Comments

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  James Speed August 7, 2009 at 11:35am

  Bill, I appreciate that offer of help for my Mom.. Thank you VERY much Shipmate! Ill keep that in mind. There definately was a lot of trees to cut up down there after that hurricane wasnt there! Some of those beautiful old trees that use to line the main road were all gone.. Sad..
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  James Speed August 6, 2009 at 12:24pm

  Wow, I know exactly where that is. Pretty area up there. Punta Gorda was never the same after Charly huh. I assisted the Army Corps of Engineers the day after it hit. We were in there doing the assessments and checking roofs and seeing who needed help. Mom still lives down there in Vence, near Jacaranda Blvd. She and Dad had 5 acres with a Lake and everything but my father passed away in March from complications of diabetes. That was the only thing I hated about living so far away. Still wouldnt trade what we have here though! :)
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  James Speed August 5, 2009 at 10:38am

  PS... I use to live in Venice, Grew up there. At first it was out in Venice East then just before we moved my wife and I lived just off 41 Bypass near Venice Avenue. I was born in Largo Florida but Dad's job had us relocated in 1969. I enlisted in 75. It was most definately a "different" Florida back then Bill. The beaches didnt have all the high rise condo's - believe that or not. There were a few golf courses, but not that many. US 41 got pretty busy before I-75 was put all the way through, it use to stop up in Tampa but in the 70's they extended it down. We use to go out hog hunting on all the new territory while they were making the highway at night and on the weekends. Some of the best hog hunting was up on the Sarasota/Manatee county line area of 75. Do you get to enjoy one of the BEST things about Florida - Its Fishing? I miss the salt water fishing being up here in the mountains...but thats all. Where in Bradenton do you live?
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  James Speed August 2, 2009 at 4:23pm

  Hey, Thanks for the hello Bill. Well, the old hat has been with me for years, its shows huh. I'm just an old country boy, always have been. Grew up on a cattle ranch in SW Florida. After I enlisted I wore my boots and another old hat when I went to RM "A" School in San Diego in 1976.. boy, you can bet I was a big hit on Broadway. Lots of fights with the pretty boys and pimps :)
  
  You were in a really tough rate. Ya'll weren't board pullers back then but actually broke out soldering irons quite often. Besides all the TTY repair guys, the ET's helped keep our Communications Centers going. I worked in TSC/ASCOMM's, not Main Comm.
  
  Thanks for the shout.
  Jim
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  Gloria Nuckols July 31, 2009 at 4:06pm

  Thank you for the invite.
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  Jacquelyn Rae Martin/Gobelet July 29, 2009 at 9:02am

  Can't find a group for the USS Shenandoah AD 44. How do I join Tennessee vets?
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  Robert C. Long July 27, 2009 at 11:53am

  Thanks Bill, nice to be aboard. Tks also for the info and I'll browse around the site and check my old commands and see if I can locate some old shipmates.
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  AL Brannon July 24, 2009 at 9:03pm

  Thanks for the shout. It looks like a pretty good site. AL
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  RMC John Joseph, Ret. July 24, 2009 at 11:09am

  That would probably be the USS JOHN KING DDG-3 not the same class or name sake. USS KING DLG10/DDG41 is a Coontz class vessel and was named for Admiral Ernest King. Thanks for the tip, and I will pursue this.
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  RMC John Joseph, Ret. July 21, 2009 at 11:42am

  Thanks! I found this site back accident when I was looking about RTC Great Lakes. I just received my son's first letter from Boot Camp. I am very excited for him. Yes, I noted the photo problem and was actually going to reduce the pixel size. I will try cropping it first. I'm looking forward to associating with a few other commands. Can I start a USS KING DDG-41/DLG10 Group? We have a very good website, but this would be another great way to find shipmates from both designations (re-commissioning) of the ship.