12-A Winfield (Kan.) Daily Courier, Tues., Nov. 10, 2015

1910 Wheat RoadWinfield

(620) 221-2210

Thanks, veterans, for your brave and selfless service to our nation.

ARE ONLY AS

AS THOSE

TO SERVE AND DEFEND

We Proudly Salute our Veterans!

Quality Outdoor Design3404 Central Ave. • 221-1600

We express our gratitude to those who have served us so well.

Craig Reed1200 Main, Winfield • (620) 221-2091

Proudly saluting a job well done!

God Bless our Veterans and Military Personnel

1017 Main, Winfield620-402-5033

M-F 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm

Proud to Offer

“It is easy to take Liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” - Vice Pres. Dick Cheney

graduating in August, he came home on leave. He also had orders to report to his first ship, the USS Epping Forest MCS-7, a mine counter mea-sure ship, home ported in Sasebo, Japan, for sea duty.

While stationed aboard the Epping Forest, Berry fell in love with Japan. When his first enlistment was up Berry decided to re-enlist for anoth-er four years just to stay in Japan. He then went across the basin for more sea duty and reported to Commander Service Group 3, which was aboard the USS AJAX AR-6, an auxiliary repair ship. Berry spent three years with CSG-3 and "tender hopped" (rotat-ed) on two other repair ships — The USS Hector and the USS Jason —

with Service Group 3. While aboard these ships, Berry made numer-ous port calls in the Western Pacific, including Vietnam, Korea, the "PI" (Philippine Islands) and various other ports.

Berry was then sent to Naval Air Station Chase Field, Beeville, Texas, to finish up his enlistment which was set to end in 1972. Once out of the Navy, he returned to Winfield to live. But he was soon very “‘home-sick’ for Japan," Berry said. He re-enlisted for six years and returned to Japan. During his Navy career, Berry spent a total of 14 years in Japan.

During his years of ser-vice, Berry said he had a lot of good times and became very close with his "Radioman Family."

"After all, we worked

Berry

Jim Berry holds one of his 20 Challenge Coins. Additional coins and numerous other service mementos are displayed in a glass-fronted cabinet in the Berry's living room. (Donetta Godsey/Courier)

(Continued from page 11)

(SEE: Berry, page 13)