In the age old tradition of adventurers  I ran away to sea and joined the Navy at 17.  College could wait.  I was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  I was on the Destroyer Escort Claud Jones. (DE1033)  A number of times the ship was caught in Typhoons in the Mid-Pacific as we were stationed in the Vietnam service area.  In one Typhoon the Anchor capstan actually broke free from its mooring  (the capstan is the machine winch located in front of the forward gun mount in photo) and a side plate of the hull split on the port side.  This was caused by extreme listing constantly from port to starboard to the point that you would spill out of your bunk if you tried sleeping. Imagine being in this state for days and sometimes weeks at a time seasick and you will get an idea what its like to be on a small ship in a big blue water Navy.  Destroyer Escorts are no longer part of the U.S. Naval fleet. We hobbled back to Pearl on a propeller and a prayer.