Kauffman’s sales ability was also useful during his stint in the Navy, which he joined shortly after Pearl Harbor on January 11, 1942.When designated as an apprentice seaman, a position that paid $21 per month, he responded, “I’m better than an apprentice seaman, because I have been a Sea Scout. I’ve sailed ship and I’ve ridden in whale boats.” His selling ability convinced the Navy that he should instead start as a seaman first class, with a $54 monthly salary. Kauffman was assigned to the admiral’s staff, where he became an outstanding signalman (a seaman who transmitted messages from ship to ship), in part because he was able to read messages better than anyone else due to his previous intensive reading. With his admiral’s encouragement, Kauffman took a correspondence navigator’s course and was given a deck commission and made a navigation officer