 | Jim Kramer, IC1(SS)  James "Jim" Kramer lived almost all of his life before the Navy in Fowler, a small town in Michigan. "It's one of those places where everyone knows everyone else." He entered the Navy on the 24th of
May in 1978. He took the six year hitch to get the extra training. The advancement in rank didn't hurt either.  Jim volunteered for submarine duty while attending basic recruit training (boot camp) at the
Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois, known affectionately as Great Mistakes. From the lovely mistake by the lake, Jim headed to the West Coast for a stint of advanced training, including Basic Electric and Electronics (BEEP) School, at the San Diego Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. In the middle of the Winter of '78 he headed off to Groton, Connecticut for Submarine School. While learning the basics of submarine systems and survival he found time to study for and take the Interior Communications Second Class Petty
Officer exam which he subsequently passed. Then it was off to sunny Hawaii for more school where he met IC2(SS) Dave Self, an IC-man from USS ANGELES, SSN-688. Jim received orders to the USS LOS ANGELES, SSN-688 upon completion of his training. When it came time to report aboard the LA, he learned the boat had already departed on a Western Pacific deployment (
WESTPAC '79). Jim and his new shipmate Dave Self flew from Hawaii to the Philippine Islands (PI) to meet the boat at Subic Bay, PI. He arrived in the Philippines and reported aboard the LA on June 11, 1979. For someone that had never really been out of the country, PI was a real eye opener. When asked about his first time
experience in the Philippines, Jim said "I saw and learned more things in a couple of weeks there than I would have learned in years in the States." Jim's experience as a newbie, non-qual was pretty typical, "I remember it didn't take long before I was put to work. I remember the rest of the cruise only as a blur. With trying to learn my job, the normal work and quals, there wasn't time for much of anything. Most of the time events and life on the LA were a blur."
Jim advanced to Petty Officer Second Class in August of 79 and qualified submarines in February or March of 1980. During his years aboard the LA, he remembered cruising on three Western Pacific deployments (WESTPAC '79, WESTPAC '80, WESTPAC '81) a Pacific Rim deployment (RIMPAC), Weapons Proficiency (Weapons OPS), and Sound Trials off the coast of Washington. He enjoyed the many port of calls the boat
made during these cruises including: Guam, Diego Garcia, Japan, Australia, Philippines, and Hong Kong. The friendly people of Perth, Australia contributed to the Australia visit being his favorite. "You just don't see that any more". Jim was advanced to Petty Officer First Class in December of 1982 and departed the boat on April Fool's Day in 1983. He was transferred to the USS INDIANAPOLIS, SSN-697 as Leading Petty Officer of the IC-gang.
He remembers the circumstances around his transfer very well. Early in 1983, looking for a change of pace, Jim had called his Navy Detailer and had asked to be transferred from the LA. The Detailer told Jim in no uncertain terms that because he only had a year remaining on his enlistment that a transfer was not going to happen. Accepting the decision, Jim settled in to spend the remaining months of his enlistment on the LA.
The LOS ANGELES left for another Western Pacific deployment with Jim aboard. While cruising out in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Jim was surprised to learn he was being transferred. The transfer orders called for Jim to complete the WESTPAC aboard LA and then report aboard the INDY which was preparing to deploy on it's Western Pacific deployment. Luckily, strings were pulled and Jim was allowed to depart the LA
early while the ship was in Japan. Ironically, the INDY ended up leaving early for West Pac and by the time Jim reported to her supposed location in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, she had already sailed. He met her a month later, back where he started, in Japan.  He
spent the remainder of his enlistment aboard the INDIANAPOLIS SSN-697. Jim is authorized to wear the Navy Expeditionary medal (third award), Battle Efficiency award (second award), Navy Rifle Marksman badge (with Expert "E"), Meritorious Unit Commendation (second award), Sea Service Deployment (second award), and Navy Good Conduct medal. He also received two commendations from the Commander of Submarine Group Seven.
He left the Navy on May 24, 1984 and returned to his home town of Fowler, Michigan. He found a job as an equipment troubleshooter for a electric motor manufacturer and moved to Eaton Rapids, Mich. He was promoted to Forman and then finally to Engineering assistant, staying with the company for 6 years. Jim later went to work for the Michigan Department of Transportation where he does everything from driving a Semi and
operating a back hoe to programing and repairing computers. "It's my dream job"! Jim has been married and divorced twice and has full custody of his teen aged daughter, Mandy. He and Mandy plan on living in the new house he is building on his seventeen acres of land. Like the rest of us, Jim has "gained a little weight around the waist; it's that turning 40 thing". He also has hair halfway down his back and says, "my girlfriend loves it".
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