SwiftVets.com

[carmodyjim]

Last summer, my wife and I had dinner with RADM Roy Hoffman and his lovely wife at the Reunion of the Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748) which was deployed in the War Zone for 6 months, overlapping Kerry's brain searing experience of a Cambodian Christmas in 1968. My own brain searing experience of that Christmas was that we were shooting 5" rounds in support of Marines in the Phan Thiet region. The Christmas Cease Fire began at 6pm Christmas Eve and ended @ 6pm Christmas Day. Admiral Hoffman was an officer on the Hubbard in the Korean Era, I believe. More small world, I was a friend of Warren Hudson, mentioned in O'Neill's book, as we were both Regular Navy Midshipmen at Vanderbilt Univ. and ran across one another after graduation in Norfolk and Coronado Is. before our deployments to West Pac. My info is that Warren was a REAL hero and was hospitalized for his wounds on swifts at Yakuska Navy Hospital. Warren is a couple of years older than I and was the Batallion Commander at Vanderbilt's NROTC. Finally, as a business litigation attorney, I had a case with brother O'Neill some many years ago here in Houston. Maybe one day, I can get him to sign my copy of his book. And, finally, finally, when the Hubbard was deployed during Kerry's "era", I tried to swap my job as Gunnery Officer on the Hubbard for 2 weeks with a visiting swiftie officer to our tin can. I could not go due to the fact that type commanders requierd 2 San Diego Gunnery School grads to be on board at all times. LtJG Dick Oliver, our COMMO reminded me of that recently at our reunion.
Wouldn't it have been an even smaller world if I had run into that worthless jerk, Kerry????

Very best wishes and utmost respect to all you Nam vets,

Jim Carmody, Houston, Texas
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James A Carmody