Any vets among the Audiophiles here?

Don't be a stranger, Contranel. We can live with your Politics, to each his own. We are just more curious about what kind of Stereo System you have, at the risk of souding a little materialistic. I counter that it is more about the Music, than the material. I don't think that is a bad character flaw. I suggest that we stop looking for character flaws, and converts, and just appreciate the Music we have. Its getting tougher in an aggressively Politically split Society, but we definitely need a Music Vacation from all of the noise.

January '74 the USS Ponchatoula A0-148, home ported out of Pearl, and its crew enters drydock for a 6 month restoration in Guam.

We're not too jazzed about being on Guam, an island 26 miles long and 8 miles wide located in the deepest waters of the Pacific, aka the Mariana trench, but the ships crew is jazzed and motivated to get this restoration project started and completed because everyone knows that a WestPac cruise is on the horizon upon completion of all dry dock repair.

6 months of barrack lodging, with open air cubicles two to a cubicle. You'd enter that barracks each evening and hear every type of music imaginable being played via the latest Sansui's, Pioneer's, Technique's, just to name a few. RR, Jazz, R&B, even Country before Country was kewl. All blending into this seamless sound of feel good energy. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Indian, all shoulder to shoulder and cohabitating side by side in a close environment. I can still sense the smell of empty kegs, and a very vivid memory of hours upon endless hours of playin' SPADES. Trump that!

Those were the good ol' days. And I left out the best part. Bertha Butt, as some of my cohorts named her, a small framed Guamanian gal I dated who'd pick me up outside the barracks in her shiny new '73 Datsun 240 Z. I was 18, and the envy of a barracks full of cats who I left behind listening to their gear because I was one of a few that actually had landed a date with a local. Well, life was good on Guam for some of us. And following drydocks, PI, Bangkok, Singapore, Yokuska, Sydney, Wellington...Ahhhh WestPac...how sweet it was. And made even better every knot of the way by the sounds of Pioneer and Sansui state of the art sound acquired on an E3's salary. $320 a month!

Enjoy

Six Month Restoration in Guam, when Homeported at Pearl? It sounds like you were already on WestPac. Been to those exact same locations on deployment, still remember the best place was Hong Kong. You could get your Nakamichi, Pioneer, Teac, Sony, Stax, Esoteric half price of what you would pay for same back in U.S. Endless shopping for these at the Worlds Largest Mall there in Hong Kong, not to mention the other exotic stuff there. The latest and greatest Technology was readily available there at 1/2 price! Nakamichi was the brand to go for back then, damn good value for the money!

Yes, some of us lived a spoiled existance during their time in, but hey you must admit though having to leave Hawaii and all its worldly charms (at least in '73) behind and being sent to a rock that small was a prison sentence for some. I used to feel bad leavin' all those cats in the barracks...okay for about 30 seconds after rollin' off base.

Hong Kong was a find back in those days, and you're absolutely right, one could buy anything electronic for cheap. If back then I'd have any idea what some of that gear from that generation would be worth nowadays as vintage gear on eBay and other locations I'd have invested some of my mispent $320 a month salary on it just to save for a rainy day. Who knows, I could be livin' it large right now back in Agana, Guam. Nahhhhhhh, but Odessa, Ukraine would be a much better choice. As they say on Guam, Hafadai!

Master Sgt.U.S.Army(Retired)00B-50(Master Diver)1977-1999.I've been out almost 12 years now & I still miss it every day!