Pearl Harbor Honolulu
Posted January 30, 2012
The first time I saw Pearl Harbor was on the 1975-76 Westpac aboard USS Kilauea AE-26. There really was not the time to play the tourist then since we were working ammo at the West Loch Naval Magazine. We did get in to Waikiki and I had the misfortune of missing the bus back to the ship. I almost lost my life that night because I accepted a ride by what I thought were friendly natives, the next thing I know they are taking me out to the fish docks and hit me on the head to rob me. They wound up with jewelry that I was in debt to Gensler Lee Diamonds of Oakland, California. The only thing that saved me was HPD cruising by, they then dropped me off at a 24 hour restaurant near the road going into West Loch where one other shipmate and I caught a ride with a couple of sailors assigned to the base. I did not arrive back at the ship until an hour before muster and I did not get any sleep until that night.. I did not make the same mistake when Kilauea made the visit in 1978. The most memorable thing about the 1975 experience other than my being robbed was one of the guys mouthing off to a motor cycle cop while we were sitting outside the Hale Koa hotel waiting for the bus. The guy was a hull technician and when the cop asked us to stand up he asked where Danno was. Danno of course referred to a character on the Hawaii Five-Oh television series played by James MacArthur. The series was popular during those days and was even aired in the Philippine Television Market. If you were on the Kilauea during that visit bear in mind that out of a crew of over three hundred that it is not possible to retain every ones name in memory I know the kids face and the only way to let you know his name is to make a trip up to the Washington Navy Yard and browse the pictures of the cruise book at the Naval Heritage Library. The next two times that I called on Pearl would be on the USNS Mars T- AFS 1, and the USNS Observation Island T-AGM 23. in late 1993. Aboard the O.I. I rented a car and got out to tour the whole island of Oahu. I also had a lunch with the contractors conducting the thermal imaging of our circuit panels and controllers. Those fellows did not impact my memory as much as Bill Clews.
For a more in-depth history of Pearl Harbor click here. For a birds eye view of Pearl showing where the O.I. and Kilauea berthed click here.