“In October of 1962...we were part of the Cuban Missile Crisis...at 20 or so you don’t really sweat it out like you do if you were an adult 30 years old with a family.”
-Radarman Third Class Samuel Painter, USN
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the April 2017 story of the month has been selected to honor the service of Radarman Third Class Samuel Painter. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Radarman Third Class Samuel Painter at the USS Harwood Association Reunion in the fall of 2016 at the ships reunion in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Painter joined the Navy upon graduating high school, attended Great Lakes, and was then sent to Radar A School in Norfolk Virginia. He requested service on a Destroyer which was honored by being assigned to the USS Harwood DDE 861. He quickly assimilated into destroyer life and would eventually be sent to the Combat Information Center. He recalled, "I was working in the CIC which was very interesting...we got information from the different ships in the squadron and you had to be in touch with the bridge." While working in the CIC the Harwood was ordered on two Mediterranean Cruises and regular patrols to the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. He shared, “We did two Med Cruises when I was aboard...18 years old and I was on the French Riviera...what could be better than that.”
The Harwood would then be sent into harms why at the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Painter remembered, “In October of 1962...we were part of the Cuban Missile Crisis...at 20 or so you don’t really sweat it out like you do if you were an adult 30 years old with a family... fortunately we were able to avoid a conflict.” Painter fondly recalled his service on the USS Harwood and the strong camaraderie between the crew, a bond that has endured today and was highly evident at the associations reunion.
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program honors Radarman Third Class Samuel Painter, featured within this series titled, Stories of Service, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at https://www.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service.