Okinawa

It was the fall of 1968 when the Cusk pulled into White Beach for the last time. The first day, we anchored out because a U.S. Destroyer

was tied to the pier and there was no more room. Refueling was a trip because the fuel trucks had to be brought out to the Cusk one at a time in LSTs.

Finally, the destroyer left and we pulled in and had several days of great liberty in "Village 1", "Village 2", "Village 3" and Gate 11 street in downtown Naha.

Today, the bars and stores still line the streets outside Gate 11 at Kadena AFB, but the area appears quite tame from the days when the war in Vietnam

was raging. White Beach has changed considerably as you can see from the pictures below, although the memory's a bit foggy in some areas.

Except for the one in the middle, these pictures were taken in mid-August, 2008, almost 40 years to the day when the Cusk was last there.

Remnants of the old pier

View is southeast from the foot of where the

old wooden pier used to be
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Adjacent beach

View is by the foot of the old pier looking southeast
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Rock Formations

View is by the foot of the old pier looking east
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Old Navy Exchange location

View is by the foot of the old pier looking northeast
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Refueling while at anchor in Okinawa

1968 picture of Cusk being refueled the hard way
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Club on the Hill

Looking north toward the club up on the hill

overlooking White Beach where you could

enjoy "Orion", Okinawa's great beer.
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Old sidewalk from wooden pier

Open the larger version of this picture and if

you look closely, you can see the outline of

the old sidewalk that led away from the pier
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

Exchange Entrance

A huge roof and patio area has been built next

to the old exchange building
(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)

View of White Beach Navy Base

View is looking north from the foot of the old

pier location

(Photo courtesy of Tom Roseland)