After attending a ceremony at a local cemetery I decided to look up an old friend I haven't had contact with in roughly 16 years. Ex-army, "nam door gunner - we worked together on & off for many years, spent many a evening at one house or the other. I moved to a southern state way back when, and we drifted apart as happens. He passed at 71 two years ago.... He and his wife had split so I was never notified. Moral: Keep up with your old friends!!
Several years after leaving the Navy, I was contacted by e-mail by a shipmate. He had stayed in, an ET2 when I knew him, he was just getting ready to retire as an ETC (Chief Petty Officer). He shoulda made ETCS, but he didn't play politics. Never heard from him or any others since. I found my ship's crew registry on a Navy website. Many names I recognised. I logged myself onto it, and tried e-mailing a few shipmates. No bites yet.
"Together we served" does a lot of that. You join, post up and checkin when you like. Takes a while, not everyone joins, and it takes a while for the scoop to surface. Sorts several different ways.
