Sailors share historic link
When David Curran Sr. picked up the Feb. 4 Butler Eagle, a story caught his attention.
A 20-year Navy veteran, Curran Sr. of Sugarcreek Township saw the headline about a Coast Guard veteran heading to Kodiak, Alaska.
Chuck Schmitzer, who is an associate broker with Howard Hanna Real Estate, was planning to return to Kodiak for the decommissioning of the cutter Storis on Feb. 8. He had served on the ship in the 1950s.
Curran Sr.'s son, David Curran Jr., has served on the ship for more than seven years and, at the time of the decommissioning, held the same position on the historic ship that Schmitzer did.
After a phone call to Schmitzer and a few conversations, the Coast Guard veteran got to met Curran Jr. at the ship's decommissioning, where Schmitzer was given a personal tour of the ship.
Both men were storekeepers aboard the Storis, and the meeting gave Curran Jr. and Schmitzer a chance to talk about their journeys and experiences in the Coast Guard, Curran Sr. said.
Schmitzer was onboard for the Storis' historic Northwest Passage and the circumnavigation of North America. The Northwest Passage is a sea route that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans through the archipelago islands of Canada.
Curran Jr. also was sharing in history aboard the ship as he was one of the last Coast Guardsmen to serve on the Storis.
"They had quite a bit in common,"Curran Sr. said.
In addition to the personal tour, Curran Jr. and his wife also surprised Schmitzer by picking him up from the airport in Kodiak.
Schmitzer said Curran Jr. and the rest of the Storis crew treated him well.
"That guy treated me like a king," Schmitzer said.
Schmitzer said everyone he came in contact with was appreciative of what the ship did for Alaska — a sentiment that made his trip to Kodiak a memorable one.
"I have never had such a wonderful experience,"Schmitzer said.
