Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Arsenal at Rochefort

In Rochefort, where my father was assigned to begin with, we went to school on the grounds of the old French Arsenal. It contained the dry docks used to build and refurbish ships. It was fun going around and seeing the buildings where we attended the local Department of Defense School. This is also where we stayed the first two months in France while Dad was trying to find us a place to live. We searched all over for the Hotel and had about given up when alas! A Hotel clerk showed us the location… duh! We walked right by it half a dozen times without looking up and seeing the old sign.

When I think about Rochefort I think about cobblestones. Can you imagine repairing and maintaining a cobblestone road? I sometimes have a weird dream about walking down a cobblestone road in Rochefort. The workmen are on their hands and knees setting the stones and I’m watching in absolute amazement.

When we arrived in France my father had bikes for my brother and me. While staying at the hotel we went to the square and practiced riding them. Mine was too big for me but I managed to ride it anyway. My mother gave Dad heck for getting me a full sized bike.

On the Weekends, to get us out of the hotel we took day trips. One was to the beaches at Royan and another was to St. Nazaire where we saw the German Submarine Pens. On these beaches was an elaborate network of cement fortifications designed to thwart an allied invasion that the Germans felt was likely at Royan. The beaches are beautiful there and we had great fun playing in the dunes and exploring the bunkers, which were still new and pristine.