"Stealth is the business here." (Audio interview, 36:06)
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Ronald P.C. Waller
War: Cold War Branch: Navy Unit: USS Scamp (SSN 588); USS Daniel Webster (SSBN 626) Service Location: San Diego, and Treasure Island, California; New London, Connecticut; South Carolina; Idaho; Scotland; Spain; Atlantic Rank: Petty Officer First Class Place of Birth: IL
A trio of speeding tickets led 19-year-old Ronald Waller to join the Navy in 1960. He had been attending college and working at Remington Rand on early models of computers, so the Navy decided to put him into its nuclear submarine program. Waller served on the attack sub Scamp and the missile sub Daniel Webster, boats with contrasting missions. The Scamp's business was hunting down other submarines; the Webster kept a low profile as it patrolled various areas of the North Atlantic, waiting for instructions to fire its missiles. Waller adapted well to the lack of privacy in crowded quarters, less easily to the rotating schedules that played havoc with a sailor's body clock.