A sad day in Pearl
I have no details as of yet...however, in my travels today I ran into a buddy from my last boat (USS CHEYENNE SSN-773), and discovered that a former shipmate of ours who was still on the boat committed suicide yesterday, while standing Belowdecks Watch. I am going to hold his name (as it hasn't even hit the news yet), but he was a navigation type and had been on the boat for a few years. He apparently was on watch and made use of his sidearm in the forward end of the torpedo room (in the "VLS Station" area, for you 688i familiar types).Details as I get 'em. I'll say that (as is sadly the case in these instances) all the guys from the boat I've talked to agreed on this...he was the last person we'd have suspected of suicide and no one saw it coming.
posted by Robert Schumacher @ 1:24 PM
3 Comments:
News like this always saddens me. Something similar happened on Seawolf a few months ago. It's said when guys don't feel enough close enough to their shipmates to be able to feel they have someone to go to.
I've talked to some former shipmates still on the boat, and it appears it was family issues that likely triggered this. Marriage issues.
Needless to say morale isn't too high on my old boat. This sailor was there a while, well known and pretty well liked, and from what I hear no one saw it coming (who in the Navy hasn't had maritial issues?).
One friend and fellow nuke still on the boat was on the LA when the kid killed himself while standing POOD several years back. I always remember Steve telling us what hell that was, everyone asking "could I have done something".
It sucks. For his family, for the crew...all around. Sucks.
It's been over a decade but I just found this post and figured I'd offer whatever prayers I can muster to ET2 Johnny's memory. STS3 Heffernan came to my barracks room over ten years ago and said "hey, we're not getting underway on Monday". Wow! Great news! A day at home in Pearl Harbor beats a day at sea. "Johnny shot himself". What? We're gonna be in safety stand-down for a month because ET3 Johnson put a bullet in his foot goofing off at turnover?
No, ET2 Johnson did. On purpose. In VLC, on watch.
I spent what seems like twenty years of my life BSing on fathometer watch with that guy on QMOW. Even a decade later some stupid thing will remind me of him and it all comes back, as much as 'empty' can come back. So, as weak and pointless as posting to a decade-old thread is, hey Johnny, I still remember you :(
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