Stars and Stripes has a good background story about the role of signalmen on the USS Kitty Hawk.
Chief Petty Officer Darren Young talks to sailors on other ships without making a sound. Moving his arms in precise positions in a language called semaphore, the USS Kitty Hawk sailor communicates with the crew of a nearby vessel that’s refueling the aircraft carrier. “If a ship turns off its telephones and electronics, this is how we talk. … We’re a dying breed,” Young said of Navy signalmen.
Posted by Alan at March 11, 2003 04:48 PM