The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the April 2020 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of United States Navy Veteran, Chief Hospital Corpsmen Edward Deats. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Chief Hospital Corpsmen Edward Deats at the USS Nimitz CVN 68 reunion being held at Philadelphia Pennsylvania in the Fall of 2018.

Chief Hospital Corpsmen Edward Deats joined the United States Navy in Brooklyn New York. After swearing in, he was sent by train to Great Lakes on December 7th 1965. He had just turned 18 and reflected, "I got to meet people from all across the country, I got to experience their experiences and that was a real plus for me." He enjoyed basic training and spoke fondly about the winter at Great Lakes and meeting sailors from all walks of life. Before graduating from basic training, he recalled, "You were asked if you wanted to go to a school, and I said yes. My uncle was a Navy Corpsman, and I followed in his footsteps. I wanted to go to corps school, that was my goal.” Deats was then sent to Hospital Corpsmen A School and enjoyed learning a multitude of valuable lessons. Upon graduating, he was ordered to Naval Hospital Bethesda Maryland where he worked on the general surgical ward. A majority of those he treated were Sailors and Marines who fought in Vietnam. Deats requested to serve in Vietnam and after receiving training,  was assigned to the First Marine Division, First Recon Battalion, Bravo Company in Vietnam.

After arriving in Vietnam, Chief Hospital Corpsmen Deats quickly acclimated to his new assignment. He spoke of his service as if it was yesterday. His first mission was a true baptism of fire. After being inserted on a mountain top, the eight-man team quickly made contact with the Viet Cong and had to call in air support to survive. The skills learned during training and his first hospital assignment would be utilized in the field as he worked to keep his Marines alive. After serving three daunting tours, he would serve with the Seabees before being ordered to the newly commissioned USS Nimitz. His service on the USS Nimitz would be equally challenging and rewarding. His time at sea also included playing a role in the 1979 film Final Countdown, starring Kirk Douglas. The extraordinary service memories of Chief Hospital Corpsmen Edward Deats reflect a variety of experiences between the fleet and in South East Asia.

The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Navy Veteran, Chief Hospital Corpsmen Edward Deats, 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.