My ship

 I served on the U.SS KOELSCH DE-1049 FROM 71-75.

Our home port was Mayport, which we didn't see much of, as we were always taking six-month cruises to places like the Med and the Indian Ocean. As a young man of 18, life aboard a naval ship was an experience like crossing the equator twice and becoming a golden shellback. I visited too many places to remember, but many have stayed with me in memories I hold close to my heart. France, Italy, Spain, Majorca, South Africa, Gibraltar, and many more ports of call; I made brothers for life and visualize their faces some 50 years later. I can remember many cold nights on the signal bridge as a signalman, a rating that no longer exists. On a visit to Buffalo, New York, I visited the Sullivan brothers, a WWII ship now a museum, where I could roam the decks and get as close as I could to the Navy way of life. She's been decommissioned a while now and sails the oceans no more. But the Koelsch will forever live on in my memories as I feel the salt spray on my face and the endless seas of blue.

Mike 2026