Capt. Kuhlow was, of course, assigned as our liaison.  Per her instructions my son Randy and I arrived at the Bn. headquarters at 14:00. We were met by Ssgt. Scott Heister (a team chief) and Sgt. William Stewart (analyst). These Marines servered as our escorts throughout the day.  They proved to be very knowledgeable  courteous and cooperative. The "skipper" quickly joined us.

 Our first stop was to a class room where we had the distinct privilege to speak to 50-60 (did not hold head count) Officers, SNCOs. NCOs and troops. I did make a concerted effort to refrain from too many "sea stories". I spoke to what our situation was in 1962 and some of our mission activities based on the little I know. The presentation appeared to be well received and there were numerous questions at the end.

 We then were given a sanitized tour of the operations spaces.  We were able to meet with and speak with several personnel.  Our escorts then provided us with a viewing of some of the current equipment ranging from small telephones to huge land/water vehicles.  Once again our escorts were very  informative.  During this portion of the tour the "skipper"  had to leave in order to join her Marines for the upcoming ceremonies.

We then proceeded to the parade field.  While waiting for the ceremony several Officers, SNOs and two civilians approached me and brought up items of info from my past.  I was finally told that my bio. from the web site had been printed and distributed to some. Little did I know that the best was to come.

 When taking seats for the ceremony I was seated front row center, LtCol Rau was on my left and LtCol Carter was on my right.  BGEN. Stewart (head of Marine Corps intelligence) was to the right of LtCol Carter. The ceremony was excellent and certainly emotional for me. In his closing remarks LtCol Carter spoke of my attendance and who I represented.  He had some very positive comments concerning 1st. Comp. Rad. Co.  When he finished these comments (prior to the completion of his remarks)  there was a huge burst of spontaneous applause (I did not see any applause sign) so I assume it was spontaneous.

It is interesting to note that LtCol Carter has labeled 2nd. Rad. Bn.   America's Radio Battalion. This is somewhat humorous to a former CO of 1st Rad Bn who I spoke with.

After the parade I had the privilege to meet the Marines who keep the "skipper" out of trouble. 1st.Sgt David Leikwold and the Ops. chief Msgt Owen Schultz (an old ditty chaser).  Both of these men are rather large and appear more than able to  take care of our "skipper"

We were then invited to the Officers club for a reception.  However, RANDY was worn out and we called it a day.

In closing I must say that the respect and courtesy shown to Randy and I resulted in this being one of my most memorable  life experiences. 

Semper Fi