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On the bridge we would use red lights at night to protect our night vision instead of white lights, so when you were out in the open ocean at night you could step out on the bridge wing and look up, and on a clear night the sky was like nothing you could ever see on land. So there was a green one and a red one up front, and mast head lights and a stern light that were white. Usually the only lights we’d have on would be the lights we were required by law to have called the running lights. One of the objectives of the ship was to make itself as invisible as possible. Seeing the night sky was one of my favorite parts about standing night watches. You must have seen some incredible night skies as a watchman. The Navy had two serious collisions overseas, and that’s something you never want to happen. In most of the coastal areas there are a lot of fishing boats and merchant traffic that you don’t want to run into like what happened in the last year. You’re scanning the horizon looking for unusual signs, radar from other ships, and anything that could be a potential threat. That was something that I was proud of, and I took the job very seriously. And you have not only yourself but the entire watch team: signalmen, radiomen, the deck watch-standers like the helmsmen, the lee helmsmen, the lookouts, the Boatswain’s Mate of the Watch, and then all the engineers. You have to get qualified to stand watch on board the ship, because the captain can’t be awake 24/7, and the Officer of the Deck has the responsibility and authority of the captain. Was there a responsibility or duty during your service that makes you most proud? I was the First Lieutenant on the ship, which is the senior deck officer. It was a good introduction to the Navy and learning seamanship and ship handling and all those kinds of things. We had maintenance problems that other ships didn’t have because they were made out of steel or aluminum. So the hulls were made out of wood instead of steel, and the engines were made with non-magnetic alloy metals. They were unique at the time because in order to sweep influence mines-mines set off by the magnetic signature of a ship-the ships had to be non-magnetic themselves. My first assignment was to a minesweeper out of San Diego. What was your title and first assignment? I also grew up watching World War II movies with my family. There were a lot of personal, first-hand stories of service in the war. I had an idea based on seeing my father interacting with his peers, and occasionally visiting a ship that he was assigned to. My dad was a career Navy officer and veteran of WWII and Korea, and most of the officers he served with when I was a kid were Korean War and WWII veterans. I got out in 1985 to go to graduate school at San Francisco State University.ĭid you have an idea of what it would be like to be in the Navy?

I was on active duty for almost 11 years after that. From standing night watch to weathering storms, the Navy gave Haas a gamut of adventures and skills for navigating life both on and off duty. Haas is currently Chief of the Resource Protection Branch of the Environmental Quality Division in the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate in Fort Collins, Colorado. The National Park Service is proud to commemorate the service of America’s veterans, and shine a light on those, like Haas, who are NPS employees. Haas chatted with communications specialist Julie West of the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division about his years of service in the Navy on board ships near and far from home under starry skies. It was so intense it was almost magical.” “Out on the open ocean at night you could step out on the bridge wing and look up, and on a clear night the sky was like nothing you could ever see on land. On long voyages far from home, National Park Service employee and Navy veteran Jim Haas said he often looked to the stars for comfort and inspiration. Portrait of National Park Service employee and Navy veteran Jim Haas in his Fort Collins office