In July or August of 1967, shortly after the Liberty attack, I was operated on by Dr. Dunn at Philadelphia Naval Hospital who was doing more internal repairs to my stomach. I was released from intensive care to my ward on the 6th floor. On the second day after leaving intensive care a petty officer came over to my bed and told me that an admiral wanted to see me downstairs. I wondered what I did wrong, was my first reaction. Why else would an Admiral want to see a Seaman. I had several tubes in me still. I was put in a wheelchair and taken down to the first floor. The corpsman pushed me into a very small room near the lobby. It had that ugly green tile on the floor, You know.

This 3 Star Admirial opened the door and came in. At first I wanted to snap to attention, seeing all that brass, but of course I could not. He told me he was Vice Admiral Isaac C. Kidd and he said, "Richard, I'm going to take my stars off. Now I am no longer a Admiral. I want you to tell me everything you saw June 8, 1967." Then he dead bolted the door. I got very uptight, to say the least.

I told Admirial Kidd (without his 3 stars) what I saw. Finally puts his stars back on and he said, "Very well Richard, now I'm an Admiral again." Then in a stern voice he said, "IF YOU EVER TELL ANYONE -- family, friends or anyone else -- what you have just told me, you will be put in Prison and we will lose the key."

He left in a flash. No goodbye, no nothing. He just turned and walked out. I was then taken back to the 6th Ward and never heard from him again.

Richard L. Weaver
May 17, 2005