Hello!

[snakeyez]

The name is Lance. I've been playing SH4 for a couple of months now and I LOVE it. This is my first and only subsim game.

Anyway, some of you have seen me over on the Ubi forum and I want to come hang out over here with you guys too. Will you have me?

I got into submarines after my grandma passed away in May of 2007. I was helping to clean up her home (just down the street) and found a world of my grandpa's WW2 submarine service stuff. He had passed away in 1997 without me ever taking interest in his WW2 past. I suppose I just wasn't mature enough to appreciate it all. He was a plankowner of the USS Sand Lance and earned his submarine combat insignia aboard the USS Tambor before being part of her decommissioning crew. There is a link below in my signature to hear about 45 minutes of video of him talking about WW2 submarine days, broken down into 6 different back to back videos.

If any of you want to see more of the personal stuff in my collection, PM me and I'll send you a link to check out.

Here's to happy hunting, and let's all SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE TOGETHER soon! Oh, and how do I get special enough to change my own avatar here?

<edit> Nevermind, I read the FAQ about how avatars work. doh!

[sunvalleyslim]

Welcome Aboard Snakeyez,
Your grandfathers boat was about 18 boats older then mine.......but I wasn't on her until the 60's..............Happy hunting

[Mush Martin]

Welcome aboard ...and Wow! :up::up:

[Sailor Steve]

Will you have me?
Of course we will! We'll have anybody, as you'll find out soon enough.:rotfl:

That's quite a story. WELCOME ABOARD!:sunny:

[edit] Watching your video, I was reading the message: you called your grandfather "Papaw" too? So did I. My grandad passed away in 1962, but I still remember his workshop (he was a lifelong furniture maker).

[McBeck]

Welcome onboard to the friendliest community :D

How are things at the Ubi kindergarden anyway? Or have they matured? ;)

[Dantenoc]

Nice videos :yep:

[Fish40]

The name is Lance. I've been playing SH4 for a couple of months now and I LOVE it. This is my first and only subsim game.

Anyway, some of you have seen me over on the Ubi forum and I want to come hang out over here with you guys too. Will you have me?

I got into submarines after my grandma passed away in May of 2007. I was helping to clean up her home (just down the street) and found a world of my grandpa's WW2 submarine service stuff. He had passed away in 1997 without me ever taking interest in his WW2 past. I suppose I just wasn't mature enough to appreciate it all. He was a plankowner of the USS Sand Lance and earned his submarine combat insignia aboard the USS Tambor before being part of her decommissioning crew. There is a link below in my signature to hear about 45 minutes of video of him talking about WW2 submarine days, broken down into 6 different back to back videos.

If any of you want to see more of the personal stuff in my collection, PM me and I'll send you a link to check out.

Here's to happy hunting, and let's all SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE TOGETHER soon! Oh, and how do I get special enough to change my own avatar here?

<edit> Nevermind, I read the FAQ about how avatars work. doh!


Welcome!:up: My Grandfather passed away last year at the age of 96:o! He served in the Philippines in 44/45. He had a whole album full of pictures, which my grandmother who is 97:o has given me. I never tired of listening to his storries of his time in the Navy.

I'm also a member over at Ubi, but haven't posted over there in quite some time. They're a good bunch, but it feels more like a family over here, if you know what I mean. People will always take the time to answer a question, and are always willing to help. Once again, welcome to the neighborhood:)

[Rockin Robbins]

To the community with the friendliest, most knowledgeable, most eccentric and entertaining subsimmers in this corner of the universe. I command Admiral Lockwood's garbage scow until someone else steps out of line worse than I did (I insulted a fellow captain who turned out to be the Admiral's favorite daughter's man. Hint: don't do that). I'm also his aide, and I'd invite you to meet with him to welcome you to the fleet, but he spliced one too many mainbraces last night and is a bit ornery. You don't want a meeting with the Admiral when he's cranky.

Word to the wise: complete his missions and you can do whatever you choose for extra credit. But if you freelance without completing his missions you'll find yourself in his office. The only one I've seen go into Admiral Lockwood's office and leave with a smile has been Mush Morton.

