The Tontine

There is a long dialogue leading up to the actual toast where Colonel Potter explains the history of the bottle and his friends from WWI. The following is the dialogue of the actual toast.

"Here's to you, boys.

To Ryan, who died in W.W.I, the war to end all wars.

To Gianelli, who died in the war after that.

To Stein, the joker of the crowd.

And to Gresky, my best friend who just passed away in Tokyo.

You were the friends of my youth.

My comrades through thick and thin and everything in between.

I loved you fellows, one and all.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Sorry it took so long to respond.

I drink to your memories."

I remember watching that episode from M*A*S*H back in the late 70s. And, I never forgot it.

Fast forward to 2006. My ship that I was stationed on while serving in the United States Navy, held its first reunion almost thirty years to the day that I got out of the navy. It was held in Cody, Wyoming. The turn out couldn't have been better. We must have had 50 guys, and their wives show up. Keep in mind, we hadn't seen each other in 30 years or more.

We all met at the local VFW, spending the next three days and nights reliving long ago memories, and boy did we have a blast. We sat in that bar at the VFW from mid afternoon the first night until closing time swapping stories, memories, and by God, the local old timers got such a kick out of hearing our stories and seeing us laughing, they kept buying us rounds. Alternating between beer and whiskey. One old boy who had to have been close to eighty years of age came over to our table and asked me if I would trade my USS Juneau ball cap for a Cody, Wyoming VFW hat. Naturally I was glad to make the trade. My Juneau cap now sits in place of the cap I was given inside the glass case with the other military paraphernalia.

Later that night while sitting at the table, I looked at the three other guys (the four of us hung around together) when on Liberty, and we worked together down in the boiler room for three and almost four full years. And after telling them the story of Colonol Potter and the Tontine, we decided to go to the liquor store the next day and buy a good bottle of Scotch, and save that bottle for the last surviving member of our group of four. And upon hearing of the the third death and final death, the surviving shipmate is to open that bottle and share it with whoever he chooses but, while telling our stories and our times while we were just kids really, out on liberty in the South Pacific islands getting drunk, and flirting with the native women. And, occassionaly getting thrown in the brig.

The USS Juneau LPD-10, was decommissioned on October 30th, 2008 in San Diego, California. The same Naval base when I first reported aboard her, on March 15, 1975.