"Military life is very good because you learn from other people, there is always someone who outranks you... and you take what they do and you try and put it into your life and sooner or later you will be in that position."
-Radarman, Petty Officer Second Class George Trecarten, USN
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the October 2020 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of United States Navy Veteran, Radarman, Petty Officer Second Class George Trecarten. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Radarman, Petty Officer Second Class George Trecarten at the USS William R. Rush DD 714 reunion being held at Harrisburg Pennsylvania in the Fall of 2019.
Petty Officer Second Class George Trecarten decided to join the Navy while in school and interested on forging a fresh start and new opportunities. He shared, "Military life is very good because you learn from other people, there is always someone who outranks you... and you take what they do and you try and put it into your life and sooner or later you will be in that position." He attended Great Lakes with the buddy system for Basic Training and learned a number of life lessons.
Upon graduating from Basic Training, he was granted top secret clearance for a special project before departing on the USS William R. Rush. Trecarten's first assignments on the Rush was as a striker working on the deck. He exhibited leadership qualities and was recommended for a new position as a radarman.
He shared, "they called us scope jockeys, we always watched the scope to watch and track what vessels were ours or theirs to protect the ship... here I was, a man from a small town telling a fighter pilot where to go and what to do." He spoke fondly of his time on the USS William R. Rush and progressed in the Radar Department. At one point he visited an aircraft carrier in the battle group and met one of the pilots he had guided over the radio.
On one deployment he remarked, " I’ve been to the Artic Circle chasing submarines, they hide under the ice and we cut through the ice...they are looking for you and we are looking for them and we always hoped to find them first." In addition to the Artic Circle, he served in the Mediterranean Sea and Cuban Missile Crisis before returning to civilian life.
Part One Deciding to Join the Navy & Boot Camp in 1959
Part Three Service as a Radarman on the USS William R. Rush
Five Going to Sea for the First Time on the USS Wm R. Rush
Part Seven Service and on the USS William R Rush in the Med
Part Nine Reflections of Service on the USS William R. Rush
Part Two Joining the DD 714 & Becoming a Radarman
Part Four Memories of the Crews Quarters, Food, and Life
Part Six Chasing Soviet Submarines in the Arctic
Part Eight Memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the Rush
The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Navy Veteran, Radarman, Petty Officer Second Class George Trecarten, featured within this series titled, Tales from the Navy Log, 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.
To view this interview please visit the USS William R. Rush DD 714 Collection on the Navy Memorial Stories of Service page.