JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of veterans call the First Coast home and when you combine that with three bases in the area, it's easy to see why the River City is a popular location for Navy reunions.
Recently, the USS Davis held its annual reunion in Jacksonville.
"My dad spent 27 years in the Navy, I only spent 22. I didn't like it as much as he did," joked Larry Lewis during the reunion.
After spending 22 years in the Navy, Lewis retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in 1987. His most memorable moment came in Djibouti while stopping for fuel.
"I was sitting in the chief's mess, and they passed a note for for-duty weapons and I asked what's it all about," Lewis told First Coast News. "And he said, 'Chief you need to come back here' and I said, 'This better be important,' so, I went back there and there's six goats on the fantail."
The Somalian government presented the goats to the Navy as a token of appreciation for everything the Navy and the USS Davis had done while docked.
"We couldn't tell them to get those things off our ship so, I had to go back and build a goat pen," said Lewis.
To protect the goats, another chief put a tarp over the goat pen to keep the sun off them... but this was also at the height of the Cold War.
"We're underway and there's Russian helicopters flying low," Lewis recalled. "They were wanting to see what secret weapon we're hiding under the tarp. It comes out as six goats."
All jokes aside, Lewis says the Navy shaped him as a man.
"I think pride is the biggest factor," Lewis said. "You're proud of what you did, you're proud of the friends you make... this guy and this guy both worked for me on the ship, it's a big family."
The USS Davis was decommissioned in 1982 but alumni of the ship have been meeting every year since 1998. More information about the USS Davis Association can be found here.
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