Submariners On That Internet Highway
Posted by Ron Smith on August 14, 1997 at 17:59:17: In Reply to: Re: WHAT THIS BOARD MEANS TO ME. posted by Ron Martini on August 14, 1997 at 15:25:54: While I come from a different era than most of you on this BBS, I too feel the camaraderie here. For years after World War II I wandered around, trying to get back to a "normal civilian life" once again. There were so many things I had to keep bottled up in me because the people you talked to just didn't understand. It took me years to figure out that "No one understands but another submariner". There were a few times I would bump into another submariner. We would have long talks, like someone trying to get a drink of water after being on a desert for months. In 1959 while driving down a street in Dallas I saw this sticker in the back window of a car that had just passed me. It said something about Submarine Veterans and World War II. I raced to catch up to the guy. We drove down the street side by side hollering phone numbers at each other. I joined U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II, found men that I could relate to, and have been active in that group ever since. More recently, I met John Fredricks of U.S. Submarine Veterans, Inc. when he attended our annual Memorial Day service. I joined that organization too. I attend meetings of both groups regularly and John and I have become good friends. This BBS is in the same way that the other two submarine organizations I mentioned. Here we have people who understand you, what you think, how you feel and most importantly, that indescribable feeling that we all remember that you got while "Riding the boats". This BBS also proves, even more than our formal organizations, that submariners share that common bond whether they were on "S" Boats, "Fleet" Boats, Guppys, Snorkles, Nukes, both Fast Attack or Boomers. We "felt it" even on SN-21 when we were there for their commissioning. Also, this BBS is here anytime you need a "Fix", 24 hours a day, seven days a week, like on the boats. We are Submariners and only a submariner knows that feeling that bonds us in war and peace. Ron Smith, ex-TMM2/C-SS, USS Seal [SS-183]
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