BRUNSWICK

Old friends, some long separated, greeted each other, caught up on lives and told sea stories as Brunswick Naval Air Station alumni gathered for dinner Saturday night under a large tent in front of the former base chapel.

Bou Boudreau has made Brunswick his home since being stationed here in 1968. Boudreau stayed at BNAS as an aviation metalsmith until 1987 before staying on in a public works role until his retirement in 2009.

Boudreau had pretty much seen the military base from the height of the Cold War through to its decommissioning.

During his tenure at Brunswick, Boudreau was attached to both the base and patrol squadrons 10, 23, 44 and VP 1, which he retired from. Despite being a metalsmith by trade, Boudreau said he spent most of his career in the air as a flight engineer.

“I spent over 9,000 hours flying (P-3s), so yeah, I was on sea duty all the time except for one year at NAS. Basically from 1968 until I retired, I flew,” Boudreau said as the DJ cued music and more former sailors gathered around the bar.

“It’s different,” Boudreau said, looking out toward the former chapel where he got married.

Over the years, Boudreau has seen massive changes at the base, including the demolition of his former barracks, as well as one of his work stations — the building which once stood where Mölnlycke now resides.

While jobs are indeed returning to the former base, Boudreau said the closure was generally a bad idea. He said that even with life returning as the reborn Brunswick Landing, there’s a lost feeling of camaraderie that once existed between the sailors and the town.

In only five years since the closure, the graying men and women beneath the awning, tipping beers and trading stories, seemed all that remained of when Brunswick was considered a Navy town by Boudreau’s account.

If there were any positive results from the closure, Boudreau said that having seen the base as both a sailor and in public works, he sees antiquated infrastructure being updated and improved.

There were many familiar faces in the crowd, however, not as many as Boudreau had hoped to see.

Albin “Buck” Buckowick and his wife, Ellie, were stationed here from 1973-1977, raising a family and settling into become a part of the Brunswick community.

The Buckowicks said they really enjoyed the reunion, but thought they would see more faces.

Looking around at the changes at the former base, Ellie Buckowick said she’s not shocked but a little sad as the place they knew so well has undergone such transformation.

Buckowick said she’s impressed with all the new businesses that have moved into Brunswick Landing. As part of the reunion, the Buckowicks went on a tour of the newly renovated Wayfair, which used to be the Navy Exchange, and Mölnlycke.

“(We) will always miss the sound of those P-3s flying over. It will be exciting to see what the future will hold for Brunswick,” Buckowick said.