Two weeks ago I was underway in the Caribbean on a 14-day cruise through the Panama Canal. On our second day at sea, the diesel-electric propulsion system was propelling our ship in a southeasterly heading, off the northern coast of Cuba enroute to Aruba.
Peggy and I chose a table for four at lunchtime, and I anchored the table whilst she went to gather her lunch. While she was away, a lady I did not know asked if she could join us, and I relied "sure, please have a seat". She was joined moments later by a fellow, so our table was now full. Upon Peggy's return, I took my turn at the chow-line.
Several minutes later, I returned to the table. Peggy was in her seat across from me; the lady who had joined our table (next to me) had left, and was replaced by an elderly gentleman. As I sat down, the man looked somewhat familiar, but it wasn't until I glanced closely at his profile that I was sure.
(OTCM) Nick Van Herpen had joined the table while I was getting my lunch. Now what the hell are the odds of that? He didn't recognize me (a few more lbs and lots more gray hair than the last time he saw me), but he was startled when I said "You sure look familiar, Nick!"
He asked for my last name, and was shocked to find out who I was and that he had picked a table at random in a huge dining room that another retired OTCM was seated at.
You might guess that we spent several hours rehashing the old days over the following two weeks. The last time I saw Nick was September 1984 when I was at SAIC/Eureka and he was at RTC Centerville (27 years ago).
Great story... Wish I could have been there. Did you construct a signature on the diesels ??? I have a copy of the diesel engine hand book... Outdated I'm sure.. Ed Smock
George: How did Nick react to being called an "elderly gentleman". EKD
Pretty amazing. In the early 80's while stationed at NOPF Ford Island, I was elected to relieve Tom Uecker on Midway. At that time there was only a token Navy presence with a LCDR as the OIC. I would be the only Navy presence at the NAVFAC. When I arrived the OIC greeted me and we struck up a conversation. He asked if I fished and when I replied in the affirmative he asked if I would like to go outside the reef and troll for ahi. Of course, I accepted and a few days later off we went. As we were waiting for a hit, we again chatted, and he asked where I was from. I told him Sullivan, IL. Now this is a small town and my graduating class was only 107 seniors. When I told him where I was from he asked "Do you know a fellow named Ivan Schrodt." I couldn't believe my ears and said "We graduated high school together." He then said "He was my roommate at Notre Dame". Amazing. In a small boat in the middle of the Pacific I run into this fellow. It truly is a small world. I hooked up with Ivan a few years back and told him the story. He knew immediately who it was and said his roommate had always wanted to be a Naval aviator.
George & Rick - pretty hard to top either of the stories in your recent posts (especially your's George). Nice of you both to share some of these "chance meetings".
Let me offer up a "small world" occurence of my own, from last Sept - at our annual High School Alumni Association meeting/dinner. (there were 9 of us in my graduating class of '57). Got talking to classmate and former Navy pilot who was now a retired United Airlines pilot (747's , etc.). Our conversation got around to "where were you - what did you do, etc." At this point I found out that he was a former P3 pilot and that his squadron was out of Pax River MD - back in '66-'69. They rotated to Argentia, the Azores & Bermuda, then back to Pax River. I was in Bermuda during that timeframe and was fortunate enough to make several 6 hour mid-atlantic P3 patrols with their squadron. While we couldn't nail down whether or not we actually flew any of these patrols together, we sure had a great time sharing our experiences & memories of "hunting subs" during our Navy days. I still can't get over the audacity of someone taking "battleship gray" - and painting over the mural I did (NavFac Bermuda) on the OPS Officer's office bulkhead, a November Class that was surfaced by a P3 during one of these flights !!
George - next time you get ready to book a cruise give me a heads-up! Might talk Linda into joining you & Peg on a Caribbean cruise. Would love the chance to share some "sea stories" again - about "pounding the mats", "recdording a MILS shot" or "drafting a FLASH message". Glad you got to reminisce with Nick V. - truly one of the best! Have a great summer and give my best to Peg............Dee
All good stories and I can't top any of 'em unless I lie....but this is a true story. Irv....probably need your help...or that of anyone else stationed in Bermuda in 73-74.
In 1981, I was in the Yokosuka CPO Club head conducting a habitability inspection on my own time when I hear this voice that was as familiar as any of my ex-wives.
Clawing through the fog that results from a vigorous, thorough inspection, I realized that this voice belonged to an RM1 that I knew from Bermuda.
Believe his name was Stefchek....or something close to that. Left the head, found him, drank more beer.
It is indeed a small world.
Good string, George.
Nick
Nick - you got the name right - Stefcheck (sp??) - but if you had mentioned just the name & not reminded me of the RM1 that went with it, most likely that name would not have rang a bell. He was in BDA when we were there (sometime between 74-77). That's the best that this old man's memory can do these days!
Irv
Irv, that almost sounds like an E-9 reunion invitation. What a "sea story" event that would turn into.
Great stories, all of them.
Dave Bailey - what a neat idea! an E-9 OT Reunion!!
That's probably why they tacked those two stars on your anchor - you just come up with one great idea after another. Hey - what do you think about the idea of a "Top Three" Reunion?? We could have it in Branson, MO (that's somewhere near the middle of the U.S.) - just throwing that out there.....any takers??
Irv
Branson MO ... We could "all" stay at Fred's house.. Ed Smock
Ed - you & Dave Bailey are both geniuses! He comes up with the idea of an E-9 reunion, you come up with the idea of all of us staying at Fred Schwanz's house!! I giving some thought to "running" with both of these ideas. I'll "ring it out" with Fred first. Probably wouldn't phase him in the least - after all, he is only minutes from Branson, always up for a good reason to party - and who better to party with that a bunch of fellow "Oyster Trainers" - oysters & beer go together pretty good, don't they??
Irv
In 1960, I was turning in the shops liberty cards to the Master At Arms shack and as I entered the MA shack I saw two buddies from our home town. We glad handed all around and yelped till the the MA threw us out mutterin "d*** a****" hill billies. They had just arrived from our small town of Ellisville, Ms. and had news that 2 of my class mates were stationed on two different ships in port.
Ellisville is a small town with a population of 3500.
We all had a good three years.
Marshall
It is a small world. In 1967 I was standing in the chow line at the AF base in Mildenhall, England, waiting for a flight back to KEF after having spent a 96 checking out the Soho nightlife in London. One of the airmen on the serving line was a good high school buddy I hadn't seen since graduation. He was killed in Viet Nam in 1969. I've always been grateful for that chance encounter in England.
George,
Haven't heard Nick's name in many years. I was with him at Centerville Beach you might remember. What a great feeling when you can just trade sea stories and reminisce. Enjoyed chatting with you a few months ago.
George, great story! I have to tell you though that I have grown to be a bit cosmic in my old age and the meeting wasn't entirely coincidence. I'm sure it was alot of fun though!
It sure is a small world. Was great meeting up with George and Peggy on cruise to San Diego. Probably the first time he had ever been to sea. We are currently in Port Kenyon---Ferndale---and will be leaving tomorrow after spending a week visiting friends. All evidence of NFCB is gone other than road and fence. Have had typical weather---rain, rain and more rain----Eel River is up to monitoring stage and we have been keeping an eye on the roads around town as some roads are already blocked by flooding. Yesterday highway 101 and 299 were both closed due to snow. Still a beautiful area but they can keep the weather.