New London — When Armand Jolly thinks about the USS Emmons, a World War II Navy destroyer that was struck in 1945 by Japanese pilots in the waters off Okinawa, he remembers, "What a crew, beautiful crew. We had good times and bad times."

Sixty men died and 77 were injured after the ship was struck by kamikaze pilots on April 6, 1945.

The survivors had to abandon ship. The following day, the Navy sank what remained of the Emmons so it wouldn't fall into enemy hands.

In 2001, after 56 years at the bottom of the ocean, the ship was discovered in approximately 150 feet of water off the coast of Okinawa.

Jolly, now 93, who was a gunner's mate on the Emmons from September 1942 until it was sunk, was one of four veterans from the ship who traveled to the area Friday for a reunion. 

He lives in Pomfret Center and said he's come to every reunion but one, and estimated that adds up to 40-some reunions in total.

The reunions started in 1952, but have not been held consistently every year. 

About 25 members of the Emmons crew are still alive 70 years later, according to reunion organizers.

Over the past few years between 11 and 14 have traveled to various locations for the reunions.

Those who came in for the reunion included Jolly, Edwin Hoffman of Northampton, Penn., William Patton of Cape May Point, N.J., and Tony Esposito of Fishkill, N.Y. Several families of those who have died also were in town.

Jolly said he joined the Navy soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Sitting in the chapel at the Coast Guard Academy on Friday after a brief memorial service to honor those who died in 1945 and since, he remembered how Emmons' crew would joke around with one another, play poker and shoot dice.

One man, he recalled, had no money "to go on leave, you know, to the beach."

The man wanted $10 in exchange for a silver pocket watch with a key wind that he had.

"If I gave him $10, he'd give me the watch," Jolly said. "I still have the watch. I don't know what happened. He never came back to get the $10."

Jolly said now the watch is worth "maybe $400."

"We had fun," he said. "We had problems, too, but we had a good bunch of officers, just enjoyed ourselves."

And that's what he planned to do this weekend, "just have a good time."

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: @JuliaSBergman