Neil Leidy and Don Uptagrafft

Interview_Final.mp4

Brady Kondek: [00:00:02] All right. My name is Brady Kondek, and I'm here with Neil Leidy and Don Uptagrafft from Troop 171 in Boiling Springs. I'd like to take the time to thank the both of you for taking the time to have me interview you today.

Neil Leidy: [00:00:19] You're welcome.

Brady Kondek: [00:00:20] So first, obviously, I know you guys already, I've known you guys for a while, but for everybody watching here, could you guys maybe both just do like a basic introduction; who you are and what your what your connection to the military is?

Neil Leidy: [00:00:39] I'm Neil Leidy. My connection to the military was an enlistment of six years from 1977 to 1983. I was in the US Navy, and I served on three nuclear-powered submarines.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:00:58] Job...

Neil Leidy: [00:01:00] I was an interior communications electrician.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:01:04] I'm Don Uptagrafft. I was also in the Navy. I served 22 years from 1990 to 2012, and I was a logistician.

Brady Kondek: [00:01:17] So what initially got you guys into serving in the military? Or more specifically, what got you, like why did you choose Navy out of all the branches?

Neil Leidy: [00:01:31] Well for me at the time I was in high school and. So I was, quite frankly, a little bored with school. And my family was not well funded. So college was not a great option for me. Yeah. And listen, it was I had a good friend with the year ahead of me in high school and he went in, he enlisted and was an interior communications electrician. So I was able to chat with him a couple of times before I graduated, and it seemed like a really good option for me at the time.

Brady Kondek: [00:02:11] Yeah.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:02:13] And for me, I was I enlisted at 16 because it was a family tradition. I'm eighth generation Navy. So my father, grandfather, great grandfather, everybody was in the Navy. And, so I knew what I was going to do from the time that I was very little. As soon as I was eligible, my 16th birthday, I signed up for the delayed entry program and left for active duty after graduation when I was 17.

Brady Kondek: [00:02:39] That's cool. So when you guys got in, what was it like for you? And kind of like how did you how did you feel? You're now obviously, you know, what you're going into, but what did it feel like and what was the initial experience like at the beginning for both of you?

Neil Leidy: [00:02:57] For me, it was, it was, an education is probably the best single word. I grew up kind of out in the boonies, not a lot of people around. So going to boot camp, I went to boot camp with a whole bunch of fellows from Philadelphia.

Brady Kondek: [00:03:15] Yeah.

Neil Leidy: [00:03:17] But overall, I think, t depends on the individual, really. I always remember that. I think the best piece of advice I got before I went to boot camp was keep your mouth shut and your ears open. And that worked very well.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:03:35] Same advice.

Neil Leidy: [00:03:37] So through my enlistment, I served on three different submarines, and I met a lot of different people from a lot of different places. And it was it was, again, educational. Different people from different backgrounds. If you listen to people, and take input, and process that you can learn a lot. And I think that's what I did, mostly. I did enjoy the job that I did. I really enjoyed the electronics working with the systems that we worked on in the submarine. I did not care for the rigidity, I guess. Because sometimes it was a little overdone. But, some of the people I worked with needed that kind of leadership or the military mentality, if you will. Personally didn't think I did, but that's one of the reasons I did not stay past my initial enlistment of six years.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:04:49] And personally, that rigidness, that structure, that discipline is they don't play favorites in the service. So I would say that for me that was what it was. That culture shock you initially leaving home basically for the first time where you're on your own and you're thrust into an environment for the first time directly out of high school where you're told everything that you're supposed to do and when you're supposed to do it and how you're supposed to do it. And there's expectations and trying to wrap your head around the fact that you're not going home or seeing mom and dad and that you're now a grown up and you're making your own money and making your own way in the world. It takes a little getting used to, but on the same token, everybody that is serving with you is in the same boat. There are no favorites.

Brady Kondek: [00:05:46] That's a good point.  And while you guys were in in the service, what were some of the places, because obviously a lot of people go to a lot of different places, what were some of the interesting, unique places that you guys went to?

