In His Own Words: George W. Carmany III
I grew up on eastern Long Island and in southern Florida. My family was in the resort hotel business, and I was on the water at a very young age. Naval history became my early hobby, followed naturally enough by sailing. Horatio Hornblower was my hero. In 1962, when I graduated from Amherst and felt the time had come to serve, I was all-in for the Navy with one little problem: I had poor vision (even though it corrected to 20/20 and still does). So it was the Supply Corps for me, and, after OCS, four months at supply school in Athens, Georgia (which, remarkably, continued to operate until just two years ago).
The Supply Corps School was a wonderful experience. It was the business end of the Navy, and a number of my 30 section mates went on to quite successful careers in investment banking. There was a greater esprit de corps than one might have expected.
In due course I found myself as the supply department head of a destroyer escort, the USS Cromwell (DE-1014). This was a terrific life experience because of what it taught me about working and getting along with men of all backgrounds and in close quarters.
My experience led to a brief added bonus. Since I had been maneuvering boats from a young age, I was invited to try my hand at man-overboard drills, which I did pretty well. This led to being asked if I would like to try standing deck watches, which for a time I did, perhaps becoming the only porkchop in DESLANT (Destroyer Forces Atlantic) to do so. This engaging experience came to a swift end one day when the Cromwell was joining a large fleet of vessels on a training mission. We were going to shell Vieques, as I recall. The captain hit the bridge and looked around, and I could read the thought forming on his face: “Oh my God, we’re in fleet ops, and the supply officer’s got the conn.” And that was the end of that.
I subsequently served as the aide to a senior officer in Philadelphia and in 1966 reemerged in civilian life a much more complete person. Those who knew me in my lively younger days would agree that the discipline and ability to work with others instilled by the Navy was a timely influence. It was good for business, too. So I owe a debt to the Navy and still have a passion for the sea—and for those reasons I have been a U.S. Naval Institute member for decades.
Actually, three generations of my family are Naval Institute members. Although he did not serve, my son-in-law shares my interests and has been a member for a number of years. Copies of Proceedings attracted his son’s attention—warships caught the boy’s fancy as they had mine. When his father’s annual letter arrived, young Charles, age six, somehow divined that he himself was a Naval Institute member. He started pulling books bearing the USNI logo from the shelves of my library, proclaiming that he was a part of all that.
So the time had come to make an honest man out of Charles, and this year he became a sustaining member (not without some help from his grandfather). His membership card is his most prized possession. As the Jesuits say, “Give us the boy and the man is ours!”
’Tis the Season
Our sincere thanks to all who have so generously supported the Naval Institute in 2015. Please accept our best wishes for the holiday season and throughout the New Year. Your Naval Institute family will strive to continue to serve your interests in 2016.