But check out the forum. I highly recommend WernerSobe's Video Tutorials: TDC + PK Advanced (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=118923) thread. Ducimus' A Brief Introduction to the Pacific Submarine War (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=128185) is also outstanding. Watch out for that DavyJonesFootlocker guy though. He has the admiral's daughter and you don't want to cross him.:oops:

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Welcome! First off I'm sorry to hear of your Grandparents passing. You may have to endure being a Stinky Bilge Rat for awhile- don't worry we all went through that stinky stage.:yep: Ask any of these fine folk here any questions and they'll be sure to oblige. I've been here not too long now and I've never met a bunch of friendly sailors anywhere on any boards.:up: I'll go check out your clips now.

P.S. RR is now the Captain of the Bilge Rat Association (BRA).

[walrusbomb]

The USS Sand Lance was no joke. Welcome aboard.

[CaptainHaplo]

Welcome aboard!

[snakeyez]

Aww thanks for the warm welcoming everyone!

Everything I know about my Papaw's WW2 service is found in the video I posted on YouTube.com. That's the saddest thing, as he was like a father to me and lived only a few minutes away as long as he was alive. I was 19 when he passed away, and I'm 30 right now. Dumb teenager is the only excuse I have.

So anyhow, the video states that he started out on the USS Sand Lance, a brand new sailor on a brand new Balao class submarine. Then, just as the Sand Lance was underway for her first patrol from Pearl, he had problems on dives with his head swelling up from a botched tooth pulling. They put him off the Sand Lance at Midway on February 15, 1944. Later, as part of the refit crew of the Tang, he was supposed to join her crew but didn't like Richard O'Kane and thought he was too reckless and on a revenge mission for Mush Morton. My papaw swapped with another EM, who later died on the Tang as you all know. Then on June 2, 1944, an old Tambor class submarine, the USS Tambor, came to Midway. He joined that crew quickly and stayed on her for her last 2 war patrols (both successful), then stayed with her while the Tambor helped train dive bombers in Puget Sound in 1945, then decommissioned her on December 10, 1945 in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. While at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, he snapped some photos of the Tambor, Tautog, and Thresher (3 of the 4 Tambor class subs being decommissioned there) and got a few pics of the U-234, which I wish I knew what role, if any, he played in THAT U-boat. He was honorably discharged less than a week after the USS Tambor was decomissioned.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/navyportrait_cleaner.jpg

Here's the Sand Lance commissioning crew just before leaving the east coast. He's in the back-center straight under the life preserver. This is one of many of his personal pictures from the Sand Lance commissioning, hence all the scribbling on the picture.
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/sandlancecommission.jpg

Here he is at what I believe had to be a Royal Hawaiian visit!
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/sailor5.jpg

The USS Tambor in December of 1945:
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/ss198_usstambor.jpg

The U-234 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in late 1945, what a risky picture to take!
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/u234d.jpg

And lastly, his original medals and ribbons. The World War Two Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. You also see his Submarine Combat Patrol Pin with a bronze star, which signifies two successful patrols aboard a submarine (USS Tambor, war patrols 11 and 12). At the bottom-center is the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with the bronze star in the middle (USS Sand Lance, war patrol 1). His Good Conduct Ribbon is missing and no one knows where it could be. Also his "Ruptured Duck" (Honorable Discharge) lapel button is missing.
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/medals2.jpg

Everything above had to be compiled by me. I just found a bunch of random pictures and "stuff" and had to figure it all out with the aid of the internet and a bunch of good-hearted submarine sailor veterans.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Wow! Cool pics dude! What you got is a legacy. Keep 'em forever.:up:

[snakeyez]

Wow! Cool pics dude! What you got is a legacy. Keep 'em forever.:up:

Thank you, and PM sent.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Mucho gracias, amigo!:up:

[snakeyez]

[edit] Watching your video, I was reading the message: you called your grandfather "Papaw" too? So did I. My grandad passed away in 1962, but I still remember his workshop (he was a lifelong furniture maker).
Yep, he was "Papaw" to us grandkids. He worked for the postal service until he retired, then he practiced arrowhead making, rock collecting, fishing, and sandbottle art making!

