Bob Miller is a current resident at Village Concepts of Marysville, Grandview Village. He moved here in April of 2021 after spending 60 years in California. Bob enjoys mealtimes with his friends, shopping trips, and going out to eat with other residents on our bus outings. On the differences between California and Washington, Bob says, “I found that most people are friendly and courteous, I like the different seasons, and I can breathe the air in Washington.”
Bob is a veteran and served 8 years in the US Navy, from 1954-1958, and 1961-1965; engineering department. He sailed 4 trips to the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) San Diego and Long Beach. Bob has seen Japan, Hawaii, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan as part of his military career. He spent time on 2 aircraft carriers, and 2 destroyers. He patrolled back and forth between China and Taiwan and was relieved from one ship just before it was attacked.
Of his engineering training in the Navy, Bob says he started out of the service doing something totally different. In 1965 he got a job threading pipe for $1.85 an hour. After a year, he worked in land based, oil production at Signal Oil & Gas, a block away from the Pacific Ocean. In 1997, he retired after 32 years with the same oil company, then called Shell Oil.
When I asked Bob if there was anything he took away from his time in the US Navy, anything that stuck with him and that he carried in life, he said, “To be truthful when you talk to people; don’t run the rumor mill.” He says the old saying on the ship was scuttlebutt.
According to the Mirriam Webster Dictionary, scuttlebutt was the daily supply of fresh water on a ship in the 1800’s. The name was later given to the ship’s drinking fountains. In time, the term was applied to the gossip and rumors generated around it, and the latest chatter has been called “scuttlebutt” ever since.
Bob shared his military photos with me, and I told him they looked like old movie posters. Living in California, Bob could have been a movie star in Hollywood. On this Veteran’s Day, we thank you for your service and all you bring to our community here at Grandview.
