July 24 2004

Finally after about 40 or so years I returned to the Shipyards at Charleston, my family and I vacationed at Myrtle beach so we decided to drive down to what I thought would be the shipyard. How disappointed I was that I could not recognize anything but the dry-docks because when I reported aboard in 61, that's where we were.

After driving around and trying to get a sneak view of the U.S.S. Huntley which is on display there, (weekends only) I was accosted by a Agent from the Customs office, and I told him the whole story, and he really did believe me, He called a older employee about my age and asked him to try to sort things out geographically of life in the Pre-Vietnam era, and he showed where the old barracks were and where we would have tied up at the pier.

I was very sad when I saw that everything was gone, so all we have left is the web site and a bunch of photos and names and tons of great memories. So we did the next best thing and that was to go down and visit the USS Clamagore, which is tied up at Point Pleasant in Charleston.

As I sit here and write this, I'm just thinking back to those days with a smile on my face, and several chuckles wondering what happened to everyone. My wife calls them "senior moments". I call them the GOOD OLD DAYS.

Jim Mazeitis