Ed Rodemeyer
U.S. Navy
1972-1979
Ed joined the Navy in 1972. After completing basic training in San Diego he was sent to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. There he was assigned to the USS Claude Jones DE-1033, a destroyer escort class ship. As a machinist repairman he was responsible for keeping the engines, boilers and refrigeration running. The Jones did many tours across the Pacific. The mission was to follow the Russian Navy fleet and keep an eye on them. The location of the Jones was always top secret. Once when returning to the base after a leave he found the Jones gone. In an effort to get him to his ship he was sent to several locations in the Pacific. He ended up in Vietnam for over six months. There he was put on a river patrol boat through the jungles. Eventually he connected with the Jones. After two years serving on the Jones it was decommissioned and Ed was sent to San Diego. At the main Navy base he was assigned to one of the largest machine shops in the Navy. After two years he was assigned to a SeaBee unit at Coronodo Island. Upon leaving the Navy in 1979 he was a First Class Petty Officer.
Ed was very proud of his service in the Navy. At restaurants if he noticed military people having a meal he always asked the waiter for their bill.
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