Floyd D. Harvey

Before his time in the military, Floyd D. Harvey was a student. Both of his parents worked, and he was one of three sons. Growing up, Harvey had watched military movies and spent time on the ocean with his father. This motivated him to join the Navy. Before joining the military, Harvey described himself as having an attitude. He enlisted at the age of 19. Harvey was sent to the Great Lakes region for Basic Training. He did not mind the shift to Navy life, and he found it easy to get used to. After Basic Training, Harvey was sent to San Diego, California where he was to meet the USS O’Brien. The ship was out at sea for two weeks before he could join it. During the two weeks, Harvey met his wife. At the age of 19, three months after meeting her, he married the young woman. The separation was hard for both Harvey and his wife.

After the two-week period, Harvey was able to join the USS O’Brien. Then he was supposed to go to school to become a Quartermaster. On his way to go to the school, Harvey turned around and went back to the USS O’Brien. The ship sailed with him aboard, with him not showing up to his assigned post. Over time, Harvey worked his way to being an Operations Specialist, where he worked with radar. The USS O’Brien had a long and “proud history” which he became a part of the second he stepped foot on the ship. During his time on the ship, Harvey and his crew set a record for 68 days straight in the Indian Ocean along with the USS Constellation Battle Group.

While with the USS O’Brien, Harvey had many responsibilities. The duties he most noted were shore patrol and refueling. During one refueling exercise, there was an accident on deck. The hook that connected to the line had snapped, which caused two men to fall overboard! While refueling exercises happened, men wore full life vests. This prevented the two men from drowning, and they were recovered alive. In another accident, there had been a fire on deck, and there was a man trapped inside. The two men disobeyed orders to rescue the man.

In the military, men are expected to keep their hair short and clean. As an African American man, Harvey was able to pat down his hair close to his head. African American men were able to maintain their afros in the Navy by patting down their hair close to their head. They had to go through hair checks to determine the length of their hair. To do this, an ID card had to be able to slide through their hair. If their hair was higher than the ID card, they got into trouble.

While in the Navy, Harvey had a few problems with getting in trouble. He found himself getting into some fights during his time with the Navy. In one instance in Guam in 1983, there were problems between the Air Force and Naval forces there. Harvey described the rocky relationship between the two military branches. On one occasion, he and a couple of fellow crew members found themselves fighting an Air Force man. It was not until around 12 years later while sitting with his brother who was in the Air Force that the truth from that night was uncovered. Harvey and his brother had discovered that Harvey had been one of the Naval men who beat up the Air Force man in Guam, and his brother had been the Air Force man! Two brothers did not recognize each other and got into a physical altercation.

Harvey served in the Navy during the Cold War. His ship and the Constellation Battle Group worked in the Indian Ocean during that time. He recalled his ship’s reaction to the tragic bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon. They worked close to the Black Sea where the Russians had territory. Being so close to Russian waters, Harvey and his crew worked within range of enemy forces. On one occasion, a Russian submarine had an explosion on board, and it could not submerge underwater. Their ship followed the submarine until it reached the Black Sea. He recalled being told not to write home about his locations or actions. Harvey described the feeling of paranoia being so close to Russian waters.

The entire USS O’Brien received an Expedition Medal during Harvey’s time on the ship. This was given to the entire ship in recognition of their rescue of a man stranded in the Indian Ocean 150 miles off the coast. After his ship caught fire and sank, a fisherman from Thailand was floating on a raft stranded in the ocean when the crew found him. While each individual received their medals, everyone on board wore their dress uniforms and stood at attention for six hours.

In 1984, Harvey was discharged from the Navy. He could have stayed in the Navy, but he did not want to because he was no longer an Operations Specialist. Harvey had lost his rank due to disciplinary actions. The Navy strongly influenced his life and outlook. Harvey explained that without his Navy service, he felt he would have been in prison or dead. The Navy allowed him to transfer structure and discipline to his own life. The Navy allowed him to learn and grow as a person. A large amount of this shift in mindset was due to his commander who guided and taught him. When leaving the Navy, Harvey went back to New Jersey in 1985 and 1986. He worked for a construction company and then the New Jersey Department of Transportation.