Yeah, I know we lose them by the score every day but this one is the brother of a good friend. The friend is Ron Smith who was a torpedoman on USS SEAL during WWII. I don’t remember how many war patrols he made but it was a bunch. On one patrol the crew counted over 300 depth charges dropped on them over several hours. I’ve told you before but it bears repeating. WWII submarine veterans were something. Anybody who volunteers for service where 25% of the men are lost is a hero in my book no matter what. And I’m very glad I got to serve with several of them.

Anyway, Ron’s brother Bob, who served on USS BLUEBACK, has terminal cancer and received his last rights yesterday. I never had the honor of meeting him but I know I would have admired him like I do all WWII submarine vets. Here is a photo I had put on a web page I did for Ron a number of years ago. They were home on leave together.

Ron is on the left and Bob on the right.