On my first 14 month tour overseas I was stationed at Camp McGill, Japan, which was about 10 miles from Yokosuka Naval Base. I arrived in July 1956. Almost a year later, the Japanese Government wanted all Marine ground troop to move off of the Mainland. We packed up the 3rd. Mar. Div., vacated McGill and moved to North Camp Fuji in preparation of moving to our new headquarters in Okinawa. I was at North Camp for only a few months before I was rotated back to the States.
Eight months later I was back on Okinawa. This time I was stationed at Camp Hansen, which at the time was a tent city. This was home of the 3rd. Tank Batt. This was located about 10 miles from Ishakawa, our home liberty town. In the next several months the base was up-graded to “Quonset Huts”, a BIG improvement.
Around that time, Lebanon was heating up and we stood by to deploy there. One night IT hit the fan and we boarded ships. I guess the 2nd. Div. beat us to the punch, because en-route we were diverted to Singapore and were there for a month or so. Along the way we also had to go to the Taiwan Straits because of more unrest in that area. By the time we got back to the Rock I rotated home and was discharged.
The pix is of my buddies and I aboard the USS Catamount [LSD 17} somewhere during that time. On the left standing is Ryan, Happeney, Engle; I am kneeling and waving and on my left is Davis.
These were some of the best years of my life.
Ray Skarzynski
Sgt. E-4