Fleet Plan of the Day
As many of you know, I’ve been working to obtain a complete muster roll of all personnel assigned to the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) over the nearly twenty-eight years that she was in commission.
Mark Gray set out to compile such a list back in the late nineties, producing a complex spreadsheet that listed everyone that he could identify. In fact, much of what we call the Master Sailing List on the www.ssn-680.org website is the result of Mark’s initial work, and we clearly would not be where we are today without the his tireless effort.
As of today, we are closer than we ever have been. I have recently been in extended conversation with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in an attempt to locate official documentation related to the boat and the people assigned to her. Today I have sent off the first of many requests under the Freedom of Information Act that should produce the Personnel Diaries and Quarterly Personnel Reports for the life of the ship.
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March 1st, 2018 - Sixteen years ago today, in 2002, an unnamed project manager, more than likely sitting at a battered grey steel desk on the second floor of a nondescript building at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, finished his review of a stack of documents pertaining to the dismantling and distribution of the pumps, valves, wiring, and mass of stainless steel that once comprised the naval vessel formerly known as the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680). I’d like to believe that he paused to reflect on what a ship that was home to us Bates sailors for almost 30 years meant to each of us, but the fact is that he probably didn’t give it a thought as he signed off as project manager, certifying that the scrapping of ‘our’ boat was complete.
She was gone
Sure, parts of her remain. A reactor compartment sealed and sitting on a concrete pad in eastern Washington. Handfuls of various miscellanea scattered around the country in forgotten cardboard boxes stored in attics and basements. Random pieces of hull metal (Steve Perry has entrusted me with the piece he had), some treasured (see previous), others forgotten. I heard that the torpedo tubes had been removed and were bound for TM school to be used as training devices. Who knows?
You’ve heard the old joke about the drunk looking for his car keys under the streetlight after closing time, I suppose.
Somewhat sober guy asks the drunk, “Whatcha doing?”
“Lost my keys…”
“Where’d ya lose ‘em?” the sober one asks.
“Over there by my car”, the drunk replies.
Curious, the sober guy continues, “Why are you looking for them over here under the street lamp then?”
Says the drunk, “Because the light is better over here!”
Seems some of us aren’t too different from the drunk, even if we are sober. There are currently four of us committed to tracking down missing shipmates and if you visit the site occasionally you can follow our efforts as we update the Missing Shipmate List under Quarters. Mark Gray, author of the original missing shipmate spreadsheet, Terry Fessner, myself, and an eager new hand to the search, Chris Watson, dedicate many hours of our spare time locating and contacting shipmates who served on the Bates, but whose current whereabouts is unknown.
It is understood that the Argentine Navy has declared the ARA San Juan lost with all hands - 43 men, 1 woman, possibly as a result of an explosion, though wreckage has not yet been found or evaluated.
The search for the ARA San Juan continues without hope for the crew.
A link to the first report I found. Some foreign language skill required. www.diariodenautica.com
The Argentine Navy has reported the ARA San Juan missing as of Wednesday, the 15th of November, with an estimated seven day air supply. Today is day eight, and we hope and pray for the crew and families of the San Juan.
This is image has been created specifically for posting on Facebook and social media. Please post, share, and circulate as we stand watch with the families waiting for loved ones to return from the sea.
Veterans Day has come and gone.
The “Thank you for your service” handshakes, prompted by an SSN-680 ball cap, have ebbed to a trickle, and the offers of free meals at local restaurants are yesterday's news.
Today, on the sidewalk and in the grocery store, I’m just a gray-bearded old guy in a Navy blue baseball cap, not that I really ever expected to be anything else.
Don’t get me wrong. I really do appreciate a heart-felt thank you, and I suppose the free meals are in the same class, though they seem to lack the sincerity of a thank-you and a hand shake and I admit I’ve never taken advantage of one. I never felt I was owed anything, even a thank you let alone a meal, but I have taught my kids that accepting the gift honors the giver, so maybe one day I’ll let someone treat me to a nice dinner.
One of the most difficult responsibilities that burdens me in the management of the ssn-680.org website is the maintenance of the Eternal Patrol page.
I’m one of the first to be notified when one of you discovers the passing of a shipmate, so I’m tasked with updating the site and then notifying all of the ssn-680.org members that one of us has crossed the bar. Converting their user account to Eternal Patrol is emotionally difficult enough, and even more so if it was someone I knew and served with. But for me, the hard work really begins when I sit down to compose an Honors Page for our lost shipmate, and try to put into words a post that will make sense to each of you, and communicate the loss to our community. Reflection on their life and realizing that it’s only a matter of time for all of us is an emotionally draining experience that happens all too frequently.
