| Photos from Glenn Krochmal ET3 1962-63
In April 2008 Glenn Krochmal revisited Villefranche Sur
Mer with his wife. Here's what he had to say:
"....We stayed in Monaco and it has changed substantially.
Huge apartment buildings were everywhere. My first thought was, this trip
was for naught as the changes over 4+ decades has substantially changed
all that I remember. Two days later we took the train (it might have
been one of the cars from 1963) to Villefranche. When we alit from
the train and walked down the hill to the “Ville”, I noticed that the ticket
booth was gone. Tickets had become electronic and dispersed from machines.
We walked down the waterfront and it was almost the same as the last time
I was ashore from the Little Rock. As we walked southwards on the shore,
I noticed that there is now a large building where the fleet landing used
to be. My wife and I climbed to the 04 level looking for the Montana Bar.
The building was there with the same furniture, but the name had changed.
We had lunch at one of the many bistros on the water. My wife indicated
I had an idiotic grin on my face and asked why. I told her that in
my mind I could see my cruiser swinging on her anchor in the bay.
I visualized myself and my shipmates as we were at 19 & 20 years
of age. For a moment, I felt like the sailor I was, but alas, youth
has passed. But regardless of how many years go by, the years on the Little
Rock helped define the man I became."
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