I was supposed to remain on the Skate until my discharge in '80, but, while we were in the yard at Pearl, two senior nucs were busted for drugs on the Gold Crew on the USS John Marshall (SSBN-611) and I was shanghaied as their replacement. The John Marshall was the fourth boat in the Ethan Allen Class of FBM (Fleet Ballistic Missile) subs, or "boomers". By now, I was qualified EWS and had also been the Skate's Diesel Mechanic (General Motorus Rex!) for the Emergency Diesel Generator which was an old Jimmy 268A...a Mic-Boat diesel modified to snorkel; we had the only GM diesel on the East Coast while we were there, so, when we got to Pearl...home port to the remaining boats in the Skate Class, I was delighted to find a diesel shop that had some familiarity with my engine. I was even happier when I first met EN3 Elsie Abbey, the young lady who was the shop's GM expert...one of the cutest Enginemen I ever worked with!!!
I had already been divorced once, by now, from a women and a marriage that deserve no more mention than this. After my first two patrols, however, I returned to Connecticut on leave and met my second former wife, Roseanna, the lady in the picture. We were married, I adopted Veronica, and finally, in August 1980, I received my second and final Honorable Discharge from the Navy. I am truly sad to report that ended in divorce, too. I have, since, remarried a third time, to Mindy. But that needs to be a whole 'nother page!!!
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