard as everybody else to get to get through the physical training and Learn how to march and stay in step.

[04:16] JESSE RICHARDS: Where did you serve during the war?

[04:21] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: In 1968, after some schooling, I went to a destroyer out of Norfolk, Virginia, the USS Leary DD879. And I figured, well, it's a destroyer in Norfolk, Virginia. It's not going to head to the West Pack Western Pacific. Well, it did after we did a service or a training time down in Gitmo. Guantanamo Bay at the time was a big training area for all the ships that we're going to sea and coming out of the yards. And anyway, we did our training down there and left in February, I believe it was. From Norfolk, Virginia, we went through the Panama Canal, made stops in Panama, made a stop in Hawaii and went across the Pacific and ended up eventually in the Gulf of Tonkin, right off the coast of Vietnam.

[05:35] JESSE RICHARDS: Had you told your family that you were being deployed to Vietnam?

[05:40] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I'm pretty sure I talked with them about going and that the ship would be in transit. I think we. No, I don't know if we stopped in California on the way over or not. At any rate, I told them I'd be going and they just. There wasn't much they could do about it except say, good luck, stay out of trouble, keep your head down. And they said a few prayers in church for me, I'm sure. So that was about it. That was about it. They were surprised that I was going, and I was surprised that I was going, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it.

[06:30] JESSE RICHARDS: Did you feel concerned or frightened?

[06:37] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I'm sorry, say that again.

[06:38] JESSE RICHARDS: Did you feel concerned or frightened?

[06:43] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Actually, I don't recall real fright or concern about what I was doing. I knew that it would be arduous and a real dangerous job. But I knew that I had faith in the people I was with and in my ship, and I knew that I was going to be pretty much safe because I wasn't going to be in country. And I don't think any ship was ever seriously fired on in. In the waters off of Vietnam. So I felt safe in that way.

[07:24] JESSE RICHARDS: And you were in the engine room?

[07:27] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Yeah, I was a machinist mate. I worked in the engine room and kept the ship going, kept the lights on and made lots and lots of water. So that was my job. And it just was four hours on watch and eight hours off or four on and carry on. It just depended on what was going on.

[07:59] JESSE RICHARDS: Do you remember much about that time, your deployment in Vietnam?

[08:08] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Actually, I don't. I remember the time. I remember that we used to chase Aircraft carriers around the Gulf. And we were there just in case a plane went into the ocean. We were what they called plane guarding. And we'd follow the aircraft carriers, they were landing airplanes just in case one of the planes didn't quite make it or one of the pilots had to bail out. So that was pretty much our main job. And then at night we would steam around a few miles off the coast and lob 5 inch projectiles onto the mainland.

[08:53] JESSE RICHARDS: You did, your ship did.

[08:56] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Yeah, yeah.

[08:57] JESSE RICHARDS: But you weren't fired on.

[09:00] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: No, we were not. So. And besides, I was in the engine room. They weren't going to shoot me down there, so I was okay.

[09:17] JESSE RICHARDS: Anything else that you remember from your service days that you want to talk about?

[09:23] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Oh, good heavens. You mean at that time? Well, I do remember that being in foreign countries was very interesting and I enjoyed it quite a lot. There's, yeah, a lot of very nebulous memories. But I have to read my. I have to take a look at my cruise books to find out where we were and what we did. But we stopped in the Philippines, which is a great country and a great place to visit. We were in Japan, Hong Kong, did Kaohsiung. So we hit a lot of the great spots in the western Pacific.

[10:22] JESSE RICHARDS: And do you have other memories from that time?

[10:27] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: No, nothing really that I can go on at length about. It's really a lot of blur right now because it's been so long. It was 50 years ago this year that I was in the water, the Tonkin Gulf. And a lot has happened in 50 years. So, yeah, memories are kind of dim.

[11:02] JESSE RICHARDS: When did you leave the military and what was that like?

[11:07] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: When did I leave? I retired from the Navy in 1986. It was a beautiful August day. I was in San Diego. The ship I was on. Oh, I can talk about this forever. The ship I was on adjacent. It was a repair ship, was stationed in Pearl harbor. And in February of that year we were out at sea and involved in a very serious collision with another ship. Well, they towed us back into Pearl harbor and the ship went into the yards. I was selected something that had happened earlier. I was selected to go to a British expedition called Operation Raleigh. And I left around May and spent the next three months going through the South Pacific. It was a British expedition on a scientific ship that they had to get from Chile to Australia. So that was. That was the early part. Well, from February to about. No, sorry. From May to about the end of July, I was going through the South Pacific, which was tremendous. I love that and I got back to the ship in the early part of August because I was retiring. Yay. And the ship changed home port from Pearl harbor to San Diego that year. And my, my mother and brother and nephew came down from my retirement ceremony and I left after 20 good years in the Navy. It was amazing.

