Scope and Contents

Less than one linear foot of photographs,slides, and negatives document Rolf Begers tour of duty onboard the USS Joseph Strauss, 1970-71.

Biographical / Historical

Rolf Berger was born in 1948 in Jersey City, New Jersey. In June 1967 he volunteered for the United States Navy, beginning six years total of service. Berger attended Basic Training and Radar School at Naval Station Great Lakes until April 1968, when he was assigned to the USS Brister (DE-327) for a Southeast Asia tour. Aboard the ship, Berger ranked as a Seaman, Radarman Striker (RDSN). In September 1968, he transferred to the USS Nicholas (DD-449) and was ranked first as a Radarman Third Class (RD3), then as a Radarman Second Class (RD2). While aboard, he was involved in the Apollo 11 recovery mission. He then transferred to the USS Joseph Strauss (DDG16). He spent much of his assignments on the Nicholas and Strauss in the Southeast Asia region and held many different positions, including Combat Section Leader, Crypto Code Petty Officer, In-port Section Leader, Ship's Photographer, Electronic Countermeasures Specialist, and served on the Cruise Book staff. Berger was involved in patrols on many locations to include Yankee Station, Da Nang Harbor, and the Demilitarized Zone ^D<'Gun Line^D>'. He also was involved in electronic surveillance of the Hunan Straits and various locales on the Mekong Delta. Berger ended his active duty in April of 1971 after having received the Korean Expeditionary Medal, the Viet Nam Service Medal with stars, and the Viet Nam Campaign Medal. He served a total of two more years of inactive duty with the Navy and then was honorably discharged in 1973 as a Radarman Second Class (E-5).

Upon his return to civilian life, Berger worked for New Jersey Bell/Bell Atlantic as an assistant manager and Engineer, supervising and coordinating the warehouse, electronics purchasing and computer support. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and both the USS Nicholas and USS Strauss Associations.