Vet reunited with ship from 71 years ago at Fisherman's Wharf

Friday, December 2, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO -- An emotional reunion took place on the high seas between a man and a ship.

At Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, 93-year-old Spencer Stimler of Southern California got a look at the USS Pampanito, a submarine where he served as a radio technician from June of 1944 until the end of WWII, Sept. 1945.

It's believed that he's one of only two men from the ship's crew who are still alive.

"It looks pretty darn nice," said Stimler. "The overhaul made her look pretty. It wasn't all that pretty during the war."

Stimler says the highlight of his patrol on the Pampanito was when it picked up survivors after the U.S. sank a ship that happened to have English and Australian prisoners of war aboard.
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