Hi Bob,
This is strange. I tried to find you for some years after being discharged as a Radarman from the Ashtabula in August of 1967. I even tried finding info on the old Bula, as you call her, a few years ago on the web. There wasn’t much info at the time. I tried again today. It looks like you may have just recently registered at this site. What a coincidence.
The names Archie Pruitt and Ron Oliver sound familiar, but the last time I would have seen or known about them would have been on the ship.
I don’t know if you remember me, but I thought we got to be pretty good friends. We hung out together some in Long Beach. I remember your yellow 1965(?) Chevy Malabu. It was a great car. I wish I had it today.
If you remember anything about me, it will be the R&R we spent together in the Philippines. Along with some others, we boarded an old Ford school bus (painted gray, of course) and headed for Manila and Pagsanjan falls. The bus backfired a lot and the Philippino driver was a little crazy. We referred to him as “Fireball”, as I recall. At the falls, we stayed in an old building with a grass roof. For a shower, there was a small pipe coming out of the wall and there wasn’t any hot water. In Manila, we stayed at the hotel Mabuhi. You didn’t think much of my choice of women on that trip. If my name doesn’t sound familiar and you don’t remember that trip, you probably won’t remember me.
I look forward to hearing back from you, Bob. It’s been a long time.
Best regards,
Jon
