Connecting generations through history: USNS Corpus Christi Bay
Suzie Wollek, widow of retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Donald Wollek of Fort Hood, Texas, gifted a replica of USNS Corpus Christi Bay to the Corpus Christi Army Depot to honor all of the military members who served on board the namesake ship during the Vietnam era, and for those who were stationed at CCAD. Accepting the gift on behalf of the depot was Mark Wagner, CCAD deputy to the commander.
During World War II, the ship was known as the USS Albemarle (AV 5). In 1965, the vessel was recommissioned USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH 1), a floating maintenance depot for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Serving as an extension of CCAD, then called Army Aeronautical Depot Maintenance Center, the ship brought nearly every depot maintenance and repair process to the shores of Vietnam. Damaged and inoperable aircraft were sent to the maintenance ship for a quick eight-day repair and return that would have taken 18 days to complete had they sent it overseas to ARADMAC in South Texas.
Wollek had the model constructed for her husband as a gift, a task that seemed insurmountable at times, because there were no blueprints for an old scrapped vessel. It took several years to find a model maker who could work without blueprints and only rely on photographs provided.
After receiving the model, a special case was constructed with both Navy and Army seals etched in the glass in honor of Donald’s service, duty, and dedication to our country. Together, the Wolleks traveled to numerous ship reunions across the Midwest with the model, including the 2016 reunion held in Corpus Christi.
After CCAD received permission from the Secretary of the Army to accept the gift, Wollek, a retired Department of the Army civilian employee and a military disabled spouse, gathered her family, son Robert Wollek, daughter-in-law Joni Wollek, and grandchildren Ann Marie Wollek and Lawrence Wollek, for the official ceremony and a VIP tour of CCAD.
After CCAD received permission from the Secretary of the Army to accept the gift, Wollek, a retired Department of the Army civilian employee and a military disabled spouse, gathered her family, son Robert Wollek, daughter-in-law Joni Wollek, and grandchildren Ann Marie Wollek and Lawrence Wollek, for the official ceremony and a VIP tour of CCAD.
The model is currently on display in the Luce Lobby trophy room at CCAD HQ, Bldg. 8 with other artifacts from the ship.