[13:26] JESSE RICHARDS: The ceremony itself, what was that like?

[13:32] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: All of my fellow chiefs were, were on the deck and standing up for me. And I was presented a couple of mementos that are still hanging proudly on my wall. And the, the captain, I remember the commanding officer, was retiring me. He said, are you sure you want to do this? I said, well, yeah, I think I'll go to. He gave me a chance to back out, but no, I had other things to do, so it was time to retire. And then I, I cracked everybody up because I took off my hat and I pulled a speech out of my hat that I had written down the night before. And I read this going away speech. It was very nicely done. I don't remember it now. I'd have to dig it out somewhere. I think I still have it. Anyway, I gave that speech 20 years ago. I was over here on the naval station in San Diego going through basic training. Little did I realize that 20 years later I would be. So that was my claim to fame. And then we had a nice ceremony in the mess. We had a cake cutting and then we all went out to dinner and got drunk. That was the most important part.

[15:26] JESSE RICHARDS: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Did, did you. What were your first few months out of the service like?

[15:38] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Oh, it was, it was so different. Not having to get up at 6:00 in the morning and put on my uniform and go to work and lead people and get work done. And it was so relaxing. It was so nice. But I got a job. I hated it. And I knew that it was. Well, it was August when I left and I knew that in January I'd be starting college. So I took a few months and relaxed, basically, and I came home to Pacific Grove, where my mother and father were living at the time, and stayed with them until I left for Humboldt in. I guess it was late December.

[16:43] JESSE RICHARDS: Do you have advice for others transitioning out of the military?

[16:50] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Do I have advice for others transitioning out of the military? Yes. Go to the va. Go to the va. Get yourself evaluated, Keep a copy of your medical record. Do everything you can to get yourself set up for the next 20, 30, 40 years. Use your GI Bill, go to college. Just enjoy the freedom, enjoy the difference. But I'll tell you what you'll miss it. Sorry. I don't think there's been a day since I left that I haven't wanted to be back in. Yeah, I miss the Navy.

[18:16] JESSE RICHARDS: It's clear that your service had an effect on you that makes you feel strongly about it.

[18:28] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Absolutely.

[18:29] JESSE RICHARDS: Can you put into words how your time in the military affected you?

[18:44] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I wish I could without cracking up right now. It's hard to explain. Let's. Yeah, let's move on. I can't answer that question without taking a long time to recover myself.

[19:12] JESSE RICHARDS: Is there anything you wish civilians understood about military life?

[19:28] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Understand the sacrifice. Understand that it's not something that's done lightly. Understand that it affects all of your family, from your wife and children to your parents and siblings to your cousins and aunts. And keep in mind how hard a commitment it is to get up at 6 o'clock in the morning, run two miles and get your, get your act together. It's a commitment. And anybody you know going into the service needs all the support that they can get.

[20:30] JESSE RICHARDS: What are some habits you developed in the service that you like?

[20:34] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Oh, well, I'm really good at folding my underwear. I'm really good at folding, holding my T shirts and hanging things up and keeping things straight. I picked up good habits and how to cook and how to keep things ship shape, as it were. I think that discipline has lasted me a lot longer than some of the other things I learned.

[21:10] JESSE RICHARDS: Is there anything habit wise that you developed in the service that you dislike?

[21:19] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Yeah. Getting up at 6 o'clock in the morning. It's hard to sleep in. It's hard to sleep in.

[21:27] JESSE RICHARDS: You do still do that?

[21:29] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I do that.

[21:32] JESSE RICHARDS: Here's a tough one for you. What are some of the things you miss about being in the service?

[21:48] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: You're right, that is a tough one. After being a chief petty officer for eight years, you. I miss the responsibility, the accountability, the camaraderie, the brotherhood and sisterhood now of all the other chief petty officers. And you'll never forget your time in a mess. You'll never forget how meaningful that is. And it's a good thing you don't want to forget it.

