
The "Goose"along side
the sub tender USS Proteus in 1962 in port at Holy Loch, Scotland
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Photo credit: Walkingfox
Bagpipe Wav Credit:
Iowa State
On my first trip and liberty in
Scotland,
I jumped into a cab (the driver
was on the right side)
and had him slowly drive me around Holy Loch.

View from Starboard Aft of the "Goose" April
1962
Photo credit: Bill Malloy & Bob "Skinny" Scannell
|
I stopped at a pub for a warm dark draft beer
and then reported back to the
"goose."
Just as I thought, Holy Loch and all of Scotland
was a beautiful place and
the people
were warm and friendly.

Holy Loch, Scotland April 1962
Photo credit: Bill Malloy & Bob "Skinny" Scannell
|
On my second trip, I joined some shipmates
on a Liberty pass and we went to
the Blarney castle
and then took a
slow trip around Cork, Ireland.
as with Scotland, Ireland was a
really
beautiful country too and I never
tired of
visiting either of them.
While in Cork we stopped at a pub (just for a test mind you)
and I noticed that the local country men
prided
themselves at guessing the
country or countries
that my fellow shipmates were from.
When it became my turn, to have a little fun
with them, I gave my American Native name Storey,
instead of saying Kelley because I
knew that my
mothers
side had Irish and Mohegan ancestry.
that was the first time that I found out
that
I had Irish on
both sides of my family.
well shut my mouth!
On later trips I got to
visit Dublin
and Belfast, Ireland.
they were just as beautiful.

The Robert L Wilson DD 847 April 1962
Photo credit: Bill Malloy & Bob "Skinny" Scannell
|
For any of you who have been to
Holy Loch,
there is a great place to list your
information,
in case you want to get in
touch with others
who have served there.
The Holy Loch email List:
http://thistlegroup.net/holyloch/email-list.html
Post script:
I feel very
sad for some of the bitterness that I have read
in different places on the Internet about the
presence of our US Naval forces in Scotland
during
the Cold War era of the Sixties.
I
personally can remember nothing but kindness and
friendship
from each of my many trips to that beautiful country.


You can contact me at:
ussbetelgeuse
at centurylink.net

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