I was drafted into the US Navy in 1969. In October 1969, CNO Admiral Zumwalt declared we could have beards and beer so we could better enjoy Viet Nam! I've had a beard ever since -- almost. I've drunk a few beers since then, too.
When I started to grow my beard in October 1969, a old crusty WWII Navy Chief told me that if I stuck out my tongue, I'd look just like a hemorrhoid!
Oh well. What can I say?
Since October 1969, I've only been without my beard for about three months. That was in 1971 when I was working aboard a ship in Pearl Harbor where they were daily spraying the bulkheads and air ducts, in the spaces I was working in, with liquidized asbestos. The asbestos was so hard to get out of my beard each evening, I decided to shave it off.
