My dad was stationed on the Essex, and now I'm a 20 year UPS driver in and around Quonset. Bring back the Air Show!

I was in quonset in 1961 to 1963. In HS-13 and later in HS-5. I was an AK before shipping out to Nea Makri Greece. We were TAD on the lake Champ and had a good friend on the Essex. I am now 80 years old.

@marcberm

Жыл бұрын

Love hearing firsthand memories and accounts! Thank you for your service!!

My Dad was in the Seabees and stationed at Davisville from the late 1950's until he retired in the mid-70's. He was a heavy equipment operator and mechanic. He was part of the Construction Battalion that built McMurdo Station in Antarctica for the National Science Foundation. This was before they had planes that could land/take off from Antarctica during winter, so when he was deployed, he would be gone anywhere from 8 to 15 months at a time. The only link he had to his family at that time was through ham radio operators who would relay his calls across the world. I can still remember being a child and talking to him on the phone when he was "on the ice." We had to say "over" when we'd complete a sentence to give all the ham operators time to press their receiver buttons up and down. Dad took a lot of slides of his time on the ice, some of which were published in a book about Davisville. I remember when the Chapel in the Pines was built by the Seabees, as a training exercise, I believe. We went to church their every Sunday. My brother was married in that church in 1969 right before he went into the Navy to become a Seabee himself. My sister worked in the movie theater on base and my mother was a clerk typist on base as well. In fact, at one point or another, we all worked on the base, either at Quonset or Davisville. Because we were Navy, these two bases were "our town." We shopped there, played there (bowling alley, swimming pool, model car racing, boating), socialized there, went on dates there. It was our world. Dad, along with a team of others, also organized and built the original Quonset/Davisille Yacht Club. Dad was, I believe, the first Harbor Master there. We would go out on our boat every year to watch the Blue Angels perform during the Navy Carnival. That was always the social highlight of the year. It was hard to watch the base be dismantled and to see the surrounding area (North Kingstown) become a ghost town as all the businesses that once supported the military shut down. Those were hard times for folks then- our little "town" (aka the base) no longer existed. Thanks for doing a piece on this. It brought back many fond memories and many sad ones as well (the Vietnam War era and the deaths of so many men we knew). By the way, I learned something not too long ago that you might find of interest. When the government took over the land for Quonset and Davisville, all the cemeteries that were on that acreage had to be moved. They dug up all the graves and relocated them to the Quidnessett Cemetery. I got this info on a tour of Quidnessett with North Kingstown town historian Tim Cranston. If you do any more videos about the NK area, you might want to chat with him first. He is a wealth of information. Again, thanks for the video. Great to see my old stomping grounds!

@marcberm

Жыл бұрын

Such a great story thank you for sharing!! And so glad you enjoyed the video! 😊

I am impressed!

@marcberm

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😊

Very informative!!

@marcberm

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😊

The Seabee statue at the beginning is on the front cover of a "Weird RI"-type book.

@andrewdevrell8058

2 жыл бұрын

Also, half of Australia was built on "corrugated iron". I wonder if some of it was sourced from Quonset huts used in or near Australia?

@marcberm

2 жыл бұрын

@@andrewdevrell8058 I don't see why not. Use what you've already got!

My dad was stationed there in the 60s as an enlisted member when Chapel in the Pines on Davisville was built. it was the first concrete slab building of its kind. He later came back in the early 70s as an officer where he retired. I remember riding all over that base on my bike as a kid. There is a bomb shelter that we got into. It was located across from Jay Dr in North Kingstown. Also remember Dogpatch Beach

@marcberm

9 ай бұрын

Neat! Didn't know about the slab construction style history. I imagine the bunker across Jay is long gone.. Looks like athletic fields across the bike path that used to be the train track.

I was homeported at Davisville with NMCB 40 in the early 70s in fact 40 relocated to port Hueneme when I was discharged I have to get back and visit nice video

Aww, I thought my Quonset hut aka “Quonnie” was gonna be a pic in this story ..maybe next time:-) I love old bases, I used to belong to the usaf, retired now. But so much fun having access while in uniform and not getting hassled by the gate guards.

@marcberm

2 жыл бұрын

I'm usually just cautious about picturing people's actual property so it didn't even occur to me! 😀

Grew up nearby and remember the Navy Sky Raider planes flying late into the night during the Vietnam war. Dozens of them going around for hours on end many nights a week back then.

My Dad was with VF - 33 and I was born here in 1951 .

@marcberm

Жыл бұрын

I love that there are still folks around to tell of their firsthand memories of the installation when it was in operation!

@paulharnad777

Жыл бұрын

@@marcberm my uncle Charlie Walker was the Jar Head at the main gate after coming home from Korea and being wounded at the Chosin Reservoir . I spent a lot of time at Quonset ... most recently me and my grandson were there visiting the Collings institutes B-17 named 909 , and a week later the 909 crashed in CT

@ECoov

10 ай бұрын

You beat me by a year. I was born at NAS Quonset Point in 52. My dad was a submariner stationed at NS New London, there wasn't a maternity ward there. Guess Naval Air Stations are in my blood as I later spent 29 years on them flying SP2H Neptune's and P-3 Orion's.

Stationed on the USS Wasp 69-71 then ar the Quonset naval air station until Oct 1973 as an air traffic controller,

A friend of the family was head electrician at Quonset, he told how it was taking too much time sending crews out to replace lights, so he changed the procedure he had a crew that rotated through the buildings changing out what needed to be done freeing up other crews to other work. I remember sometime during the 60's seeing an air show from a boat off Qounset point there was a raised platform maybe 100 yards off shore and some kids had climbed onto it until the Blue Angels did a low pass and they quickly made a drive off the platform. We nearly died laughing.

@marcberm

2 жыл бұрын

That's awesome! I've been getting so many great stories from these videos, thank you!

There was another church on Quonset where I was baptized and I was wondering if you had any information on that church? My Dad was stationed there in the early 60's and Chapel in the Pines was not built yet.

have you found any information about the coast guard detachment that was stationed at Quonset?

I think it was late 70's or so they tore down the old housings and people were stealing all the copper pipes and wires. Whf. I grew up on Jamestown Island. If you visit the Jamestown Marina tell em the "Eller Boy's" sent you.

Good video, but should have been titled "History of Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center" because not a lot of history of Naval Air Station Quonset Point.

No mention of seagulls WHATSOEVER! Dislike! Unsubbed! 😀