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the crew
members of the USS Robert E. Lee for making donations to our Cold War Memorial Fund, we
commissioned a Cold War POLARIS Patrol pin and a Cold War SSBN Patrol
pin. We awarded them during a moving ceremony at our reunion in
Charleston, SC on May 21, 2005 after our marble bench was installed at
the Cold War Memorial. Our Reunion's guest speaker, King's Bay COMSUBGRU10's
Command Master Chief Tim Pew awarded them to our COs and COBs, who in
turn awarded them to our crew. Not a dry eye in the crowd as our wives
pinned these on their husbands. |
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This marble bench
has the Lee's ship's patch engraved on top and "Sponsored by
former shipmates of USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN 601)" on the side. The
entire $1,400 cost of this bench was funded by contributions made by
crew members. |
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Lee Patch Pin given contributors to Cold War Tribute Fund |
Command Master Chief Tim Pew
COMSUBGRU10 Kings Bay, GA |
About 100 Lee crew members & guests gather for Dedication Ceremony
Bench Dedication Ceremony:
Speakers - CAPT Rusty Pickett, President Charleston NSL and TMCS(SS)
Calvin Shirley, Commissioning Gold Crew COB 59-64
(l-r) Nick Louque, new Secretary/Treasurer
Ron Kimmel-out going Secretary/Treasurer
Tim VeArd, President
Mike Hartung, Vice President
COB Calvin Shirley, speaker / benediction
Lee Association President
Tim & Lynda VeArd
CAPT Le Roy Hebbard, CO of Lee 68-70
& Tim VeArd |
Lee Patch Pin given to all reunion attendees |
Lynda pins Cold War Pin on Tim |
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Tim VeArd's Presentation of the Pins
(Saturday Night, May 21, 2005)
This Reunion’s theme has been … our time on the Lee made a
difference. The Lee’s final patrol not only marked the end of an era …
it also marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
This afternoon, we dedicated a monument to our boat at the Cold War
Memorial to honor that the Lee’s final patrol … number #55 … which was
also the Navy’s patrol number 1,245, the final patrol for the Polaris
Missile System.
Most of us served during the Viet Nam Era, when service in the military
wasn't honored like it is today. We didn't come home to parades or
public recognition. But, we did come home to families who not only loved
us; they also endured those lonely months of separation too. Like us,
they also probably wondered if what we did back then mattered.
IT DID!!!
Vice Admiral Williams said it best in his moving speech at the last
reunion … “few people in their lifetimes can point to an act, by them, that
significantly affected the freedom of all people and the course of
history?”
You can do that! Your wives can do that!
Like our boat, we served quietly. When we left the Navy, few of us
probably were concerned about recognition. We were busy getting on with
our lives. But, when the Berlin Wall fell, is there anyone in the room
who didn't look back with pride and realize our time at sea led to that?
We knew our patrols on the Lee mattered.
The Department of Defense authorized a Cold War Medal, but it was never
awarded. While we can't award the medal you deserve, your Association
commissioned a Cold War Polaris Patrol Pin that we would like to present
to you tonight to recognize your service.
Command Master Chief Tim Pew will assist me in presenting these pins to
our Commanding Officers and Chiefs of the Boats that we proudly served
with. They, in turn, will present these pins to you.
Will our COs and COBs please come forward.
Crew of the USS Robert E. Lee … attention on deck.
Wives of the men who served on the Lee, please pin these awards on your
husband. |
Cold War Submarine Memorial Charleston, SC
To
honor the men of the Cold War Submarine Force and as a reminder of the freedoms these
mighty machines protected, the Cold War Submarine Memorial Foundation
is a
unique and breathtaking memorial. Located at the harbor in Charleston, SC, the memorial
serves as an enduring memory of the contributions of the United States Submarines. The theme of this enduring memorial is
to recognize the unique contributions of United States Navy submarines and those who
served in them during the Cold War in the cause of world peace and freedom. The Fleet
Ballistic Missile (SSBN) submarine has been selected to symbolize these ships because of
the unique and singularly successful deterrent role they quietly served during this
period. Charleston, South Carolina, is the appropriate site for this memorial since it was
from Charleston that more SSBN crews departed in or to their ships for strategic deterrent
patrol during the Cold War than from any other port in the United States. In fact, each of
the original "Forty-One for Freedom" SSBNs began their inaugural patrol from the
Cooper River.
The memorial
is constructed around
the actual sail and rudder of the USS LEWIS AND CLARK (SSBN 644).
The rest of the superstructure is Gunnite to the appropriate scale representative of the SSBN hull.
Adjacent to the hull is a flagpole in a raised platform with a compass rose inlaid in
the deck. The landscaping surrounding the memorial resembles a bow wave that passes
over the bow and continues down the side of the boat and into the stern wake.
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