Neil Leidy: [00:06:09] Well, my first sub, we went to Holland for some R&R for a few days after we it was right after we had pulled into Scotland for some repairs and resupply is what really what it was more like a resupply. Holland was very, very interesting. The embassy there set up a bicycle tour for us, for those of us who weren't on duty. And the one reason they did that is because they told us at the time, we were only the second nuclear vessel ever to pull into the Rotterdam port.

Brady Kondek: [00:06:50] Oh, really?

Neil Leidy: [00:06:51] Since World War II.

Brady Kondek: [00:06:52] Wow.

Neil Leidy: [00:06:54] The Europeans at the time, I'm assuming, maybe still do are very leery of nuclear power. So we were kind of a rare thing. They sent us all the way to the very back of the dock areas. There was nothing else around. But by the second or third day that we were there, the tour boats had found us and they were bringing people back to see what a submarine looks like, which of course, you can't see much because most of it's underwater.

Brady Kondek: [00:07:21] Yeah.

Neil Leidy: [00:07:23] Also, it was two different times I was in Bermuda, which was very nice. Waters just super clear down there. So you can actually see the submarine and it is underwater. The water is very clear. That was kind of interesting. And then a few other ports. Those are the most interesting ones.

Brady Kondek: [00:07:42] Yeah.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:07:45] I was I was on four different ships. I was on a carrier, a cruiser, a destroyer, and an amphibious transport vessel.

Brady Kondek: [00:07:52] Everywhere.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:07:53] But I lived in Greece, England, Japan and Italy. Out of all of those, I think that, believe it or not, I was stationed in central London. London was probably one of my favorite places, places that I pulled into. I really like Ibiza and Malta. I really enjoyed a lot of places in the Orient, pulling into Thailand. Just seeing different cultures.

Brady Kondek: [00:08:22] That sounds really cool. So in your time, obviously you guys have done different things. Do you feel that you have made an impact through your service? And if so, if you can think of what that is, what would that be?

Neil Leidy: [00:08:47] Wow. That's hard to say.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:08:51] I'd like to think that I have, and I'll say that because you know, I had children when I was in the service, who are a little bit older now. And I think that my service has made an impact on them as far as selflessness and wanting to be involved in scouts and other events. But not only that, just I told you, I lived in four different countries interacting with my neighbors and teaching people, providing a good example, being an ambassador for the US, basically showing them a good example. And you know, believe it or not, a lot of people around the world have certain stereotypes of what an American is. And some of those people are surprised when you start when you're just a normal person like they are, and you interact and go to dinner with them and buy them Christmas gifts and things like that. I had friends all over the world and I'd like to think that maybe in that kind of way I left a little bit of a mark.

Neil Leidy: [00:09:51] And that that actually reminds me of something when we were in Holland. Like I said, they had us anchored way out at the end of the dock, so we had to take a little bus or something to get into town, a bunch of us. A bunch of us, one evening, decided to go into town and rather than just kind of hit the tourist spots, we just started walking through some of the back streets and the alleys to get off the beaten path, to really see what the town was like. We found this little mom and pop restaurant and we went in and of course the, the menu was in Dutch, but they had a big menu board up behind the main counter there. And there was a kid, maybe 13, 14 years old, was working behind the counter. And so we placed our orders and then we went up a half a flight of stairs to the dining area and sat at a table and the same kid then brought our food to us. He was doing everything out front. Somebody else I think, was in the back, but I noticed he had a pretty significant limp. But you could just see on his face how thrilled he was to a bunch of Americans came in to have dinner there. But what I remember the most was at the end of the evening, something that really surprised me was that my shipmates did not leave tips very well. Just very, very minimal, if any. And I would have never thought that of those guys because I knew them all. And so I made sure I was the last one to go out, get this kid a really, really big tip when I paid and his face just lit up, so.

Brady Kondek: [00:11:30] Oh, that's cool.

Neil Leidy: [00:11:31] So when Mr. Uptagrafft talks about Americans not necessarily being perceived well, I think that's why, one of the reasons why. So hopefully I made a little impact there. That one event.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:11:42] We had that happen and the waitress came running after us to give us the money back.  Because apparently they don't tip.

