Monday, December 08, 2008

Old Friends and Fond Memories

Bob, Sandy, John, Gary, and Smitty. This photo was taken in December 1973, just a few weeks before I left Reykjavik, Iceland. It's really hard to believe that it was 35 years ago! My one-year tour of duty in Iceland was made much more pleasant because of their presence.

We stayed in touch for a while. . . Bob was onboard a ship heading for Japan about the time I left there in May 1979. I saw Sandy a couple of times before I went to Japan. John and his wife met me at the airport in Hawaii when I was on my way to Japan in May 1977 and I visited them in Seattle after my return. I have no idea what happened to Gary and Smitty. As often happens, we lost contact after a few years. I often wonder what became of them and some of the other friends I had while in the Navy. Occasionally I Google their names, but haven't found anything on them yet. I did get a couple of emails earlier this year from two of the girls with whom I went through bootcamp. They had found the posts on my letters from bootcamp. It was nice because I actually remembered who they were!

As my contribution to the 8th Edition of Smile For The Camera :: Stocking Stuffer, I would like to stuff this picture into the stockings of Bob, Sandy, John, Gary, and Smitty. Thanks for the memories!

3 comments:

Judith Richards Shubert said...

What a wonderful memory. It is so sad to lose touch with those who have been such a big part of our life. I guess we all have those memories of times in our past we'd like to stuff in our Christmas stocking and take out again on Christmas morning!

Judy Shubert
Genealogy Traces
Graveyard Rabbit of the Covered Bridges
Food Gratitude

wendy said...

Becky - my dad was stationed at there when he was in the Army Air Corps back in the early 40s! Thanks for sharing!

Bob Kramp said...

You never know. Most people who have computers (is there any that don't have one?) do a Google search on people and places in their past. You gave a specific location in Iceland, but perhaps the mention a specific name including a surname might bring a contact. Good Luck, Bob