301 Hazeltine
Today while I was waiting for Diane to finish shopping I used my GPS and found what used to be the United States Naval Reserve Center at 301 Hazeltine Avenue in Jamestown, New York. It was here that I came in June of 1972 to inquire about service in the United States Navy. It was here that I enlisted on June 21, 1972 for six years in the United States Naval Reserve. Little did I know how much that decision would impact my life both in the short and long term.
I was anxious and uncertain about what the future held for me, but it was the calm assurance of Petty Officers’ Leonard Fuller and Dan Slocum who reassured me. I never met Mr. Fuller again. Like most of my naval friends and acquaintances he has vanished. I later ran into Dan Slocum when he served on the school board at Franklinville Central School. As I stood there today looking at the building and enjoying the lovely day I thought of how often in the past several years that I wished I had kept up with my shipmates. That was one of the mistakes I made, I lost contact. I look for them by name sometimes in Google searches, but find only the names of surgeons I worked with never the Corpsmen and other enlisted men and women with whom I served. All lives have regrets and that is one of mine.