Lacoochee

A Welder and His Sailor Son

Repair Ship, USS CADMUS (AR-14). commissioned 04/23/1946 at Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc, Tampa, FL; courtesy of J. W. Hunnicutt

By J. W. HUNNICUTT

During WW2 many men and women from East Pasco County worked in the ship yards of Tampa Shipbuilding, Inc., in Tampa. My dad, Joe Hunnicutt, was one of those who commuted daily to Tampa from Lacoochee. He drove his car and the men who rode with him pooled their ration coupons to buy enough gas for the daily trip. On August 5, 1945, the repair ship, USS CADMUS (AR-14) was launched and it was christened by Veronica Lake, the blond movie actress of peek-a-boo bang fame. My dad was a welder with the construction crew for that ship. Ironically, 13 years later I was in the Navy and assigned to the CADMUS for two and one-half years where I served as court reporter. The CADMUS was decommissioned in 1971 and sold to the Republic of China in 1974 where she was recycled.

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