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/papaw/bw.jpg

[AVGWarhawk]

Snakeyez, welcome aboard. Nothing like finding some good family history. I recommend you find a nice shadow box for the medals and a few pictures you have. Makes a great display. I did this with my Uncles wings, pictures and locket he sent to my mom when he was in the ETO. Just a thought and a better way to see them instead of having them sit in drawer somewhere:up:

[snakeyez]

AVGWarhawk, that's exactly what I did. I was given a shadowbox for Christmas last year. The pictures are cleaned-up copies, the patches are new, most of the other stuff purchased from eBay. The submarine combat patrol insignia and matching card below it is his, as are the medals. The ribbons shown are his old set and a newly purchased set to show how they are supposed to look. The burial flag is his. The ceramic dolphinfish in front came from his house, but I have no idea where it came from.

I took this picture as part of a contest over on the Ubisoft forum.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/lancedean/DSC05388.jpg

[AVGWarhawk]

My Uncle was in the 410th. B-17 pilot. Shot down over Kiel Germany June 13th 1943 and perished. I have his wings in the box, three pictures. Two in dress uniform and one flight suit. Found a 48 star American flag. His casket flag is in Flushing NY Cemetary. It flys every 4th of July at the cemetary. I have a locket he sent my mom from England. A picture of him and my mom when she was a little girl. I got a Mighty 8th patch from the 410th group out in Washington State, a Mighty 8th lapel pin and a B-17 pin. I have the pictur of the B-17 Klo-Kay that he was shot down in. That is framed separately. It is all in the box. Looks great and my mother loves it. Much more to the story of my Uncle Charles (Chip as he is known). Things we had to fix just a few years ago concerning his headstone. That is a whole other story.

Great shadow box you have there!!!! Sometimes you wish you could turn back time and speak with those that were there but long since passed. Keep those family things and pass them down to your kids when the time comes. My two girls know more about their great uncle Chip then my own brothers and sister do.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome to SUBSIM :up: snakeyez
Thanks for sharing :yep:


RDP

[snakeyez]

Thank you sir! I'm just trying to work on getting up through the ranks now and have a long way to go!

I have pics to share from my website from my visit to the USS Drum down in Mobile, AL this past October. Since my visit I've been trying to come up with ways to raise money for the Drum. I feel like it is my duty, like it is what my grandfather would have wanted.

http://www.snakeyez.us/gallery/v/battleship_memorial_park/uss_drum/

Here is just one of those pics of me and the guy who voluntarily works on the Drum day and night, Tom Bowser.

http://www.snakeyez.us/gallery/d/1487-1/USSDRUM010.jpg

I can't wait to get back down there as soon as the weather warms up and take some more pictures.

[Sailor Steve]

Everything I know about my Papaw's WW2 service is found in the video I posted on YouTube.com. That's the saddest thing, as he was like a father to me and lived only a few minutes away as long as he was alive. I was 19 when he passed away, and I'm 30 right now. Dumb teenager is the only excuse I have.
I know that feeling. I had six uncles. Four of them fought in the war, and two of them were at Pearl Harbor. I never bothered to ask any of them about their experiences, and they're all gone now. My dad was just barely too young to fight, and he just turned eighty.

[snakeyez]

Isn't that so odd? What would make us NOT be curious about such amazing wartime personal experiences?

Oh, I just realized that this topic should have probably been started in the "General Topics" board instead of this one. I apologize.

[Sailor Steve]

As long as nobody complains, don't worry about it. If one of the moderators thinks it should be moved, he'll move it.

As to questioning our elders, who knows why we do what we do. I've talked plenty about my Vietnam experience, but my own kids could care less. C'est la vie.

[bookworm_020]

Welcome aboard!

Thanks for sharing the photos and memories of an old submariner!:up:

[Torps]

to subsim. Thanks for sharing those personal pics, thats some awesome stuff man. Your grand father didn't just leave you priceless personal affects he left you with pieces of history. :up:

[McBeck]

Yeah, well since this is a "Hello - im new to SH4" it will stay here.

