For
some reason, I have always had an appreciation for history,
growing up in southern Colorado with the remnants of the old
gold mines, narrow gauge railroads, etc. Shortly after be
assigned to the 601, during the shipyard in Bremerton in 1970,
I somehow recognized that this great submarine would someday
be history, and made an attempt over many patrols to document
it. For years I have had this stuff, and always wished there
was someway to share it ... and finally, the Internet came
along. So I am more than happy to share these sketches with my
fellow shipmates, and others, to show a piece of American
history that has largely been ignored (at least for the money
and effort that went into it!). After browsing many
other submarine web sites, I was disappointed to find that so
little exists ... there are few photos, sketches, memorabilia,
or anything to account for millions of man-months and dollars
expended on the Polaris program. It's a shame the US Navy
hasn't done more about it. Until I first logged into the SSBN-
601's web site, I did NOT know that the 601 made more patrols
than any other boat, made nearly the first patrol, and made
the very last. The Lee was a hell of a boat with a hell of a
crew. We might have been about the oldest boat of them all,
but no doubt now ... it was the best.
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