It was a dark and stormy evening at Navy Recruiting Station North East on Walzem Road in San Antonio. In late 1992, I was 17 years old during the Christmas break of my senior year of high school. I had arrived to sign my paperwork for the Delayed Enlistment Program to enter boot camp at Navy Recruit Training Center Orlando in October 1993. My recruiter was a gunner's mate (guns) first class, and he loved his job. The wall behind his desk displayed multiple photos of Iowa-class battleship 16-inch deck guns like they were his children. Needless to say, I was a bit intimidated by the man. He wasn’t as personable as the smooth-talking Louisiana native who had started my Navy adventure at the recruiting station two months prior.

Once my paperwork was prepared, Guns placed it before me and said to sign my name. At least that’s how I understood his request. When I finished signing, he looked at my signature. Then he asked me a curious question. He asked me why I hadn’t signed my full name. Remember, I was a 17-year-old kid who didn't sign documents very often. I didn’t understand what he was getting at. Guns proceeded to clarify his question. He asked me why I hadn’t included my middle name in my signature. I told him I’d never signed with my middle name. It never occurred to me. That’s when we entered the Twilight Zone.

Guns went into autopilot and said he would need to create an alias for me. I didn’t know what to say. I just sat back and watched him fill out the alias section of the paperwork. My 17-year-old self was powerless to stop him. I figured he knew what he was doing. He was a recruiter and a petty officer first class, so I could trust him, right?

Dec. 29, 1992. That’s a date which will live in infamy. I officially became Seaman Recruit David NMN Dvorak. The “NMN” stands for No Middle Name ... although the alias section of my enlistment paperwork has my correct full name listed as David Gregory Dvorak.

Fast-forward two years, and I tried to get my middle name issue resolved at DLI. The yeoman second class on duty was the command bully, and he threatened to have me court-martialed for fraudulent enlistment. I told him to drop the matter, and I never pursued it again. I continued to use my middle initial when I signed paperwork, though. I refused to let the Navy steal my middle name.

I still find the NMN in my old paperwork. I realize it's funny now, so not much I can do but laugh.

Thank You, Guns!

David G. Dvorak