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READERS' STORIES |
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Comments and photo from Jim Verrier[ Welcome aboard, Jim. Thanks for bringing this new bit of history to our attention. ]October 31, 2000 I recently located your very comprehensive web site on the internet. What a great feeling it was to finally relive some of the times I had with those remarkable PTF boats, and the crews who knew them inside and out. As a point of clarification, I'd like to provide some info on my former assignment with MST-Danang from '69 to '70. I was selected to activate the "22" boat and outfit it in Subic for shipping to Pearl Harbor in January, 1970. I had received orders to accompany the boat to Hawaii for use in "Project Harpoon" which involved participating with engineers from China Lake Naval Weapons Center in developing the guidance system for the Harpoon missile. Naturally, my crew and I and the Trumpy were the target. I set up a temporary MST detachment at the sub piers in Pearl Harbor in February, 1970 and ran the boat daily to the north shore of Molokai, just off the leper colony. This mission lasted until late May or June when we had the craft loaded onto the LPH "Iwo Jima", which was returning from picking up the Apollo 13 astronauts. It was transported to San Diego, CA by the "Iwo Jima" and offloaded at BSU-1.
I'm not sure if it matters for the purpose of your notes on dates of activation, but I thought I'd send this along for your action as you see fit. By the way, I just this week returned from Buffalo, NY where I visited the Naval and Military Park and relived some of my old times with the "17" boat which, if I may say so, has weathered the last 30+ years very well. Thanks for the opportunity to catch up on these years in a real way. Sincerely,
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