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"I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to
tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades
gather because they long to be with the men who once acted their
best, men who suffered and sacrificed, who were stripped raw, right
down to their humanity.
I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate. But I know
them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such
trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my
life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It
was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing
to die for one another.
I cannot say where we are headed. Ours are not perfect friendships;
those are the province of legend and myth. A few of my comrades
drift far from me now, sending back only occasional word. I know
that one day even these could fall to silence. Some of the men will
stay close, a couple, perhaps, always at hand.
As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am
sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my
family and my comrades...such good men".
From "These Good Men" by Michael Norman
Pecos
Click Here for LINKS!!!
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| Somebody's got
to get COB Willy calmed down. I sent an email asking if he
survived the tornados and this was his reply:
"We had minor damage ... just
trees and stuff but nothing serious. When they said the
tornado was coming, I went out in the yard of which part of
my yard was an "Ancient Indian Burial Ground" and did an
Indian Tornado Dance (NAKED). The neighbors called the cops
but I know the Chief of Police and his men joined in, so I
had about 6 policemen, 9 neighbors and myself doing The
Dance (NAKED). It worked as the tornado passed us bye.
When I retired I was invited
to live with some ole Indian friends for a while to learn
their "customs and ways!" I was
inducted into their "Hall of Holy Men."
They then put the giant fish hooks in my skin on my chest
and "lifted me up" to be recieved into the "Highest
Court of Indian Affairs" as an "Indian
Dance Specialist & Holy Man!"
I have to get ready for a
doctor appointment ... got a sore throat from the rain dance
... well maybe just a sore throat!"
You have a great week ole
shipmate,"
COB Willy
Sea Story by Roy Werthmuller
In the Summer of 1956 at the
end of my command tour, we went to San Francisco Hunters
Point for overhaul and my relief as C.O. The SubFor Rep. at
San Francisco arranged for us to take out a group of VIPs
for a dive and maneuvers before entering overhaul. In the
group was a reporter from the Sausalito newspaper.
We proceeded off San
Francisco to a spot about 100 feet deep where we made a
dive. We immediately took large down angle and started down.
I gave orders to blow the forward group, back emergency, and
full rudder. It slowed the decent, but we were still going
down and the chief quartermaster in the conning tower
standing next to me was getting depth reading from control –
30 feet to the bottom, 25 feet etc. I whispered to him that
the fellow near us was a reporter and the chief immediately
announced readings which showed we were not nearer the
bottom. Soon we did start rising. We didn’t touch the bottom
at least if we did it wasn’t noticeable.
The next day we made the
front page of the Sausalito newspaper. The reporter said
that there had been a slight problem submerging but that the
captain and the well trained crew handled the situation in
an expert manner.
It turned out that the
torpedoes had been withdrawn from the forward tubes into the
torpedo room in preparation for overhaul and the tubes were
flooded – so we were 6 torpedoes heavy forward.
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Note: We all enjoy sea stories, me
included. But 95% of the ones I have
were sent to me after the 1999
convention.
I know, I'm nagging again, but I
really would like you shipmates to
send me some new stuff. You know,
like when Snake fell down the after
battery hatch and put his head
through the bottom of the boat, or when you had to stand
lookout watch during the 14
different typhoons, all at once....you get the
idea!
Looking forward to the rush of
emails!!
Pecos |
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