| It does give one a good feeling to reunite with old friends after so many years and learn that they are OK and are doing well. I for one am grateful to you for thinking enough of us to create a great web site for the Nantahala. I am especially grateful to Norm Brown for thinking enough of me to persist until he found me. I have located web sites for two other ships that I served on. The heavy cruiser, USS Saint Paul (CA-73), which was scrapped, and a destroyer, the USS Orleck (DD-886). The Orleck was decommissioned and given to the Turkish Navy in the 80's, where it served for about 13 years and was decommissioned again. It was scheduled to be scraped until the nephew of its name sake, "Joseph Orleck," started an organization to save it and have it towed to Orange, Texas where it was built in 1943. The Citizens of Orange are having a museum made of it. The effort to restore it is underway now. I was in Orange when it came in. It is only a five hour drive from here. It was something to see. They hired a sea going Russian tugboat to tow it from Turkey. It took about two months. I served on board it for about three years in Viet Nam. I must tell you that being on that destroyer was in many ways, just like being on the Nan. The crews were smaller and close on both, but the Nan was the hardest working ship and demanded more out of you than any of them. I went on shore duty from there, then to the Nantahala. The Nan holds the fondest memories for me. The crew was the best and like I said, it was the hardest working ship I ever served on. We worked our asses off and we did what we did better than any other Oiler in the Navy! You guys in the fire room never failed us. The crew in the engine room was, without a doubt, the best. Looking back on it I can't believe we did what we did, practically every day at sea, with very little sleep, and having to maintain the ship's daily needs, like repairs, standing watches, cleaning the spaces and more (the Nan demanded a lot of attention). To do all of that and serve the fleet from first light to dark, day after day. "AWESOME!" I AM PROUD TO HAVE SERVED WITH YOU GUYS. Think about it!
Quave
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