Washington ( CNN ) -- Comedian Bill Cosby received an honorary rank from the Navy Thursday , and he had a Washington audience laughing with stories from his four years in the service . Cosby has been entertaining millions of people since the 1960s . Cosby , whose success as a stand-up comic and actor has influenced many over the past four decades , is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on the 1980s sitcom `` The Cosby Show . '' But he did n't always enjoy such success , and he said the U.S. Navy gave him what he needed , when he needed it most . `` I was n't a bad boy , I was just sort of left to wander around , '' Cosby , who as a young man served as a hospital corpsman , told a Navy-packed auditorium . The iconic comic was in town to be recognized as an honorary chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy . `` I want to welcome you to the ranks of the people that run the Navy , people that make the ships sail on time , the aircraft fly , the hospitals work , '' said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus , who received the same honor last year . `` Bill Cosby has earned this . '' Cosby joined the Navy in 1956 and after graduating from boot camp , went on to become a Navy hospital corpsman . He told the crowd joining the Navy seemed like the best place for him `` to die . '' `` I do n't want to join the Army because I 'll die in a foxhole in dirt ... I do n't want to be in the Marine Corp because you die before you get out of there , '' Cosby told the laughing crowd filled with Navy personnel . The biggest laugh came when Cosby explained why he joined the Navy . `` I want to be in the Navy , because no matter how you die , you 're in the middle of the ocean and it will wash out your underpants and that will make my mother very happy . '' Just before Cosby thrilled the crowd with his famous story-telling delivery , he was presented with a Navy uniform , which he put on , and set of Navy anchor pins that were pinned on by Mabus and the most senior enlisted member of the branch , Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West . Cosby , who was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1960 , said the one of the greatest moments in his life was graduating from Navy boot camp . The comedian , known for his clean acts that do not include profanity , struggled at boot camp , saying the vulgar language and yelling were n't for him . It got so bad , he said , that he even wrote his mother a letter asking if she could get him out of camp . Cosby said he was called to the commander 's office and told that his mother had written back . `` My mother asked the company commander to please continue to do these things , '' Cosby said , sporting his new Navy uniform . The 73-year-old star recalled that finishing Navy boot camp was the first time his mother saw him graduate from anything . Cosby did n't graduate from high school but later received a high school equivalency . After the Navy , Cosby went on to attend Temple University and he earned a master 's degree and a doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts . Cosby served on the USS Fort Mandan , a Navy support ship that was based at facilities including the Naval Hospital in Bethesda , Maryland , where he helped in rehabilitation of wounded Korean War veterans . Cosby said he earned $ 42 every two weeks in the Navy but the lessons he learned were priceless . `` I was eating for free and , as they say , ( having ) a place to lay your head was wonderful , lights out , lights on , '' Cosby said , telling his laughing audience that he learned discipline in the Navy , among other things . `` Urinate in one urinal and continue to do so in that same one -- discipline , '' he joked . He then took a swipe at those who have never served . `` I have to tell you I have a problem with civilians ... I still know a deck is better buffed by someone in the service , and cheaper . '' The Navy crowd laughed again .
Comedian Bill Hicks gets an honorary rank in the Navy . Cosby joined the Navy in 1956 , without a high school diploma . Cosby credits his service in the Navy with teaching him what he needed . He says finishing boot camp was the first time his parents let him benefit from anything .