Most Plankowners and First Crew members remember SM2 John Volk. Many knew him before I did.

I met John the day I arrived aboard SEATTLE as a lowly SMSA. We bonded instantly and thanks to John I advanced quickly to SM3.

But this isn't about flashing light and semaphore and watching the dolphins jump back and forth across the nose of the ship as we steamed here and there. This is about friendship. John and I made EVERY port stop together...from Lisbon to Mykonos, from Vatican City to Nice and Monaco. He made every port visit even more incredible..just because we shared so many laughs. While tourists and sailors alike walked the streets of Mykonos, Greece...John and I rented bicycles and rode up into the hills away from the city..to see how the natives lived..and worked..and, obviously, because I am writing this some 43 years after John left the ship at the end of his tour of duty..I remember it like it was yesterday.

John left the Navy a year before I did. We kept in touch, with birthday cards and phone calls over the years after that...EVERY YEAR ...making plans to see each other that just never seemed to work out...until...March of 2005.

I had been emailing a few of the crew members of the SEATTLE in 2004 and 2005 when I heard about the impending Decommissioning scheduled for March of 2005. I contacted John and told him we HAD to be there..TOGETHER. He totally agreed. Many of you were there in Norfolk that afternoon when John and I saw each other for the first time in 33 years. Words could not describe the reunion. And of course, seeing other fellow crew members from back in the day was just incredible too!  John and I stayed at the same motel in Virginia Beach. When we were free..we drove to my old apartment on West Ocean View..where John had stayed often when the ship was in port instead of bunking aboard ship. The apartment looked the same..so did John!

And then...I got the phone call..John had been having headaches...and he told me he thought they were from a fall he had taken in the winter on some ice. The headaches didn't go away. It was during another check-up that he learned he had terminal, inoperable, brain cancer. I spoke to him every week as he went through treatment in a rehab center. I also kept in touch with his wife on his progress. One night his wife, Ellen, handed John the phone and we laughed about all sorts of things from SEATTLE days. We said our goodbyes as we always did.

In the middle of the night..I woke up..not sure why..but something woke me.

Hours later..Ellen called...John had passed away...and when I asked her what time..I already knew..it was the same time I woke up from a sound sleep.

What more can I tell you. John's friendship was a gift. Still cherished.