Joel West
Was assigned to MCB11 after boot camp. I enlisted as a Seabee and
had blue strips in boot camp 02/04/66. went to A school at Port Hueneme
02/22/66. Joined the battalion at Da Nang, assigned to Monkey Mountain blasting
crew 08/08/66. Returned to Port Hueneme 12/00/66. Deployed to Dong Ha. tdy to
Khe Sanh some time after Cheif Barnes KIA at Khe Sanh 02/00/67. Returned to Port
Hueneme 12/00/67. Deployed to Quang Tri. Worked on the runway but mostly ran
road grader and TS-24 hauling dirt 05/06/68. Returned to Port Hueneme 12/00/68.
Discharged from the Navy 01/30/69. I went back to work at GraniteCity (Illinois)
Steel and continued to work there until 12/1/2000, when I retired. I am now
working at South Side Machine Works in St. Louis, Missouri as a sales
consultant. My best friends in the Bee's were: Danny Truissi/ Pawcatuck,
Connecticut-Dan Brown/ Yonkers, NewYork- Dan Casson/Louisville, Kentucky. If
anyone knows them or can get in touch with them, please let me know. I loved the
Seabee's even thru the adversity that MCB 11 was subjected too. God Bless all
Seabee's and their family.