Kerry Was In Frisco For Summer Of Love?

[DrFunkenstein]

Kerry graduated Yale in 1966, then went on to the Naval academy. This is his own words describing his first training assignments for the Navy.

"Training was tough, and exhilarating. I also got some plum training assignments-- I first went to California as a freshly minted naval officer and was assigned to remarkably difficult duty -- Treasure Island, San Francisco. I got to know San Francisco dangerously well for a 23 year old as I learned how to navigate complex challenges -- the Filmore West, the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones.

After coming back from my first tour of duty in Vietnam, I was then assigned gunboat command and went to Coronado, San Diego to train. Again it was tough -- living in an apartment on Pacific Beach -- surfing everyday until we dropped -- returning from survival training in the mountains to the greatest beer I ever tasted.

We made the most of that time, feeling very young and invincible even as we trained for the missions of our lives. "

http://www.usmilitarysupport.org/veterans_history/john_kerry.html

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[WilliamPitt]

1. Got to get back to Tennessee, Jed

:)

[RevolutionStartsNow]

2. Hey Will...

you're not...no, you can't be...are you a Dead Head?

[VolcanoJen]

3. Not sure about Kerry *or* Will, but...

... I'd have given anything to have experienced those days.

Goin' home, goin' home, by the riverside I will rest my bones,
Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul.

Going to plant a weeping willow,
On the bank's green edge it will grow, grow, grow.
Sing a lullaby beside the water,
Lovers come and go, the river roll, roll, roll.

:-)
Jennifer

[blm]

13. Me, too...

a little too young at the time...but, I sure do love the free expression exhibited at the time, except I was a dedicated jock through most of the late 60s and 70s.

btw...one day if I ever meet you all, I have some great stories about a few of the Dead that may amuse you. I first met them in 78 under unusual circumstances.

[WilliamPitt]

4. Hell yes I am

Best. Band. Ever.

[DrFunkenstein]

5. I'm Not A Dead Head, But

Workingman's Dead and American Beauty are classics.

[WilliamPitt]

6. Indeed

[VolcanoJen]

9. Biggest. Hell. Yeah. Ever.

I just can't express how comforting it is to me, to know that not only do DUers share in thoughtful, progressive political views, but have amazing taste in music, too.

If there's one regret I have in life, it's that I was just too damned young to be turned onto the Dead while they were still touring. Now, off to listen to 4/17/78 Duke University, as if I were there...

Almost ablaze still you don't feel the heat
it takes all you got just to stay on the beat.

You say it's a living, we all gotta eat
but you're here alone, there's no one to compete.

If mercy's a business, I wish it for you
more than just ashes when your dreams come true.

Fire! Fire on the mountain!

Fire on the mountain indeed... DEMS '04!!

[WilliamPitt]

15. Check out 5/8/77

Also known as Cornell '77. On that night, and for that night only, the Dead became the greatest band ever to play anywhere.

16. that whole week

I saw them at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago 5/13/77. I've heard tapes of both shows (Chicago and Cornell). The Chicago show was on the same level as Cornell. (at least in my opinion)Chicago show was the first time I ever saw them so it holds a special place in my memory.

[ET Awful]

12. Wooohooo William

You just earned even more respect from me :)

Standing on the moon
I see the battle rage below
Standing on the moon
I see the soldiers come and go
There's a metal flag beside me
Someone planted long ago
Old Glory standing stiffly
Crimson, white and indigo - indigo

I see all of Southeast Asia
I can see El Salvador
I hear the cries of children
And the other songs of war
It's like a mighty melody
That rings down from the sky
Standing here upon the moon
I watch it all roll by - all roll by

[JackSwift]

7. Jack's a Dead Head too

and spent the Summer of Love in San Francisco. And I remember it. SF State, the Black Panthers, the Haight Ashbury and goin to Grandma's house 'cuz Mom and Dad needed a few hours off.

[whirlygigspin]

8. please don't call it Frisco

you'll get the locals all riled up.

[GalleryGod]

11. The City of St. Francis, Thank you Very Much!

Keep Goin' Senator Kerry!

[goobergunch]

19. What he said (n/t)

14. I was there too

My father went to Stanford from September of 66 to June of 67.
He took me to the first MayDay antiwar rally at Kesar Stadium in 67 where Coretta Scott King spoke and Country Joe sang; and also brought me along to a weekly non-violence class taught by Roy Kepler of Kepler's Bookstore at the Free University at Stanford.
Even though I was only 10 I could tell that the energy in that place that year was not ordinary.

[Scaramouche]

10. Was Kerry part of Dog Fight???

I'm sure we would have seen him out here...

[DrFunkenstein]

18. Are You Referring To The River Phoenix Movie?

Or was this an actual occurence? I LOVE that movie. Between that and My Own Private Idaho, you know that we truly lost one of the greatest actors of a (my) generation.

[Bandit]

17. I was in the same places at the same time

I lived four blocks off Haight in late 66 and early 67 was drafted and after I got out I lived four blocks from ocean at Pacific Beach San Diego. They were great times. Kerry has a history I can relate to.