New Years Eve
I was at the WM's Club (that's Woman Marine's Club) at USMCAS Cherry Point, N.C.. I had a blind date for New Years Eve. He was a nice fella but not my type at age 18. Private Mary Judith Daniel, W712805 Military ID. They weren't using social security numbers then. I can hardly believe that I still remember it but they did drill it into us. We recited it over and over again while in boot camp at Paris Island, SC. Yep, I joined while still in High School and was considered in the reserves until June when I entered boot camp. Well, anyway, like I was saying, I was at the club that night and among friends there because I hung out there most every day. It was within walking distance from the barracks so my bunkie and I often walked over after chow.
Anyway, the fella I was with didn't dance and I did so I was out on the floor with or without a partner. Sometime near midnight I spotted two guys dancing without partners so I entered in with permission, and danced too. There the three of us were doing the twist I think, or some such. The clock struck midnight and Skip grabbed me and kissed me full on. It wasn't quite that dream kiss one would hope for. Actually it was anything but. The romantic thing was that when the kiss was done I told him to not let go of me because I didn't want to kiss my date who was approaching. So, he didn't let go and my date didn't try to intervene, he went back to his seat. I thought I'd escaped but I hadn't because when I did go back to my seat, he was waiting. Fast forward to the following day. I was ready and waiting for Skip to arrive to pick me up for the date he had asked me for the night before. Once he got to the barracks to pick me up the date lasted until February 16th, 1963. We married at the Methodist Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C. at 2 pm. He, Skip, had turned 20 in December and I was still 18. Just kids.
We pretty much grew up together. By the 42nd year of marriage we had lived a whole lot of life, unlike most other folks. He retired a Gunnery Sargent after 21.5 years. That included many war games away from home, two overseas tours approximately 14 months each time. Viet Nam for the second overseas tour but the first was originally Okinawa in 1963 then to and from Viet Nam twice for the better part of the 14-16 months. We moved every 2 years until his twilight tour, which was his last overseas tour and that was to Hawaii with family. Yay!!! Of course we had children those first two homecomings, both girls. We did have one more baby in October of 1969 I think. Our only son James Allen Chase, Jr. was stillborn at full term. Hard times were not unfamiliar to us. But I do have to say that our lives were not without adventure and just plain fun to say the least. Skip was fun challenging us girls to trudge through the snow to the 7-11 just to get a coke, or black berry picking along with the mosquitoes and stickers. I can't really think of anything we wanted to do that we didn't eventually try. Sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but not for lack of trying. It was a whirl wind romance from the get go with all the troubles nearly, that most marriages go through and we kept on keeping on through it all, together. I wouldn't trade it for anything or anyone else. We were a good looking couple, a good looking family. We still are.
Thanks for dropping in.... 'til we meet again, Blessings. Judy
