Acts of Kindness
Navy League Supports Sea Services During the 1960s

By DAVID VERGUN
Production Editor

Sea-service personnel were on the job in far-flung corners of the globe during the 1960s, participating in the Berlin airlift in 1961 and the blockade of Cuba in 1962, fighting in Vietnam, and supporting the U.S. space program (which in 1969 achieved the world's first manned moon landing).

Members of the sea services also served on the funeral detail for President John F. Kennedy. "He [Kennedy] had a keen understanding of the vital role of sea power in world affairs," read a eulogy from the December 1963 issue of Navy, the Navy League's "magazine of sea power" in the 1960s.

The eulogy continued with a quote from the late president to the Sailors of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which he had visited just five months before his assassination: "Any country which wishes to protect its security and the security of those allied with it must maintain its position on the sea. If there is any lesson of the 20th century, and especially of the past few years, it is that, in spite of the advances in space and in the air, this country must still move easily and safely across the seas of the world."

Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was, like Kennedy, a Navy man who had served during World War II. Despite the growing unpopularity of the Vietnam War, particularly toward the end of the decade, Navy Leaguers still could be counted on to support the men and women in uniform. Navy Leaguers also performed many acts of charity and kindness--which, although not always recorded, will long be remembered by those who were touched by those acts.

In 1963, the Sailors of U.S. Navy task force UNITAS IV distributed thousands of kites to children during port calls to seven South American countries. The kites had been donated by the Navy League's Panama Council. In 1967, the Hampton Roads Council (Va.) followed the Panama Council's example and provided more than 100,000 kites for Latin American children. Council members also collected more than 20 tons of clothing, toys, and medical supplies for needy people in 10 South American countries.

In 1965, members of the Colorado Springs Council assisted armed forces recruiters in the area by, among other things, purchasing 18 new Chryslers for the recruiters to use in their work. In 1965, the Michiana-South Bend Council (Ind.) put a large U.S. Navy recruiting billboard at the entrance to Notre Dame Stadium before that year's Navy-Notre Dame football game; an estimated 65,000 people saw the billboard.

The Puerto Rico Women's Council sponsored dances--23 of them in 1967 alone--for Sailors and Marines; council members also invited servicemen into their homes on Sundays and on holidays, and sponsored coffee klatches for sea-service wives.

In addition to top-performer awards, councils often bestowed special awards on sea-service personnel; in 1965, for example, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Council presented a plaque to Aviation Technician 3rd Class James R. George, USNR, "For his outstanding act of bravery." George had successfully, and single-handedly, fought six hoodlums who were attacking a young lady in a Philadelphia subway, according to a write-up in Navy.

Members of the Los Angeles Council (Calif.) wrote and directed a training film titled "Operation Highline" for Sailors transitioning from the Navy to a civilian career. The film featured job-hunting tips and interview techniques. The Navy produced the film in 1965, and distributed copies to installations throughout the United States and overseas.

In 1966, the Coronado Council (Calif.), working with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, organized a week-long city-wide campaign to collect building supplies, clothing, tools, and medical supplies for destitute villagers in Vietnam. U.S. Marines distributed the more than 40 truckloads of supplies that were collected. The Coronado Council also sponsored a long-term book-collection drive for service personnel serving in Southeast Asia.

The Imperial Valley Council (Calif.) built a "Pick-Up-Station" in 1966 in El Centro for Sailors to get free rides back to Naval Air Facility El Centro five miles away; the council also sent enough Bermuda grass seed to plant 900,000 square feet of ground at Camp Tien Sha, South Vietnam, donated money for college scholarships for military dependents, provided funds for the enlisted club at the naval air facility, donated money to the Navy Relief Fund, and ad-opted the destroy-er USS Hull.

The Kings County Council (Calif.) hosted Welcome-Home receptions for per-sonnel returning from Vietnam to Naval Air Station Lemoore. While the aviators and Sailors were away, the council helped look after their families and hosted Christmas parties for them. The 1966 Christmas party featured actor Chuck Connors, star of the TV series "Rifleman."

The Navy League also supported the services at the national level--by, for example, urging Congress to provide funding for the most effective weapons systems and to improve military housing and other quality-of-life programs. In 1965, the Navy League sponsored the first of the now annual Sea-Air-Space Expositions in Washington, D.C. The premier exposition attracted thousands of active-duty, civilian, and industry attendees who viewed the latest in technological innovations presented by defense contractors. The exposition was--and is still today--the largest of its kind in the world. *