Fleet Plan of the Day
For those of you haven’t heard, the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) reunion, the AMOEBA RACES 21, is happening shortly at the USSVI convention in Orlando Florida.
Here’s what you need to know:
WHERE: The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, 9939 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819.
WHEN: From Monday, 30 August 2021 at 10:00 until Wednesday, 01 September 2021 at 11:00. Some will be staying for the duration of the USSVI Convention which runs through Friday
WHAT: The reunion kicks off with an all-day outing and sea-story swap at Wekiva Island, just north of Orlando, in Longwood, FL, with seats, shade, beverages, and a bar-b-que. There will not be a hospitality suite at the Resort, as we will be using the common USSVI spaces during the convention.
Another step forward in the evolution of the Cold War Boats website!
Reunions are one of the many ways that shipmates from years ago can reconnect, and no one can deny the pleasure of sitting around the campfire (or air-conditioned hospitality suite) and swapping stories with shipmates from back in the day. So it is and always will be, that helping make reunions happen directly supports the Cold War Boats core mission triad:
- Assisting shipmates from years ago in reconnecting, simply, easily, and without compromising their privacy,
- Preserving the unclassified history of Cold War submarine crews and their boats in the form of photographs, stories, artifacts, and audio or video recordings, and
- Honoring the sailors and families who sacrificed so much to help bring an end to the Cold War.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the new Cold War Boats Association website. You’ve seen the Welcome Aboard message so you have an idea of what this is all about. You’ve seen the many “On The Ways” articles, so you know that this is as work in progress and we have a long, long, way to go. If you’ve had a chance to look at your boat’s pages, you’ve discovered that the only active site as of this date is the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680).
We clearly have work to do, but I want to share a little about how we got here to put this all in context.
In 2008 I was contacted by a former SSN 680 shipmate, Bill Byers, who proposed the idea that us Bates sailors have an informal reunion, which quickly morphed into the formal reunion REGROUPEX 09. In order to support registration and help locate our sailing buddies, I volunteered to set up a website at www.ssn-680.org, and help connect everyone that might want to attend.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
~ 1 John 4:9,10
Christmas – 200 feet deep in the South China Sea
Black steel slid silently through the depths. Somewhere, somewhere else, it was Christmas. But here, in the cold and dark, it was combat. The red control room lighting barely revealed the intensity, but it was real, as real as the rising hackles of a suspicious guard dog.
Somewhere else it was Christmas. Our attack sub was rigged for ultra-quiet; no sound would be allowed to reveal our location. This intercept had been too hard won to betray ourselves with a dropped spoon in the galley, a hatch slammed closed, or…even a Christmas carol.
Moving quietly through the boat, underlining the seriousness of our situation with quiet whispers, it was easy to notice the emptiness of our attempts at holiday cheer. The tinsel in the wardroom, a few battered ornaments in the crew’s mess, and a plastic tree that would have embarrassed Charlie Brown were a painful counterpoint to what wasn’t there. No traditional carols, no holiday music, no warm baking smells, no friends sipping cider, no family. There you had it. Something else sacrificed for the mission. This job was tough enough on a good day, but another Christmas away from family made it pretty easy to feel sorry for yourself.
A brief stop by Radio to check message traffic revealed a single strip of flimsy taped to the door:
Date: 02 FEB 22
From: Brad Williamson, Lead Administrator
RE: Current activity on the coldwarboats.org website.
- Four fully functional sites, in addition to the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680). (Located by menu items shaded light orange):
- USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571)
- USS STURGEON (SSN 637)
- USS ASPRO (SSN 648)
- USSVI - USS HADDO Base (Cleveland, TN)
- Two sites currently under development. (Also located by menu items shaded light orange):
- USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (SSBN 600)
- USS LAFAYETTE (SSBN 616)
- Features added:
- File upload capability added for 571, 637, 648, 600, 616 for images and documents. Found at the bottom of each of the four boat menus - The Boat, The Men, The Logroom, The Reunions.
- Historical timelines for 571, 637, and 648, under The Logroom >> History.
- Shipmates Added:
- USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571) All Enlisted Personnel from 1954, registered as MISSING or ETERNAL PATROL, if known.