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Stories From Main Street: New Exhibit Tunes Into USS Intrepid Radio

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A few years before Adrian Cronauer -- portrayed by Robin Williams on the silver screen -- was hollering "Good morning, Vietnam!" on U.S. military radio, young sailor Bill D'Antico was taking to the airwaves aboard the USS Intrepid.

"I wanted to be like Cousin Brucie playing rock 'n' roll records," D'Antico, known by the on-air name the "Mad Barber," recalled.

D'Antico's old tapes from the early 1960s are now part of an exhibit at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum that sheds light on the day-to-day lives of the men who served aboard the historic warship, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.

Stories From Main Street: New Exhibit Tunes Into USS Intrepid Radio

D'Antico was clipping hair when the ship's information officer, sitting in the barber's chair, asked if he would like to DJ.

The "Mad Barber" spun the hits, but sometimes there was Navy business to address.

"I'd like to pass on a little message about conserving water," D'Antico is heard saying on one tape. "I'd like to tell you that the ship has consumed almost as much freshwater in 12 hours today as it would normally consume in a 24-hour period."

Other times, he let loose.

"We'd get into trouble sometimes," he told Adams. "What we'd talk about: 'Oh, man! Have you guys been in the mess hall this morning? Those eggs tasted like rubber.'"

"Then when we would come through the line, the chefs would say, 'No food for you today. We heard what you said. That wasn't very nice.'"

The record players didn't like rolling seas, D'Antico said.

"Yes, we had to suspend operation," he said. "Back then, there were no cart machines. No CDs. There was a needle on a record."

After serving aboard the Intrepid, D'Antico actually made it as a rock 'n' roll DJ in Los Angeles.

The new exhibit also includes photographs, a diary, a recipe card for tuna a la king -- little glimpses into everyday life.

The Intrepid was commissioned in 1943 and then modernized after World War II and became an anti-submarine carrier. It participated in the Vietnam War and was the recovery ship for two space missions. It also had roles in the Korean and Cold wars.

For more information, visit IntrepidMuseum.org.

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