"Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me.
The carriage held but just ourselves,
And immortality."

-Emily Dickenson,
Because I Could Not Stop For Death

In honor of our fallen shipmates

Sailor!

Rest your oars!

"When the waves are round me breaking,
As I pace the deck alone,
And my eye in vain is seeking
Some green leaf to rest upon;
What would not I give to wander
Where my old companions dwell?
Absence makes the heart grow fonder,
Isle of Beauty, fare thee well!"

-John Milton, Paradise Lost

Sailor, rest your oar
 

When you’re final dive is made, and your battery's running low,

You’ll know there lies a boat for you many fathoms here below,

With your annunciators jammed on full and your depth gauge needles bent,

Your accumulator's dry of oil and your air banks all are spent,

 

It's then you get to wonderin', "is my life's boat rigged for dive?"

Your guessing drill commences, "am i dead or still alive?"

You pace the flooded decks with scorn and curse the flaws of man.

Into realms of Rex you've stepped, and here you'll make your stand.

 

To live your life, as sailors must, at the bottom of the sea,

There's one you'll have to reckon-that one, my friend, is thee.

Will your conscience do you justice when the final muster's in?

Did you lead the kind of life you should in every port you've been?

 

The answers to these questions and many, many more,
are locked in the hearts of sailormen from Cannes to Singapore.
So, when your day for mast rolls 'round. The choice is up to you,
sailor chart your course of life right now. Chart it straight and true.


Now's the time to flood your tanks and trim up 'fore and aft.
It's a trifle late when the klaxon sounds to square away your craft.
Your final billet lies below, on "Old Ocean’s" floor.
So, be ready when that last word's passed. Sailor, rest your oar!
 

Drowned in three feet of water trapped inside an overturned vehicle
Joe Hargett QMSN
SSN-683 1977
Died ~ January 1977

Accidental death by electrocution in Houston Texas
Lee "Happy" Raines FTG2(SS)
SSN-683 1976-1981
Died August 5, 1981


Jerry Leonardo STS2 (SS)
SSN-683 1981-1984
Died ~1984

Mike (Big Bird) Rehmier

QMC (SS)

Died January 2002

E.L. Eiken RMC(SS)
SSN-683 Plank Owner
Died ~Unknown


Jeff Griffen MMC (SS)
SSN-683 1984-1989
Died 1996

William Porter YN1(SS)
SSN-683 1972-1976
Died December 2, 2001

 Hal Stone QMC(SS)
SSN-683 1977-1981
Died ~1989
 Winfrey "Pete" Peters MMC(SS)
SSN-683 1978-1982
Died December 11, 2003

 

~ Submariners Hymn ~

Lord God, our power evermore,
Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea,
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
Them safe from peril in the deep.

Lord, guard and guide the men
Who man the submarines that guard our land.
Be with them always night and day,
In quiet depths or roaring spray.
O hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea.

Bless those who serve beneath the deep,
Through lonely hours their vigil keep.
May peace their mission ever be,
Protect each one we ask of thee.
Bless those at home who wait and pray,
For their return by night or day.

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