[23:06] JESSE RICHARDS: Are there any things that you are glad to have left behind?

[23:19] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Glad to have left behind? No. Good. No. There are just too many memories, too much, too much hard work, too much dedication to even contemplate leaving all that behind.

[23:52] JESSE RICHARDS: What, if anything, has been difficult to communicate to family and friends about your service?

[24:01] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Actually, it hasn't. My brother was in the service. I had a niece and a nephew that were in the service. My mother and father departed, but they were in a service and they understood what it was like. And my son was in the air force for 10 years, God bless him, and he understands. So it wasn't very difficult at all to get people to know what it was like to be in the military. And I think my. My niece and nephew who were in.

[24:45] JESSE RICHARDS: The army.

[24:49] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Probably need a lot more understanding too. One was in Afghanistan, the other was in Iraq.

[25:02] JESSE RICHARDS: What do you want? Your children, your grandchildren, their children. What do you want them to know about your military service?

[25:15] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I want them to know that I expect them to do it too. And I want them to know how important and how dedicated the. I'm going to toot my own horn here. The CPO mess in the Navy is any senior enlisted. Air Force, Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard, they are the backbone of the service. And I want them to understand how important what I did and what all the others do is. My service was probably not something to make movies about, but it was a dedicated 20 years, and I want my grandchildren to understand that.

[26:21] JESSE RICHARDS: Is there anything that you wish we would have touched upon that we haven't?

[26:28] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Oh, I think we've touched upon practically everything I can talk about without choking up and wasting tape, but, you know, just. I think that. I think I'm done. I really think. I can't think of anything else to say except stay out of war and keep the peace.

[27:09] JESSE RICHARDS: I want to thank you for your service and for making use of this opportunity to talk about your service.

[27:27] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: And I want to thank you for talking with me and putting up with me and realize that when I get choked up, it's not out of weakness. It's. It's from a very full heart.

[28:03] JESSE RICHARDS: Thank you.

[28:04] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Thank you, my love.

[28:09] SPEAKER C: We've reached about 28 minutes. If there's anything else you want to speak about, feel free to, if you don't mind. For the record, if I could ask a few more questions. They're not necessarily related to your service in the military.

[28:24] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Oh, please do.

[28:27] SPEAKER C: There's. Well, this one is military related. I've heard people express different ideas about the idea of being thanked for their service. And some people feel strange about that phrasing or something like that, But I see that a lot of people appreciate being told that. So what does that mean to you when people say thank you for your service?

[28:52] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I appreciate it because people have noticed and because people value what I did. Hopefully they're not saying just an empty thank you to be there, but if they value what I Do I appreciate that a lot. When the military came back from Vietnam, they did not get thanked. There were no parades. There were no great welcome home celebrations. It wasn't quite the appreciation of what the military did. Read the newspaper reports from 1974 and 5 and you'll see what the names that were called and the nastiness that went on. So, yeah, a little bit of acknowledgement goes a long way. Of course, it's from the children of the protesters, but I think that's. That's just as important. That's just as important. And when somebody says thank you for your service, I say, you're very welcome.

[30:20] SPEAKER C: I have another military related question. Feel free to pass on this too. But I noticed you said that your advice for future generations was to stay out of war, keep peace is what I think. That's what you said.

[30:34] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Yeah.

[30:35] SPEAKER C: Can you expand on that idea? Yeah. Love to hear about that.

[30:42] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: I think the last person who wants a war is anybody in the military. I don't want to go there. Are you crazy? And if you can, and everything you can do to keep your military from having to shoot and get shot is how you show your appreciation for your military.

[31:13] SPEAKER C: Maybe I'll just ask one more.

[31:15] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Go ahead. This is good.

[31:17] SPEAKER C: How did you two meet?

[31:21] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: Well, let's see.

[31:24] JESSE RICHARDS: You go ahead. We met fairly recently. We both. I worked at the local Meals on Wheels and Louis was a volunteer there at that time. He now works there. But at the time that we met, he was volunteering and I was working and I was newly divorced. And he caught my eye and I caught his. And the rest is history.

[31:54] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: And the rest is history.

[31:56] JESSE RICHARDS: Not that long ago.

[31:58] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: No.

[32:04] SPEAKER C: All right, that's it for me. Thank you both for sharing your time with us.

[32:09] LOUIS A. RICHARDS: You're very welcome. I hope we. God, I made it through it.