A short time prior to my graduation from boot camp I learned that my request to attend ET (electronic technician) school had been approved. That training school along with several others was located on Governors Island. A 172 acre island with a rich history dating back to colonial times located 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan where the East and Hudson rivers flow into New York Harbor. It had become the largest Coast Guard base in the country in 1966 and would remain so until 1996 went the Coast Guard moved and was turned over to the City of New York. A very good description of the island can be seen here. http://www.andrewcusack.com/2005/governors-island/
After a brief stay at home I boarded a bus for NYC. This would be my first experience of the “Big Apple” . I Arrived at Port Authority bus terminal and looking at my map I had to walk to Times Square and get on the Red line Subway that would take me to South Ferry. Well as some may remember Times Square then, the “crossroads of the world” was located on the corner of Sodom St. and Gomorrah Ave. It was like this.
I made it to the subway and headed to South Ferry I arrived on the Island, a bucolic oasis surrounded by the polluted waters of New York harbor My education would start soon, technical and social. I would make several close friends. It was an exciting time.