From Bob (Andy) Anderson.

MIDWAY DETOUR
in February 1965 the Segundo was in transit from Yokasuka Japan to Pearl Harbor and then on home to San Diego when we received a radio message instructing us to divert to Midway Island, refuel, take on 90 days of supplies and be prepared to go back. As we approached Midway the island seemed so small and at its highest point I don't think it was more than ten feet above sea level. As we approached the channel to Midway Island, I was amazed to see the rusted hulks of Japanese and American warships aground on the corral reefs all victims of the Battle of Midway some twenty years earlier. Maneuvering through the narrow channel that was cut through a corral reef was a challenge as it was not that well marked but we made it in to the fueling pier and tied up. In the photo gallery there is a good picture of the boat tied to the pier at Midway. There were a lot of pissed off sailors on the Segundo that day and a number of the crew that was not involved in the fueling process decided to check out the island. We wandered down the beach for a while and to work off our frustration we took target practice on the goony birds with rocks we found on the beach. We then headed over to a store that was on the base and bought a couple of cases of beer again to work off frustration. While in the store I got an envelope and a scrap of paper and wrote a quick note to my wife telling her we probably wouldn't be home as scheduled. We then found a nice spot on the beach where we could continue our assault on the goony bird population and drink the beer. A couple of hours went by and most of us were feeling no pain when one of our shipmates came running down the beach and told us that we had received another message giving the boat the OK to continue to Pearl Harbor and await further orders. We left the beer that had not been drunk on the beach, there wasn't much left, and headed back to the boat. There was a lot of excitement, screaming and yelling and several guys dove off the boat into the water in celebration. Then the word was passed to set the maneuvering watch so we could get underway. Even though a number of us were buzzed in good submariner style we were able to perform our maneuvering watch duties with the utmost of precision. We left Midway Island in our wake and I think it took five or six days to reach Pearl Harbor. When we were tied up at the Submarine pier in Pearl Harbor, I ran down to the end of the pier to the pay phone so I could call the states. My mother in law answered the phone as my wife was crying and upset having just received my letter an hour earlier. I was able to calm her down by telling her we were in Hawaii and would be heading for San Diego soon.