Guam
The first place that I lived (that I have any memories of) was the island of Guam where my Dad was stationed. He was an Aviation Electrician's Mate and flew as part of the crew of the P2V Neptune. During the Cold War many bases around the world were tasked with keeping an eye on our once ally, the Soviet Union, a task that I would also be involved in while in the Navy.
For a small boy, Guam in the 1950s was paradise! My two brothers and I spent many a day wandering the jungle adjoining the Naval Base (and pilfering the sugar cane and pineapple that grew in neighboring fields) One day in our travels we met an old man living in a cave that overlooked the base. He regaled us with tales of his village in Japan and his dream of one day returning there. It wasn't until years later that i realized this man was one of those who'd never surrendered to the American forces when they recaptured Guam during World War II.
Another time my brothers and I discovered a hole in a fence that separated the area our family lived on base from a rather precipitous drop into the Pacific. We dared each other to get closer and closer until we were all hanging on for dear life, screaming for someone to rescue us! Thankfully someone heard our cries and called the Military Police who pulled us up and then repaired that hole in the fence (yeah, we did find others, but their appeal waned somewhat after our little adventure).
The first place that I lived (that I have any memories of) was the island of Guam where my Dad was stationed. He was an Aviation Electrician's Mate and flew as part of the crew of the P2V Neptune. During the Cold War many bases around the world were tasked with keeping an eye on our once ally, the Soviet Union, a task that I would also be involved in while in the Navy.
For a small boy, Guam in the 1950s was paradise! My two brothers and I spent many a day wandering the jungle adjoining the Naval Base (and pilfering the sugar cane and pineapple that grew in neighboring fields) One day in our travels we met an old man living in a cave that overlooked the base. He regaled us with tales of his village in Japan and his dream of one day returning there. It wasn't until years later that i realized this man was one of those who'd never surrendered to the American forces when they recaptured Guam during World War II.
Another time my brothers and I discovered a hole in a fence that separated the area our family lived on base from a rather precipitous drop into the Pacific. We dared each other to get closer and closer until we were all hanging on for dear life, screaming for someone to rescue us! Thankfully someone heard our cries and called the Military Police who pulled us up and then repaired that hole in the fence (yeah, we did find others, but their appeal waned somewhat after our little adventure).
Great Lakes Naval Training Command
From Agana, Guam the Navy transferred my Dad to Great Lakes where he was a company commander, helping prepare those just entering the Navy at Recruit Training Command (another place I would one day more fully 'enjoy').
Picture if you will our relocating there in the middle of the winter; three young lads who are all too used to running around practically naked attempting to do the same thing and finding this cold, wet, white 'stuff' covering the ground and our weary Mom again trying to capture us and bring us in before we died of exposure. Although we had left behind the joys of traveling nearly naked around a jungle, we soon learned of the delights of sledding on the mysterious stuff called snow (Dad had purchased a sled for us) and, as kids do, we quickly adapted to our new environment.
From Agana, Guam the Navy transferred my Dad to Great Lakes where he was a company commander, helping prepare those just entering the Navy at Recruit Training Command (another place I would one day more fully 'enjoy').
Picture if you will our relocating there in the middle of the winter; three young lads who are all too used to running around practically naked attempting to do the same thing and finding this cold, wet, white 'stuff' covering the ground and our weary Mom again trying to capture us and bring us in before we died of exposure. Although we had left behind the joys of traveling nearly naked around a jungle, we soon learned of the delights of sledding on the mysterious stuff called snow (Dad had purchased a sled for us) and, as kids do, we quickly adapted to our new environment.
While we lived here, my 'formal' education began with an on-base kindergarten class in which my artistic ability far exceeded my skills in writing. An example of this was a picture (excuse me, I meant to say a veritable masterpiece) that I signed Ahoy Hook. Close but no wee-oh!
My education continued with our parents signing us up at Mother of God Elementary School in Waukegan (just north of the base). The nuns were definitely no nonsense in their outlook on how to "...train up a child in the way he should go...", but despite the sometimes harsh discipline they meted out, we really did love them. One example of this, one day some ne'er do well accosted on of the nuns while our class was on the playground. This sad sack was quickly buried under a pile of 1st and 2nd graders who pummeled and bit him repeatedly until the police arrived to rescue him. |