Skip to main content

Mehl, Wayne J.

 Person

Biography

Wayne J. Mehl served on board the submarine USS Growler (SSG-577) from March 1961 until the submarine was decommissioned in 1964. He was a lieutenant. During his years on the submarine, Mehl served as the engineering officer, the nuclear weapons officer and the qualification officer. As the nuclear weapons officer, his role was to arm the Regulus I missile prior to launch.

Before his time in the Navy, Mehl attended Stanford University, where he met his wife, Helen. After leaving the Navy, he went to work for the ROLM Corporation. Mehl became active in Beyond War, an anti-war movement that seeks to bring about a future without war.

The Museum recorded an oral history interview with Mehl, and a separate interview with Helen, in 2017. See OHP 137 and OHP 138.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Richard Lee Meyers Oral History

 Item
Identifier: OHP 037
Scope and Contents Richard Meyers served aboard Growler as a machinist’s mate second class from October 1961 to September 1963. Meyers began his interview by explaining his decision to leave his construction job in Wyoming and join the Navy. He then discussed boot camp and volunteering for the submarine service. Meyers continued, recounting the first time he saw Growler. The submarine was in dry dock in Pearl Harbor, which gave Meyers the opportunity to walk underneath Growler and see the submarine from a...
Dates: July 2, 2014

Wayne J. Mehl Oral History

 Item
Identifier: OHP 137
Scope and Contents Wayne Mehl served aboard Growler as the engineering officer and the nuclear weapons officer from 1961 to 1964. He began his interview by discussing his childhood growing up on a naval base in San Francisco during World War II and noting how his father, a lieutenant during the First World War, heavily influenced his decision to join the Navy. Mehl then discussed his education at Stanford University and explained his decision to join the NROTC program, stating that his engineering degree,...
Dates: June 29, 2017

Filtered By

  • Subject: United States (nation) -- Alaska (state) -- Aleutians West (national division) -- Adak (inhabited place) -- Naval Air Facility Adak (air base) X

Additional filters:

Subject
Accidents 1
Celebrations -- Holidays -- Christmas 1
Communications Technicians, CTs 1
Damage -- Damage Assessment 1
Decommissioning, May 25, 1964 1
∨ more
Detection -- Submarine Detection 1
Disposal -- Garbage Disposal 1
Education -- Training -- Basic Training 1
Education -- Training -- Military Training -- Naval Training -- Submarine Training -- Qualifying 1
Engines -- Engine Components -- Crankcases -- Crankshafts 1
Engines -- Engine Components -- Engine Fuel Systems Components -- Fuel Injectors 1
Families (Human) -- Family Members 1
Families (Human) -- Family Members -- Wives 1
Food 1
Growler -- crew's quarters 1
Growler -- engine room 1
Growler -- engine room control booth 1
Growler -- enlisted mess 1
Growler -- forward torpedo room 1
Growler -- galley 1
Growler -- missile hangar(s), port missile hangar, starboard missile hangar 1
Growler -- radio room 1
Growler -- sail 1
Growler -- stern room 1
Growler -- wardroom 1
Guided Missiles -- Cruise Missiles -- Regulus 1 1
Hazing 1
Humor -- Practical Jokes 1
Hygiene 1
John F. Kennedy Assassination, November 22, 1963 1
Lieutenant, O-3 1
Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Petty Officer, MM2 1
Personnel Management -- Promotion (Advancement) 1
Petty Officer 2nd Class, E-5 1
Physiology -- Stress(Physiology) -- Motion Sickness 1
Recreation 1
Recreation -- Entertainment -- Movies 1
Russia (nation) -- Primorskiy Kray (kray) -- Vladivostok (inhabited place) 1
Security -- Information Security -- Classified Materials 1
Strategy -- Deterrence 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) -- Kauai (county) -- Kauai (island) 1
United States (nation) -- Midway Islands (possession) 1
Vacuum -- High Vacuum 1
Ventilation -- Venting 1
Wounds and Injuries -- Bone Fractures 1
∧ less