The picture on the left is David Taylor from Greenville, S.C. and that is me on the right. We knew each other in Memphis at AZ school, but were not buddies. However, when saw a familiar face in the Philly airport he latched on to me and we became bunkmates at VQ-2 in January 1972. David was 21 and looked 14 and had lead a sheltered life, I was only 18 but had more life experience so I became like his big brother. He bought a 62 chevy wagon but was afraid to drive it off base so I drove us to to Cadiz to sightsee, Herez to drink some Sandeman Sherry, to Puerto De Santa Maria to see where Columbus left from and to see the infamous prison and to Sanlucar to see the bullfights. I tried to get him to go downtown and do the sailor thing but it seemed everyone thought he was a dependent and all the women wanted to take him home with them. Scared David to death so he would not go with me anymore. I ask him about his size and he told me both his Mom and Dad were very small and he had been tested and they had never found anything wrong with him, but I recall he would get severe headaches. I was injured and sent back to the states, I eventually wrote David some letters and never got a reply. but after I was out of the Navy I received a letter from his mom who had received the unopened letters that had been forwarded to her as you see I wrote him too late. Those headaches became worse after I left and they found a tumor on his pituitary gland. They shipped him to the Navy Hospital in Philly, removed the tumor and the gland. His Mom said he grew about 4 inches after that but he was suppose to take it easy. He went to visit a Navy buddy over the weekend and in his weakened condition he contracted pneumonia and in the short course of a weekend he had died. I am writing this do document our friendship and to share it with others who may have known him at VQ-2. Don t think I ever cried over his passing until I wrote this.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 18:58:46 +0000
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