Petrone Vietnam, Cold War veteran U.S. Navy Natick Veterans Oral History Project
Channel: natvets1
Date: 2014-03-05

Following family tradition and a sense of duty, William Petrone joined the U.S. Navy after high school. From the first day of basic training in Great Lakes, Ill., to life aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Forrestal, Petrone tells about his time in the service during the Cold War. Starting as a blueshirt and working his way up to a yellowshirt, Airman Petrone helped pilots get in the air and return safely to the flight deck as part of the V3 Division. Every call to battle stations could be the real thing. The Forrestal took Airman Petrone to places such as Naples and Genoa, Beirut, France, and even to the ruins of ancient Greece. He got a chance to see the world and witness history as it was being made. As the world reached the brink of nuclear war in 1962, Petrone was at the frontlines of the Cuban Missile Crisis, keeping Russian ships out of Cuba.