Ron Hobson MMC(SS)
submitted by Eldon C. Peck, Lt. USN Ret.I met Ron in 1971 on the wonderful island paradise of Guam, (Andy’s Hut). I was getting ready to go on patrol in Daniel Webster (SSBN-626) and Ron was with the Aspro (SSN-648) that just happened by. I had orders to the L. Mendel Rivers PreComUnit in Newport News Va. and somebody said there was this guy on the Aspro that had orders there as well. We met and chatted for a short time and that was the beginning of a great friendship! Ron and I helped build the L.M. Rivers (SSN-686) with the best A-Gang that ever was. We all worked hard and played hard but the only thing we all wanted was for the Rivers to come out of the yard the best 637 class submarine ever built. I think we accomplished that goal.
Later Ron tired of the Navy and got out with 10 years service and worked at several jobs in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We always stayed in touch and when, after I made LDO and was on my way from Guam to Charleston on board the USS Hunley (AS-31), he and my wife met me in Ft. Lauderdale with a cold case of beer in the trunk of the car! What a deal that was, the Repair Department on Hunley loved them!
After a few years of civilian life Ron knew he had made a mistake getting out of the Navy and with a little "prodding" from me he returned and there was no going back from that time forward. In his words, "I am a born again sailor" and he really loved the Navy! Ron sailed in USS Boston (SSN-703) for several years and made Chief, then got transferred to the USS Simon Lake (AS-33) in Holy Loch, Scotland. Ron worked too hard and played too hard and it all caught up with him on 19 December 1991. As he was going back to the ship to check on some jobs, he had a massive heart attack and died on the pier. MMC(SS) Hobson was buried at sea on 5 April 1992 as Simon Lake returned to the United States. Who knows what great things would have come from Ron if he had continued his Navy career? He was a "sailor" and a "submariner". Most of all, Ron was a true friend and that is rare, I miss him.
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