Sasebo, Japan
CHRISTMAS 1967
HS-6, aboard the USS Kearsarge, arrived in Sasebo, Japan, on 23 December 1967 for some well-deserved R&R. SAR Det Charlie remained behind on Yankee Station to attend to the needs of those unfortunate souls who ran afoul of North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gunners.
We arrived on a cold and snowy day. Things went from bad to worse as Kearsarge approached her berth at the refueling pier. A fire, fueled by a broken line from the oxygen generating plant, broke out in an aviation stores compartment below decks and one of our squadronmates, AK1 Kenneth Edwards, was killed.
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| LA Times Article - 24 December 1967 |
Kearsarge was towed back out into the harbor to a safe anchorage until the fire was extinguished and casualties were accounted for.
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| Some luck guys had loved ones awaiting their arrival | Mt Fuji as the wives' JAL flight begins its approach to Tokyo |
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| View of the from the Hotel Banshoro | ||
| The snow continued throughout our stay in Sasebo and even though hotel staff insisted that the snow never accumulated that far South, we ended up with over 6 inches on the ground | ||
| Christmas 1967 | ||
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| Ken & Helen Burns outside the Sasebo "O" Club | Christmas Dinner Menu at the "O" Club | L-R: Dave Weighton, Mike Tierney, Rick Grant, Jim Rooney, Rich Keenan, Dave Grossglass and Vern Von Sydow enjoy Christmas dinner |
| New Year's Eve 1967 | |
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| Tickets: six dollars, | A menu adorned by renowned artist Wilton J. Smith: Priceless! |
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| New Years Day finery |
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| Kathy Runyon & Helen Burns at a Shinto Temple | Ken & Helen Burns at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial |
Created: 12/21/06