Example Article for Honoring Our Veterans
Honoring Our Veterans – Dean Nygaard
Author: Matt Nelson
Honoring Our Veterans – Dean Nygaard
Matt Nelson
This story is about U.S. Navy veteran Dean Nygaard. He and his twin brother Dale were born and raised in Cut Bank, Montana and lived there until they both joined the Navy in 1975 at age 19. They were honorably discharged in 1979. From 1980 until 1985 Dean joined the Seabees/Naval Reserves and was stationed at the Sand Point Naval Station, located north of the (UW) University of Washington campus in the Seattle area. He and his wife Karen moved to Townsend two years ago.
Two weeks before Dean and Dale were to enter college after high school graduation, Dale wanted the two of them to join the navy at the same time. Following boot camp Dale was stationed in Guam and Dean was stationed in Hawaii on the USS Brunswick, an ocean-going tugboat, based at Hickman Air Force Base. After Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Navy had to have a tugboat that could go out on the ocean and tow damaged boats back in. For Dean, it was kind of nice being on an Air Force Base. In his unit, there were 8 officers and 96 enlisted personnel.
“We had duty every three days, and we had two watches every single duty day. I was a Boatswain Mate for the first 9 months, then I got called to do mess cook duty. At that time, I was thinking I should cross over and try and find something that I could do on the outside. I thoroughly enjoyed cooking. I asked a 1st Class Petty Officer how hard is it to do this – becoming a full-time cook.
This man took Dean aside, and said, “You know Dean, I have watched you, you like what you are doing, you’re a good listener and a good worker. If you want to become a cook I will put in a requisition for you, because they don’t let too many cross-train. Let me tell you the racket we have here.”
Dean replied, “Oh, there is a racket now?”
The Petty Officer answered, “When we are on shore, we work three days on and two days off, two days on and three days off. But I kid you not. You are up at around 3:30 to 4 o’clock in the morning, and you don’t get done until 7:30 or 8 o’clock at night. I will help you with that. I will show you the ropes so it won’t be so hard. When we are out at sea, you work one day on and one day off, and you stand no duty.”
Dean said, “Oh, this is tempting. I needed to be able to do something when I got out. No matter what I did in the Navy I could always fall back on something. So I became a cook and then I became an officer’s cook. I worked up in the wardroom taking care of the officers. That’s where that little story of ‘Me and 8 officers came in.’ It worked out well as long as they obeyed my rules! Every now and then they would get a little bit uppity, so I went and talked to the Executive Officer, telling him that I was always respectful to them, but they need to respect my workspace because I am in charge of all the food that comes and goes, and if it is gone then I am the one that gets yelled at. After they understood,they and became very respectful.”
“My final rate was MS3, Mess Specialist 3rd Class. Now it is called Culinary Specialist. I was supposed to get Petty Officer 2nd Class but my ship was headed out on a West Pac (Western Pacific cruise), and I only had a month and a half left, so they kept me on shore and gave me an early out.”
“After I got out I met a man in my Church who was a Seabee and he talked me into joining the Seabees. He was assigned to the LSD (Landing Ship Dock) Thomaston, where he also cooked. In 1985 the Seabees decided to send me to a mine sweeper that was heading over to the Persian Gulf. That’s when I decided that I had enough.”
After his discharge from the Seabees, Dean stayed in the Seattle area and started painting houses. Eventually, he started working in Real Estate. In 2022 his best friend Brian Davidson paid for both of them to go on a hunting trip in Johannesburg area of South Africa where Dean shot the kudu he has mounted over his fireplace. Dean and Karen are heavily involved with the Trailhead Christian Church.
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: Dean Nygaard as a young Navy enlisted man
Photo Courtesy of Dean
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Image 2 Caption: Dean Nygaard receives his promotion to Mess Specialist 3rd Class (MS3)
Photo Courtesy of Dean
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Image 3 Caption: Dean's kudu at his home
Photo Courtesy of Karen and Dean
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