The Boat

By James "Stud" Roan

Dedicated to the USS Queenfish SS393

I read an article the other day
That brought a lump to my throat
It was written by an old submariner
Who was saying goodbye to his boat
He told how he stood where she was moored
And wiped a tear from his eye
He spit out his chew of tobacco
As he said his last goodbye
He knew she heard him when he bowed his head
And said “There will never be
Anyone else who can mean as much
As you have meant to me
So when you’re gone to your Eternal Rest
Remember I will follow thee
And again together we will ghostly patrol
The South and East China Seas.”

About the author: Mr. Roan is 82 years old and lives in Pineville, KY where he has lived most of his life. Enlisting in 1942, he went to boot camp and service school at Great Lakes - and on to sub school at New London. He was assigned to Queenfish under construction at Portsmouth in January 1943 and went aboard as FC3/C - he was a plankowner. He was discharged as FCS2/C in February, 1946 and made all 5 war patrols. He is a graduate Electrical Engineer and works for a coal company. His primary hobby is writing and he has written and had published 3 books. James is married and has 3 children and 4 grand children. He wrote "The Boat" after he learned from Captain Jack Bennett that the Queenfish had been sunk as a target by another sub.