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Best Friends
I made an error originally. My service ended November 18, 1947. My last station was on White Beach, Okinawa which I left in early October 1947 to return to the states to get discharged. My unit was Seabee Construction Battalion #2. We were transferred as a unit from the US Naval Ammunition Depot, Hastings, Nebraska to go over to Okinawa and load up for shipment back to the United States, thousands of tons of war material which had been stockpiled on the island for the impending invasion of Japan.
I have my doubts that I will find any of my old buddies alive and well. I was barely 18 when I arrived on Okinawa and was probably one of the youngest in my company. If many are still alive and healthy, I would be pleasantly surprised.
My very best company friend was a George Nadvic from Grand Rapids. He was a pharmacist in our little hospital over there, and we used to spend many nights playing pinnacle in the pharmacy. We also went on many unauthorized liberties to native villages in my Commanders private jeep. That was easy since I was the Commander’s Chief Yeoman, and was a true Radar, as he was sick of the war and seldom came to the office. His name was Lt. Commander Francis Mumford, from Baltimore. I did most of the things in the office that he was supposed to do, even signing his name to most documents, writing and putting out daily bulletins, giving out Liberty passes, helping order supplies for the base and many other things including ordering the nightly movies. He spent a great amount of time at the Naval Operating Base which was 10 miles away in the middle of the island and was a place where most of the Navy and civilian nurses resided. Thus he resided many nights over there. We communicated when he was over there by SW radio
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Worst Moment
My unit consisted of a closely packed company of about 150 men including LCDR Mumford .
It was my specific position to lead the company when LCDR Mumford was not
there and for the last six months of our assignment he was in deed seldom there. Consequently I ran the base with some authority from him, sometimes following his orders and instructions shouted out of his jeep window. But often times he just wasn't there and I had to reluctantly sign his name to documents where he had not authorised it.
Few of the documents were earth shaking but they had to be signed by someone to
keep the ship moving.
On at least two occasions I spent the night under arrest for mis-use of vehicles when I grabbed them as special equipment to accomplish A specific task.
To say the entire system was nerve wracking is the understatment of the year.
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