79-80 WestPacKen's WestPac Photos - USS Flasher SSN-613

I was on the USS Flasher from October 1979 through November 1982. During that time we made two WestPac deployments, one short WestPac, and spent some time at Mare Island shipyard. This page has some of the photo's from those trips. To view the (much) larger version of any of these just click on the photo.

*** New Stuff *** - Great sketches from the times underway!

The boat pulled into Pearl Harbor twice. The first time, in 1979, we pulled in the day before Thanksgiving and pulled back out the next morning. The next time was a bit longer, thanks to the refrigeration compressors. Pull into Hawaii, off load the freezer into the dumpster, and sit in port for a bit while everything is repaired. This shot is from the beach at Waikiki.

Sunset in Hawaii
Dave and Glenn The first actual "overseas" stop was Guam. Guam was sort of the halfway house of a WestPac. It's a US territory, so the money, laws and most other things are the same. On the other hand it is not a state, and it is much different than being in Hawaii. This photo is of Glenn Forstner and Dave Stephenson at a park in Guam. This would have been on the second WestPac. This was during the late fall / winter - or Dave would have never had that shirt on!
One of the best things to do in Guam was swimming. There were numerous spots to snorkel and dive at. This is a shot of Dennis Leahy (foreground) and Ken Weber in the back. Ken and Dennis
Liberty boat to Grande Island

Next stop after Guam was the Philippines. Now you're talking overseas. The US Navy base at Subic Bay was of course the stopping point. I doubt that most people made it past Subic City. As soon as you left the gate of the Navy base you faced a seemingly endless street full of bars, shops and more bars. "Mojo make you smart" indeed.

In the harbor is Grande Island. This shot was taken from the boat that ran from the naval base out to the island.

Grande Island is in the harbor at Subic Bay. Several gun emplacements from WWII are still there. In this photo we see Milt Sweet (who looks as if he was at sea a bit too long), Glenn and another shipmate, possibly Lt. McCormick. Milt had been at sea a looong time...
Go Speed Racer! Besides the obvious things things to do at a town outside a Navy base, the base itself had some recreation. Here we see Steve Rentz of the RC division (thanks to Jack Osborne for the name) driving one of the Go-Carts on the base track. A you can tell from the paint job, the "No Bumping" rule was pretty much ignored.
Another stop on the WestPac's was Korea. Home of the "World's Famous PUNNING Shoes". Punning Shoes?
Ron in Korea This is Ron from E-Div in Korea. Doesn't he look happy!
A few boat photo's to close out. This one is looking towards the sail. I don't know any of the names, but would be glad to add them if you let me know. This one was almost certainly shot overseas (judging from the mountains in the background). Possibly Korea. Towards the Sail

Stern view
Another shot of the boat, looking aft. Can't say that I remember why the flag is at half-mast.
And what would be a WestPac without jumpin' gravities. Here we see Leo from E-Div all dressed up for an equalizing battery charge.

As I get more images into the computer I'll be extending this page. Still to come are Japan and Australia, along with that jewel of the IO - Diego Garcia!


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