I stopped by the spot where I spent nearly a year of my young life as a sailor to see what had become of the old Naval Training Center Orlando Florida. I knew they had closed it, demolished the buildings and built houses and apartments on the site but it was surreal to see it for myself. It was totally foreign, no landmarks to recognize, not a trace I could find of the old base except for one old building but I was so disoriented I couldn’t tell what it used to be. That makes two places I served totally gone including Charleston Navy Base.
We did find the house my future wife at the time lived in and she took a couple of pics of it so all was not lost.
I found some pictures from some other peoples’ sites and I want to include them here. I’ll ask forgiveness and remove them if need be.
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- Across the lake
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- The Bluejacket
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- The Chapel
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- The gate from Winter park
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- Arial of the base
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- Black NTC sign
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- Blue NTC sign
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- Nuke school gate
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- RTC fieldhouse?
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- RTC sign
Good post Daddy-o…. but now I’m depressed
Thanks for the pic of the Chapel! I was so homesick when I was there (Oct of 1983). My brother was a few weeks ahead of me in training, also at Orlando, and someone there took pity on me and arranged for he and I to be able to spend a few minutes together in the Chapel. It was such a gift, as I was SO miserable. I wasn’t aware until just now that they had closed the base. What a shame!
Mary, I just saw your post, so sorry I’m so late in posting it. Yes I was so homesick when I was there and then very sad to find it gone last summer.
I really enjoyed seeing the few remaining land marks. I was in Co. 173 in August, 1969.The barracks we were assigned to had never been occupied..nice clean floor to do push ups on. Seeing the Bluejacket reminded me of poor I was at tying knots. I guess it served the Navy well for me to have gotten into the aviation sector so as not to endanger other sailors from lack of knot tying skills. Again, thanks for the memories.
One other thought. I was from Charlotte, NC and lived a fairly lower middle class life. I rarely if ever got into trouble or hung around trouble-makers. Well, I get off of the bus and enter my new world. This BM1 comes at us screaming about having any contraband. Then he starts rattling off a list of all of these items to include, firearms, bullets, knives, brass knuckles, explosives in any form, and the list went on. I thought to myself, who in the world would have any of these things? Before the thought was complete, all of the above mentioned items were sliding across the floor and into a rather hap-hazard pile near our mentor’s feet. Anyway, I was shocked but that was only the beginning.
I look back and relish those memories and the great sailors that I remember.I guess this thread really hit home because I had lunch today with one of those guys. The good part is that he works not thirty minutes from my home.
Well, I apologize for the rambling, but you started it. Thanks so much.
Bill Pippin
thanks for posting up Bill. I’m right in line with you.