I had never heard this before:
For Haywood County native Richard Hurley, his time in the U.S. Navy is marked by a single event that outshined all the others.
While serving his country, Hurley wrote a song about then Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Zumwalt — an action that prompted a direct response from the admiral. Not only was it an honor, but it was something rarely seen by a lower enlisted man.
...
In total, Zumwalt sent out 121 Z-grams. Hurley said he also enjoyed the Z-Grams, the first of which Zumwalt sent out on July 1, 1970, when he took over as CNO.
In fact, Hurley, who is still well-known in the area as a singer-songwriter and performs regularly at local events, enjoyed them so much that he wrote a song about them called “The Ballad of the Z-Grams.” The song expresses a deep appreciation for both the Z-Grams and Zumwalt himself.
“When Admiral Shepard heard about the song, he called me in, and said, ‘I understand you wrote a song. I’d like to hear it,’” Hurley said. “So I went in and borrowed a guitar from some guy and sang it for him. He lit up.”
Next time Hurley was home on leave, he stopped by his hometown radio station, WPTL, where he was a DJ prior to joining the Navy, to record the song on a reel-to-reel. From there, Shepard, who initially loved the song, passed it on to Zumwalt, the highest ranking member of the Navy.
Click through for the whole story including when Hurley met Zumwalt. Sadly, it doesn't look like the song is anywhere on the 'net (at least that I can find).
Also, it seems that Z-Gram #1 did not read in its entirety: "Cut the crap." I first heard this in the early '70s, and it's kind of like learning that Santa Claus is actually Dad ...
Damn it!!! Another paywall! Instant back button!
ReplyDelete...and that's too bad. The story looks interesting because I was in the Navy during Zumwalt's tenure and I well remember his Z-grams.
All the old-pharte Chiefs were pissed because "...we didn't do it this way in the Old Navy (tm)" Of course, all of us young guys loved it for no other reason than that it pissed off the Chiefs.
Yep, Z-grams! And his closing bases when the locals kept screwing with the troops! NAS Glynco and NAS Albany in GA were closed in 90 days after multiple complaints. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm just surprised anyone remembers Zumwalt as anything other than a dopey sonofabitch accidentally left in charge for five minutes when they couldn't find a grown-up.
ReplyDeleteBut the class of ships named after him was exactly what he deserved. Much like the Ford, and its namesake.