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Owens, Robert L.

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: June 3, 1924 - April 8, 2017

Biography

Robert L. Owens, from Sanger, California, served aboard the submarine USS Growler (SSG-577), first as executive officer, then as commanding officer, from February 1960 to December 13, 1963. Owens began his submarine service during WWII aboard the USS Tinosa. After the war, he pursued his education, and then returned to the Navy, this time in the reserves. Owens became involved in the Regulus Program, switched from the reserves to regular Navy, and eventually joined Growler. After decommissioning Growler at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Owens continued his naval career, returning to COMSUBPAC Staff as the Polaris Targeting Officer, commanding the fast attack boat Sea Leopard, and joining CINCLANT as part of the team that would send the go-message to the Polaris boats. He was then the Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations for SubFlot 6, received orders to the Pentagon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he was the Submarine Officer attached to the Chairman’s SALT negotiation team, and ended his 28 years in the submarine service as the 688 Project Officer. After his career in the submarine service, Robert Owens returned to Sanger, California, where he ran his family’s plumbing business.

Chronology:
1943
Start of Military Service (WWII)
1946
End of Military Service (WWII)
1952
Start of Military Service
February 1960
Start of Service Aboard Growler
December 13, 1963
End of Service Aboard Growler
1975
End of Military Service

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

Allen Odette Oral History

 Item
Identifier: OHP 111
Scope and Contents Allen Odette served aboard Growler from August 1961 to December 1963, as a fire control technician (missile guidance systems) second class. Odette began his interview by speaking about his decision to join the Navy. He noted that he first went into the reserves in Illinois before joining the regular Navy after moving to California. He also discussed his experiences in boot camp as well as his decision to apply for the submarine service after receiving a tour of a submarine from a friend of a...
Dates: September 14, 2016

Duane F. Heatwole Oral History

 Item
Identifier: OHP 057
Scope and Contents Duane F. Heatwole served aboard Growler as a commissaryman petty officer second class from 1960 to 1964. Heatwole began his interview by discussing Growler’s galley. He also described how he acquired different types of food, how this food was loaded into the boat, and how the food was stored. Heatwole then discussed some of the meals that he prepared for the crew, including filet mignon, lobster, and crab legs from Alaska. He then continued, describing a process called snorkeling, which...
Dates: October 1, 2014

Filtered By

  • Subject: Recreation X
  • Subject: United States (nation) -- Hawaii (state) X

Additional filters:

Subject
Discipline -- Captain's Mast 2
Education -- Training -- Military Training -- Naval Training -- Submarine Training -- Qualifying 2
Food 2
Growler -- control room and attack center 2
Growler -- wardroom 2
∨ more
Guided Missiles -- Cruise Missiles -- Regulus 1 2
Humor -- Practical Jokes 2
Military Forces (United States) -- Navy 2
Petty Officer 2nd Class, E-5 2
Recreation 2
Recreation -- Entertainment -- Movies 2
Strategy -- Deterrence 2
United States (nation) -- Alaska (state) -- Aleutians West (national division) -- Adak (inhabited place) -- Naval Air Facility Adak (air base) 2
Bering Sea (sea) 1
Celebrations -- Holidays 1
Commissaryman Petty Officer 2nd Class, CS2 1
Communication And Radio Systems 1
Communications Technicians, CTs 1
Defense Systems -- Countermeasures -- Electronic Countermeasures 1
Discipline 1
Disposal -- Garbage Disposal 1
Education -- Training -- Military Training -- Naval Training -- Submarine Training 1
Engines -- Heat Engines -- Internal Combustion Engines -- Compression Ignition Engines -- Diesel Engines 1
Families (Human) -- Family Members 1
Families (Human) -- Family Members -- Wives 1
Fire Control Technician (Missile Guidance Systems) Petty Officer 2nd Class, FTG2 1
Food Dispensing -- Food Service -- Meals 1
Growler -- chief petty officer quarters 1
Growler -- crew's quarters 1
Growler -- forward torpedo room 1
Growler -- galley 1
Growler -- missile checkout and guidance center 1
Growler -- missile hangar(s), port missile hangar, starboard missile hangar 1
Growler -- sail 1
Handling -- Loading(Handling) 1
Hygiene -- Shower Facilities 1
Intelligence -- Military Intelligence -- Communications Intelligence 1
Japan (nation) -- Kanto (region (administrative division)) -- Kanagawa-ken (prefecture) -- Yokosuka (inhabited place) 1
Liberty 1
Maintenance Equipment -- Drydocks 1
Master Chief Petty Officer, E-9 1
Navigation 1
Navigation -- Inertial Navigation 1
Navigation -- Radio Navigation -- Hyperbolic Navigation -- Loran 1
Radioman Master Chief Petty Officer, RMCM 1
Recreation -- Games 1
Russia (nation) 1
Russia (nation) -- Kamchatskiy Kray (kray) -- Kamchatka (peninsula) 1
Russia (nation) -- Kamchatskiy Kray (kray) -- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (inhabited place) 1
Security -- Information Security -- Classified Materials 1
Soviet Union (former nation/state/empire) 1
United States (nation) -- Alaska (state) 1
United States (nation) -- California (state) -- San Diego (county) -- San Diego (inhabited place) -- Naval Training Center San Diego (naval base) 1
United States (nation) -- Connecticut (state) -- New London (county) -- Groton (inhabited place) -- Naval Submarine Base New London (submarine base) 1
United States (nation) -- Hawaii (state) 1
United States (nation) -- Hawaii (state) -- Honolulu (county) -- Oahu (island) -- Honolulu (inhabited place) 1
United States (nation) -- Hawaii (state) -- Honolulu (county) -- Oahu (island) -- Naval Air Station Barbers Point (air base) 1
United States (nation) -- Hawaii (state) -- Honolulu (county) -- Oahu (island) -- Pearl Harbor Naval Reservation (defense installation) 1
United States (nation) -- Hawaii (state) -- Kauai (county) -- Kauai (island) 1
United States (nation) -- Midway Islands (possession) 1
Vacuum -- High Vacuum 1
Weapons -- Antisubmarine Weapons -- Depth Charges 1
World War II, December 1941–September 1945 1
Wounds and Injuries -- Burns(Injuries) 1
∧ less