Sharing Kennedy experiences

The Times-Union has quite a spread on the USS John F. Kennedy, including a page one piece on what the loss of the carrier means to Jacksonville businesses, homeowners and others. Also there are interviews with Kennedy veterans about their memories of the aircraft carrier, which will be decommissioned on March 23. (See it all in today's paper and here at Jacksonville.com).

Reading all those stories reminded me of a gentleman I spoke with before I sailed on the Kennedy from Boston to Jacksonville. His name is Dick Koehler, of Jacksonville. That's Lt. Cmdr. Koehler in the photo above. He served on the Kennedy 1974-1976, as the maintenance officer for an A-7 attack jet squadrons.

The routine for Koehler consisted of long days, working 12 hours or more a day, seven days a week. Koehler spent 30 years in the Navy, and he said his time on the Kennedy was among the best. He said he loved the food, the camaraderie and keeping those jets flying.

"It was like being part of a floating city," he said.

We'd love to hear from other Kennedy sailors in the coming weeks. Feel free to e-mail me at jeff.brumley@jacksonville.com or post comments here on the blog for others to read.

Jeff