Navy Service
Moved by the invasion of Pearl Harbor, Ryder signed up for the naval reserves a month after the attack, and enlisted in the Navy on December 10, 1942 at the age of 18. He took a leave from his junior year at Boston University and undertook months of naval training before being deployed to the Pacific. Training included a 32 week officer training class at Harvard University where he learned celestial navigation and naval communication. (From 1942–1943, Harvard University provided full-time instruction to Army and Navy servicemen who were part of the Army Specialized Training and the Navy V-12 Programs which were designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II).
From the V-12 program, most of the Navy candidates went on to a four-month course at a reserve midshipmen's school, an indoctrination school for officers. Ryder’s four-month training was held at Camp MacDonough Midshipman School in Plattsburg, NY. After leaving Camp MacDonough, Ryder was assigned as a naval officer on the USS Landing Craft Infantry (Large) 803 .
Read more about this topic: Kenneth G. Ryder
Famous quotes containing the words navy and/or service:
“Give me the eye to see a navy in an acorn. What is there of the divine in a load of bricks? What of the divine in a barber’s shop or a privy? Much, all.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
—Sun Tzu (6th–5th century B.C.)