Meet the Nautilus Base Commander

Don Krust

    Donald Krust was born in Dayton Ohio. He joined the Navy in 1954. His first ship was USS Diachenko APD 123 out of San Diego. He later transferred to the ACB 1 in Japan. In 1959 Don applied for SubSchool and was off to New London to attend in 1960. His first boat after SubSchool was the USS Spikefish SS404. He stayed onboard until 1963 when it was decommissioned. Don then transferred to the USS Picuda SS382. After a year onboard he was off to Radioman "A" school. After the completion of "A" school Don was assigned to the USS Croaker SS246 in 1964. Following that Don landed on shore duty at NRTC in Williamsport PA for a couple of years. Upon completion of his shore duty Don attended RM "B" school and then on to the USS Lafayette SSBN616 (Blue) in 1968. In 1972 he left for one patrol on the USS Alexander Hamilton SSBN617 before heading for a shore billet as a Recruiter in Dec. 1972.     
     Don retired as a RMC(SS) in July 1974 and then went to work in the Veterans Administration in the Engineering Department until retiring as an Electronic Supervisor in 1997.
     "Krusty" joined the SubVetsWWII in 2000 and became a member of Nautilus Base in 2001. He said that his two biggest moments in the Navy came when he qualified in Submarines and when he became a Chief. Don previously served as the Nautilus Base Vice-Commander for 2002 - 2004, and Base Commander for 2005 - 2006, and 2008 - 2009. He resides in Leesburg with his lovely wife, Darleen.