| January
1970, The trip across the Pacific was concered mainly with catching up
on work and preparing the ship for our arrival in Pearl Harbor. We
were assigned to refuel four more ships before our return home. One
day out of Hawaii, we met the replenishment detail for the last time of
the 1969-70 WestPac cruise. It was during this last "unrep" that
the USS MONTICELLO collided with us while making her approach on the Kawishiwi.
fortunately the collision was not serious, and there was no one injured
on either ship. The damage was only superficial, and we were able
to complete the refueling without further mishap.
The next day, February 6,
was the one we had all been anxiously awaiting, our return to Pearl Harbor
and out loved ones. We started one month of leave and upkeep that
day, and many of the crew commenced their well deserved leave periods.
The ship stayed in port during the remainder of February and all of March.
We started operations again
in early April. At that time we were assigned as duty MidPac oiler.
We refueled three aircraft carriers and several destroyers during the first
part of April and on the 14th of april we got underway as primary logistics
support and secondary recovery ship for
the Apollo 13 lunar mission.
During
this time we refueled USS Iwo Jima, the primary recovery ship. Un fortunately,
we were not close enough to the splashdown area to see the space capsule
return to Earth. It was a great source of pride to the officers and
men of the Kawishiwi to take part in this important mission. Capt.
Meyer |
Typical
Beach
|