Lots of people start out by saying hello :)

[AVGWarhawk]

Thank you sir! I'm just trying to work on getting up through the ranks now and have a long way to go!

I have pics to share from my website from my visit to the USS Drum down in Mobile, AL this past October. Since my visit I've been trying to come up with ways to raise money for the Drum. I feel like it is my duty, like it is what my grandfather would have wanted.


Here is me working on the Torsk.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=678774&postcount=517


If you want to contribute to the Drum there are a lot of ways to do it. Not always monetarily either. Often these museums have work weekends. The Torsk hosts two each year. Usually about 35 guys and gals will spend three days cleaning, cycle valves, painting, etc. It is a lot of fun. Sure, we get grimy but we are fed over at the Taney and sleep either on the Torsk or the Taney. We can shower on the Taney and enjoy a BBQ(beer:smug:) on the fantail on the last day. A lot gets done. See if the folks at the Drum schedule these work weekends and make ever effort to attend. You will not be sorry I assure you. I'm fortunate that I'm so close to the Torsk I can go just about every weekend. I really volunteered to restore Torsk because of my uncle mentioned earlier in this post and my other uncle who lives in NJ. He served in the PTO on the carrier. I remember as a kid he and I touring the Torsk. Heck that was back in 1974. Now I'm working on her. His wife, my aunt was a WAVE. She has her name and picture at the women memorial in Washington DC. I went for that dediction years ago. Many people turned out. Women pilots flew over in helicopters. The weather was not the greatest so they cancelled the jets that were to fly out of Andrews AFB. All in all, a great day!

[snakeyez]

That's pretty cool! I had never read up on the Torsk until just now. She fired the last torpedoes of WWII eh?

Battleship Memorial Park, which houses the USS Alabama battleship and the USS Drum, among other military things, is right on 3 hours away from here. It's crazy difficult trying to plan a trip down there, as we started planning our October trip in June last year.

But yeah, the Drum does have work weekends/days, mostly in warmer weather. The interior is in great shape for the most part, it is just the exterior that got so bad off. Tom Bowser, a retired submariner, practically lives there on the park and has taken up the lead to restore the Drum's outer beauty. He has secured a nice paint donation from Sherwin-Williams and they will also supply a lot of the labor. I also believe he has received a steel donation that will be enough to patch up the exterior. I even think someone had offered to donate sand for a sand blaster. Last I heard he still needed an air compressor, but other than that I think they just needed good weather days this spring to do the work. With the park being open all day to visitors, the sand from the sand blaster was flying around everywhere...so sand blasting timeframe is very short.

The Mobile Bay Base of the USSVI is the main backer of Tom and Lesley. They have a website with a monthly newsletter (in .pdf format) that details the progress of restoration. The newseltter is called "The Signal Ejector" and can be found on the http://www.mobilebaybase.com (http://www.mobilebaybase.com/) website.

[AVGWarhawk]

Yep, last torp sent and last ship sunk. Believe it or not, they used a "cutie". We have one set up in the tube that fired it. We had to ask the Navy permission to load the torp in for display, they gave us the OK. So, check into the work weekend. Plan now. Maybe just make the trip yourself. I do not know your wife/kids situation. My kids will come down with me every now and then. My wife does not. It is like a night out playing poker with the boys but it takes place every Saturday morning with rags and paint:rotfl: Lucky for us, the Torsk goes to dry dock at the Marine Terminals. She is going next year. The ship workers sandblast and add hull plates were she is getting thin in the skin. Then fresh paint and a tug will pull her back to her berth. We do enjoy some nice things from the city concerning the Torsk.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Damn, AVGWarhawk how many times do I have to tell you don't paint the damn megaphone!:rotfl:

Nice to see some folks putting their time in restoration work. We heard rumours some divers found what looks like a u-boat in the Gulf of Paria. Hell, I ain't goin' down there, too many nasty Hammerhead sharks and even worse- Barracudas!:o But it would be nice to bring one up. We found a crashed B-17 in the Northern Range some years ago. The remains of the crew were still inside the plane with their IDs. Sent them to their relatives in the US.