In
1957 (he at
the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the family living in nearby Levittown,
Pa) he got orders to Pearl Harbor. We were there in Pearl Harbor
(actually naval housing called Radford Terrace) thru Aug of '60. It was
that summer of 1960 that we enjoyed playing 13-15 year old Babe Ruth
League Baseball on a team
called the "Kawishiwi Beavers". We played our games at "Ward Field" on
Pearl Harbor. I'm advised the field still stands today.
A few of us
from that Kawishiwi Beavers team were selected to play on a Babe
Ruth League All Star team that summer of '60.....playing against other
such teams from around Hawaii, playing for the state championship. We
won that State Championship that August of '60.....and our
all star team went off to Utah to play in the National Championships
where we finished second losing the title game 4-3.
Though our
team-mates returned to Hawaii......my father already had his transfer
orders to the Boston Naval Yard. So, our family continued east from
Utah. We settled in Marlborough, Massachusetts. While there, my father
got his final "sea duty orders" to report to the aircraft carrier
"Ranger". Beyond that (after I was out of high school) he was
transferred to the Philadelphia Naval Yard around 1965.....and was
fortunate enough to get yet another transfer to Hawaii in 1967 (this
time stationed at Kaneohe). By that time my Mom and Dad were pretty
much on their own with us kids (3 of us) out there in the world on our
own.
So, that's a quick trip thru the Reynolds'
family's military coming's and going's..........and how I came to be
associated with the Kawishiwi name
I know for sure (besides that 1960 baseball
season playing for the Kawishiwi sponsored Babe Ruth League team) the
Kawishiwi sponsored that team in 1959 as well although I wasn't on the
team that year.
I have in the past year located some
other boyhood friends from our time in Hawaii.....a few of those who
also played for the Kawishiwi sponsored Babe Ruth League team with me.
With a little time on my hands last week I
decided to "punch in" the Kawishiwi name on the computer to see if by
chance the ship may have a mention somewhere.....and wondering if it
might still be "a-float" out there. Robert Taylor, who apparently is
involved in "crew reunions" of the Kawishiwi was prompt to respond to
my e-mail. Imagine what a pleasant surprise it was to learn he was a
crew member on the Kawishiwi right there in Hawaii during the very time
the ship was sponsoring our Babe Ruth League team play that summer of
'60!! He also mentioned having seen us play a few games at that time!!
My,
my......what wonderfully interesting discovers this computer age can
lead us to
My
father passed away in May of last year and is among those to find their
final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.
Byron
Reynolds
Marlborough,
Ma
Jan
19, 2004 8am
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