Brady Kondek: [00:11:47] Wow. So what would, to touch on that question as well, What were some of just your most memorable experiences? Be it fun or be it anything, that when you think back to your time in the Navy, what  are some of the things that come to mind the quickest?

Don Uptagrafft: [00:12:19] The Navy has several different missions. One of the secondary missions is not just humanitarian aid, but providing, I forget the word that I'm looking for, but, good stewardship. Right. So a lot of times we would pull into port, whether it be Ecuador or Panama, or someplace in South America, they would do what they call rail projects or community relations projects. And I can remember in several different countries going into orphanages and painting them and providing toys and playing with the kids and doing yard work and whatever they needed to help out. And also providing things like water and food and snacks, and I did a lot of it when I was my last assignment before I came up here was with the Seabees. And they do a lot of that, providing clean drinking water and roadways and things. So you get to do something that makes you feel good and you know that your visit is going to leave a mark. So it just made you feel good.

Brady Kondek: [00:13:27] Yeah.

Neil Leidy: [00:13:29] Being on submarines. We didn't have those kind of opportunities because we mostly spent our time on patrol. And when we did pull in somewhere, it was usually for a short time just for some rest and relaxation, or, like I said, to resupply mostly. But the things I remember a lot are some of the friendships I made at the time. There are still a few guys I keep in touch with, even to this day. And actually, the first sub I was on is having a reunion this this coming October. And we're, my wife and I are planning to go to that, and see some of these people that we've been in touch with since our days in the service.

Brady Kondek: [00:14:09] Yeah, that's really cool. And would you say that? With all of the friendships you feel that obviously your time in the service was, do you believe that it was well worth your time? The time that you spend in the service was definitely worth it.

Neil Leidy: [00:14:36] Well, for me, it was in the in the respect that, like I said, I enlisted just before the old G.I. Bill was outdated so that I could then use that to go to college because otherwise I couldn't have afforded college.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:14:56] Same here. I retired and the Navy provided me with a college degree, and actually provided me with the career after the Navy, because I still work for the Navy.

Brady Kondek: [00:15:10] Yeah. So is there anything you'd like to touch on or add to anything at all?

Neil Leidy: [00:15:19] For me, I guess I've had people ask me over the years about joining the military because it's a big decision, especially for young people who really haven't experienced a lot of things yet. And I always recall that advice to keep your mouth shut and your ears open, because I think that can apply to people in any area, especially when you're young and you need to learn a lot of things, but, the old G.I. Bill was really the big thing for me, in that regard. It was worth it. I found out after I had been in for a short time, because I had some guaranteed schooling, because I enlisted for six years right up front. I could have got those schools anyway, so I really wouldn't have had to go the full six years. But the other piece that I got with that was guaranteed advancement upon successful completion of those schools. So when I reported on board to my first submarine, I was an E4. Which made a big difference. Another reason that I chose the Navy was because I knew I could get that from talking to my high school friend. And that's something that I have never heard any of the other branches doing anything quite like that. So I was able to make more money early on.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:16:48] And I'm a huge proponent of that. I'll recommend the service to anyone simply for the fact that I mean, where else are you going to get a job that's going to pay you immediately, give you experience, give you a college education, provide full medical and 30 days paid vacation a year, and they teach you a lot of lessons that you don't even think about at the time. I always tell my kids, and I guess I learned it in the Navy, that the two most important things for you to be successful in life are to show up on time, and to listen and follow directions. That's all you got to do. And you'll succeed. And I would say that the Navy taught me that, because if you're listening, you're not like you said, you're not talking, and you'll learn something.

Brady Kondek: [00:17:37] Yeah, well, that's all the questions that I have for you guys, so I just would like to say thank you for taking the time to have me interview you and, Go Navy.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:17:47] Our pleasure.

Neil Leidy: [00:17:48] You're welcome.

Don Uptagrafft: [00:17:49] Beat Army.