The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the May 2019 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of United States Navy Veteran, Boiler Technician Third Class Albert H. Gustafson. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Boiler Technician Third Class Albert H. Gustafson at the USS Topeka CLG-8 reunion at Philadelphia Pennsylvania in the summer of 2018.

Petty Officer Third Class Gustafson began his interview by sharing, “I always liked the water and due to my age and the year, when I was getting out of high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I knew a lot of friends who were getting drafted and ended up in the army which didn’t appeal to me, so I joined the Navy.” In 1966 he enlisted and was sent to boot camp at Great Lakes and recalled, “It was a new experience...we received basic Navy training, learned how to swim, lots of marching, learned Navy tradition, and the most important thing was discipline and following orders.” Upon successfully completing boot camp and receiving high marks on placement exams, his wish to pursue an engineering rate came true. He attended Basic Propulsion A School and Boiler Tender A School. Both Schools provided impactful tools which he utilized throughout his time with the fleet. 

Upon graduation from both schools, his first ship was the Cleveland Class Cruiser, the USS Topeka CLG 8 which was docked at Long Beach California. Upon receiving word of his first ship, Petty Officer Third Class Gustafson remarked, “I was pretty excited, it was a big ship, and a pretty impressive warship.” His first deployment was a Mediterranean Cruise which lasted six months. He spoke fondly of the comradery of the crew and the numerous ports the USS Topeka visited during the Cold War.

His respect and admiration for the USS Topeka and the strong bonds of his shipmates grew on his second and final cruise aboard which was also to the Mediterranean. He shared the challenging assignments he and fellow members of B Division faced while working to ensure the USS Topeka sailed at maximum efficiency. 

The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Navy Veteran, Boiler Technician Third Class Albert H. Gustafson, 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.