April 30, 2006 - My Name is D. Lew Holley and I was stationed on board the USS Richard S. Edwards for the 1966 WestPac cruise to Vietnam. Danny Huff (ship's band) was my running mate and so was Tom Hayes! I have a movie of Tom Hayes "taking a sun tan" on the O-1 deck on that cruise. Wow! I am so glad to have found you guys, but sorry for the demise of the Edwards. I was the Gig Cox'en for awhile (the new fiberglass gig) and the ship's driver upon return to the States. Then I received orders for Swift Boats and returned to Vietnam in May 1969. I returned home safely and in one piece in May 1970 after running many rivers in the Delta and after earning my Combat Action ribbon on PCF-89 with OinC Michael Sayre, Ltjg (now retired.) Oh, I used to run the bosun locker too on the Edwards, and was responsible for the paint locker and the O-1 deck, stacks, gig, etc. That was a long time ago! I think Harmon still owes me ten bucks too! I think he was from Alabama (and so was I at the time.) We had a first class bosun mate named Delahaney - an old timer. I think he was from New York. His mother died while we were in Vietnam - he went home for the funeral and returned (I think) worth over a million bucks. I have some great old movies of our trip across the Equator too. I had it transf. to VHS years ago. I remember the competition between the Avis and Hurtz watches while on the gun line. I have movies of our trip to Hong Kong too. The Richard S. Edwards was my first and only cruise ship. I remember when Commander Owens was killed in an auto accident and how sad we all were. He was such a great guy! Anyway, it is great remembering all the old times. I would love to make it to Nashville this summer to attend the reuinon, but I won't be able to.

For anyone who reads this and is interested in making contact:

email me at lewholley@comcast.net (I check it every day)
call me at 517-699-4175
call my cell 517-230-1592 (on all the time)
write me at Lew Holley 5115 Killarney Dr. Holt, MI 48842-2910

I would love to hear from any of you, from the cruise of 1966! Remember when we Pollywogs had the big egg fight before crossing the Equator?

Take care!
Lew Holley BM3
1966

Lew,

I enjoyed reading about your adventures with the Ready Eddie. My wife was only a year old, she was a 1965 model. Hope to see you in Nashville.

I need to correct my mistake in the previous note. It was Commander Blair who was killed in and accident after we returned to the states from our Westpac cruise. My Apology.
Lew Holley

Need to correct another mistake from my first message. I was on the 1967 - 1968 cruise to Vietnam with Commander Blair, not the 1966 cruise. I still have my copy of the cruise book as well.

Are you sure you were on the Edwards!!!!!LOL