USS Kamehameha

(SSN-642) Official Kid's Web Site

Kamehameha Visits Guam

 Hi there!  It's our ship's final voyage to the Western Pacific.  For the first stop in our trip, weíve traveled from our home in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to the island of Guam.  Guam is in the Marianas island chain, and is part of the United States.  Itís a territory like Hawaii was in the 1950's, instead of a state.
 After we untie the ship from the Guam pier and travel around Guam's water (the deepest in the world), we first will perform an exercise with Special Forces personnel.  First, a plane will fly to the water near the ship.  Then, people in the plane jump into the water, and we'll pick them up on the ship and give them lunch.  They brought their bags of tools and equipment with them for a few days of practice leaving the ships in rubber boats and a mini-submarine.

Kam entering Apra Harbor
Here is a picture of the ship driving into Apra Harbor in Guam.  The weather is beautiful, and some of the things we look forward to in Guam are snorkeling and visiting the old .

     Before the exercise, we drove the ship to Apra Harbor.  Apra is a beautiful place, with high cliffs protecting the water in the harbor.  Remains of old Spanish forts are on top of those cliffs, where hundreds of years ago the Spanish guarded their territory.  Guam has been part of many cultures over the centuries, from Chamorro and Spanish to Japanese and American.
     Guam has many beaches like Hawaiiís, and jungles and mountains.  About sixty years ago, airplanes landing on Guam accidentally carried a new visitor to Guamóbrown tree snakes.  The snakes have been a big nuisance, because they eat other animals and have no natural predators on the island.  Guam also has tourists.  Tumon is a town much like Waikiki, with visitors from mostly Japan and others from around the world.  People seem to like the tourists much more than they like the snakes!

We've had a good time here, even though we have had repairs and painting to do aboard the ship.  There is a submarine visiting Guam from Japan coming soon, but I think we'll leave before the other sub arrives.  When submariners meet, they enjoy each other's company--I'll miss playing soccer with them.  It's quite an adventure to be traveling in this part of the world!

(Helicopter photo)The last time we used aircraft, we worked with a helicopter.  It's exciting, but dangerous too.  We have to be very careful about how we do our job, so we take it seriously even when it looks fun.

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