Reporting to COMSUBDEVGRU ONE

We stayed at John and Meridith Sutphen's home in Chula Vista for few weeks before settled in an appartment at Ward Road in late summer of 1971. John was an admin guy who replaced Fred on his first tour in Vietnam. We became good friend ever since.

Fred reported to his new assignment at Command Submarine Development Group (COMSUBDEVGRU) One Staff at Point Loma, San Diego as Personnel Officer (1971-1973). He was still a Chief Warrant Officer (WO2) at that time.

During this time, Fred's mother, Elaine and her husband Donald Rudat were planning to relocate from Illinois to California. They've decided San Diego was the best place for their Stanley Products home business. So they came out and stay with us just a few weeks before my due day.

In the meantime, we were all looking around for a house to buy. We finally found a new housing development in Mira Mesa area... In the midst of shopping and buying a house, my baby boy was born at the Naval Balboa Hospital in early autumn that year. Steven, the Duke (Fred gave him that nick name), he was such a bundle of joy to us. We bought our first brand new three-bedroom home, one car garage for only $25,500.00 (could you believe the price of housing at that time!!!) at Adriatic Place in Mira Mesa, San Diego. Elaine and Don also bought one with a two bedrooms right next to us. We all stayed at the apartment and awaiting for our new home to be built...