Spent two years active duty in the Navy, aboard the destroyer USS Richard E. Kraus (1972-1974). Broke the 3-4 shift fork in my 65 Barracuda bar-hopping one last time before we set sail for Viet Nam in early November 1972; blew up the original 273 driving 200 miles from Charleston, South Carolina to home in second gear. Spent two months on the gun line off South Viet Nam, with a quick foray to targets in North Viet Nam that earned me a combat action ribbon. Found my thrill at the Hotel Kennedy in Kaohsiung, Taiwan after the shooting ended. Slapped a 340 in my Barracuda when I got back home; still have the car, still a 340 - different block, different heads, same crank.
