(Photos above are L to R: SA Dave Pitkin c 1969; SP5 Gordy Darragh c 1969; Dave and Gordy March 2012)
For many years I have thought about my R&R in Honolulu in 1970. My parents met me there and we stayed in a Motel 6 right on Waikiki. While I was there I met Dave Pitkin, who was in the Coast Guard and stationed at Sand Island (in Honolulu Harbor). He was on a pass and was staying at the same hotel as we were. He had orders for Thailand (and eventually to Vietnam) and was due to ship out soon. We instantly liked each other and spent some time together drinking beer, looking at girls and just being tourists during my week of R&R. I must have given him my address at Phu Hiep because somehow we communicated once he was at his duty station in I Corps.
I had asked CPT Tony Chapa about getting an in-country pass to see Dave at Tan My, near Hue, and it was granted to me. I don’t remember how I got up there, maybe I hopped a C-130 at Tuy Hoa AFB, but somehow I made my way to his Loran C station up near the DMZ. I was amazed on how those “Coasties” lived – in air-conditioned trailers! I spent a couple of days with Dave and headed back to Phu Hiep. We must of written to each other (neither of us remember), but after I got home and was out of the Army, I visited Dave and his wife at his new stateside duty station at Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1970 or 1971. After that, we lost track of each other.
Well, Dave Pitkin has come to mind many times over the years, wondering what ever happened to the guy I met in Honolulu. I subscribed to a people finding website (www.peoplesmart.com) a couple of years ago, and I looked his name up, searching for people about his age and in Oregon or Washington State. I found the address of a Dave Pitkin (whose wife was named Georgina) who was about the age he would be and wrote a note asking him if he was the Dave Pitkin I met in Honolulu 40 years ago, and if he was to please give me a call.
I was on the bus on my way to meet my son Pete for a Sounders FC match in Seattle on June 26, 2011, when my phone rang with a voice message that said, “Yes, I am he, give me a call” and he left his phone number. I almost couldn’t believe it, but I called him back and we have talked many times since then!
On Monday I caught the Amtrak train to Vancouver, Washington, to visit with Dave and his wife. They live in Washougal, east of Vancouver. Dave said he would meet me at the station; I had told him what I would be wearing because there was a good chance that we wouldn’t recognize each other; after all, the last time we saw each other was when we were both in our very early 20s! Sure enough, as soon as I got off the train there was a guy on the platform pointing his finger at me…it was Dave!
It was so good catching up on the last four decades, having dinner with Dave and Georgina, and sharing photos of Vietnam and our families that both include a bunch of grandkids. On Tuesday Dave and I did some sightseeing going to Multnomah Falls and other sights on the Columbia River Gorge. Too soon our visit was over; I had to catch the northbound train back to Seattle at 6:30 that evening.
Dave told me that over the years he often wondered what happened to that guy he met in Hawaii. As I said, I had wondered about him too. I know it was the Lord prompting me to look for him because somehow there was a connection that we had made so many years ago. It was so good to see each other face to face this week, and, since we live so close here in the Northwest, we won’t lose track of each other now!
For many years I have thought about my R&R in Honolulu in 1970. My parents met me there and we stayed in a Motel 6 right on Waikiki. While I was there I met Dave Pitkin, who was in the Coast Guard and stationed at Sand Island (in Honolulu Harbor). He was on a pass and was staying at the same hotel as we were. He had orders for Thailand (and eventually to Vietnam) and was due to ship out soon. We instantly liked each other and spent some time together drinking beer, looking at girls and just being tourists during my week of R&R. I must have given him my address at Phu Hiep because somehow we communicated once he was at his duty station in I Corps.
I had asked CPT Tony Chapa about getting an in-country pass to see Dave at Tan My, near Hue, and it was granted to me. I don’t remember how I got up there, maybe I hopped a C-130 at Tuy Hoa AFB, but somehow I made my way to his Loran C station up near the DMZ. I was amazed on how those “Coasties” lived – in air-conditioned trailers! I spent a couple of days with Dave and headed back to Phu Hiep. We must of written to each other (neither of us remember), but after I got home and was out of the Army, I visited Dave and his wife at his new stateside duty station at Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1970 or 1971. After that, we lost track of each other.
Well, Dave Pitkin has come to mind many times over the years, wondering what ever happened to the guy I met in Honolulu. I subscribed to a people finding website (www.peoplesmart.com) a couple of years ago, and I looked his name up, searching for people about his age and in Oregon or Washington State. I found the address of a Dave Pitkin (whose wife was named Georgina) who was about the age he would be and wrote a note asking him if he was the Dave Pitkin I met in Honolulu 40 years ago, and if he was to please give me a call.
I was on the bus on my way to meet my son Pete for a Sounders FC match in Seattle on June 26, 2011, when my phone rang with a voice message that said, “Yes, I am he, give me a call” and he left his phone number. I almost couldn’t believe it, but I called him back and we have talked many times since then!
On Monday I caught the Amtrak train to Vancouver, Washington, to visit with Dave and his wife. They live in Washougal, east of Vancouver. Dave said he would meet me at the station; I had told him what I would be wearing because there was a good chance that we wouldn’t recognize each other; after all, the last time we saw each other was when we were both in our very early 20s! Sure enough, as soon as I got off the train there was a guy on the platform pointing his finger at me…it was Dave!
It was so good catching up on the last four decades, having dinner with Dave and Georgina, and sharing photos of Vietnam and our families that both include a bunch of grandkids. On Tuesday Dave and I did some sightseeing going to Multnomah Falls and other sights on the Columbia River Gorge. Too soon our visit was over; I had to catch the northbound train back to Seattle at 6:30 that evening.
Dave told me that over the years he often wondered what happened to that guy he met in Hawaii. As I said, I had wondered about him too. I know it was the Lord prompting me to look for him because somehow there was a connection that we had made so many years ago. It was so good to see each other face to face this week, and, since we live so close here in the Northwest, we won’t lose track of each other now!