The Power of Testimony

RAY AND BETTY WHIPPS
still be based on a ship, but life as an officer pilot on a huge
aircraft carrier was worlds apart from that of a second-​ class
seaman on a tiny frigate.
On top of that loss of prestige and responsibility, I had
another reason for not wanting to be a seaman: I was prone
to seasickness. I figured I’d make do on a big ship, but I
couldn’t imagine how green I’d be on a sub.
The commander went on. “Well, for you boys from
Ohio, things have been somewhat different. I’m sure none
of you read the small print when you signed up for the
program, but if you had, you would know that you have an
option at any point to request to be honorably discharged.
Don’t ask me why Ohio did things differently, but that’s
the way it is.” He paused, looking around the room. “But
now things are changing. You’ve got two more weeks to get
the honorable discharge, but after that, you stay the course
and take your chances like the rest of them.”
This was all news to me, and it left me feeling both
shocked and troubled. Two weeks felt like too short a time
to decide whether I would give up on my lifelong dream of
being a pilot. How could I be expected to make that kind
of decision? But if I was honest with myself, I could see the
warning signs when it came to my academic studies. Was I
confident I could get an A average when I’d barely heard of
trigonometry and calculus prior to arriving at Saint Mary’s?
As we filed out, I wondered out loud, “I’m still struggling
with all that higher math. Maybe this is where it all
ends for me.”
43