Due to the conversations had with Paul Mayer, crew member of the RV PETREL, I felt the need to get a memorial plaque in the works. Earlier this week, thanks to the early donations by Bill Gustavson and David Hermsen I had the down payment for the plaque. Hallmark Trophys in Lexington is handling the order, and it should take 6-8 weeks. Others have come forward to contribute and I am so very grateful for their support! Once all the donations are in I will list the donors here on the blog page. In addition if I should get anything over the amount to purchase the plaque I plan to donate that money to the scholarship fund of the USS STRONG DD467/758 Association. 

Now, having the plaque made does not guarantee that the ship being found this year is a given. It just means I will be prepared should I get that call. It might be several weeks, or several months and that's if they are allowed to go looking for it again. My hope is they will, and we'll be ready to follow through with laying the plaque. 

If you would like to donate toward the final cost, a total of $1200.00 ($900.00 remains), message me through the contact form on the website. Below is the front design of the plaque, and a list of the 46 lost which will be engraved on the back.

​Tammi

A few weeks ago I told you all about conversations and emails I’ve been sharing with Paul Mayer, a member of the crew of the RV PETREL, one of the ships in Vulcan Inc.’s fleet of research vessels owned by Paul Allen. Allen is a co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates, and owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers. He’s also a very philanthropic soul, his Vulcan Inc. group is involved in the arts, education, conservation and much more. I welcome you to check out their website to see just how busy this organization has become: www.vulcan.com

So, in order to better educate myself and be able to ask questions that emails just can’t begin to handle, I asked Paul if it would be possible to meet when he was back stateside. As it happens, he lives just 4 short hours from me outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. We made plans for that to happen on May 7th. I got reservations at a hotel and we were on our way.
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First of all, I had planned on this being a more business-like meeting. We had a couple of very informal and very friendly Skype conversations and I had a very good feeling about this person and that we would get along just fine. Turns out Paul must have felt the same, as we were graciously invited to his home. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel and freshening up a bit, I programmed my phone in Google Maps with their address and we hit the road again. About 25 minutes later, we pulled up to his home and were greeted not only by Paul, but his two pet goats, Bert and Ernie. Shortly after we met the dogs: Walter, an elderly blind Dachsund, Roger a very sweet and much younger Dachsund and my new best friend, and the lovely white mixed breed Bella. Paul took us on a tour of his home, lovingly redone with his handiwork. A little background here. Paul is a man of many talents. He’s a diver, submarine and ROV pilot, a master carpenter, a professional photographer, saws and mills his own wood, he rebuilt much of their home – A Renaissance man, you get the picture. So his personal touch with woodcraft is all through the house. Next, we got a tour of his property including the mobile sawmill and his large and enviable wood shop. After that, we sat down and got to the business of ship talk.

I had many questions about the attempt to locate STRONG and why they were not successful. On his wide screen TV, Paul displayed the data they collected and we discussed scenarios and what could have been missed. Greg and I peppered him with questions about the equipment used, the methodology of deploying the free swimming AUV verses sonar with a tow cable, the types of ROV used and it’s speed and capabilities – anything we could think of. He also pulled up and shared information on their finding of the USS INDIANAPOLIS in 2017 and explained how that ship was located. To say I was in awe of the accomplishments of this team of very technical people would be an understatement. Just in the past year they have located the INDY, LEXINGTON, HELENA, JUNEAU, the WARD and others. To see all that they’ve accomplished check out: www.paulallen.com or visit the Facebook page for RV PETREL. Sitting in his kitchen/living room and having access to someone in his position to me is phenomenal. He was very laid back and easy going, eager to answer questions and to ask a few of his own. I couldn’t have been happier.

Until his wife Rosie came home, and we were all happier. Rosie is just like Paul, welcoming, sweet and was very engaged in the conversation. We had agreed to meet for supper and followed them to a lovely restaurant on the Tennessee River called the Boathouse. Over about the next 3 hours we continued to talk, share information and just get to know one another. I can say that Greg and I have a couple of new friends in Tennessee, and am so proud to have met them both. So what came out of this meeting? A lot, I think. I found Paul to be very open and engaging. From this I also anticipate that the crew of PETREL does not like loose ends – that if they get the opportunity to head back to the Kula Gulf this year, that they will scan the areas they missed before and sniff out the location of STRONG. The interest is there, the capability of the ship and the technical crew is certainly bona fide. it’s a matter of people a bit higher up the chain agreeing that the loose end needs to be tied up.
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In the meantime I’ll be working on ordering the plaque, just in case. It could be within the next few weeks, or few months. I want to be prepared.

Paul will return to the ship in a few weeks and they will continue to work in the South Pacific. There are a couple of other vessels they intend to focus on, and if they get the opportunity they will make STRONG a priority and not a side job. The visit with him solidified his commitment, and by extension the commitment of the PETREL crew. Patience is certainly a virtue, and I’m not giving up on the success of this venture.

Tammi

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