Reunion Report from Don

Editor's Note: Seattle Base member Don Sass recently returned from a reunion with his old crew and he wanted to pass along a short account of his trip.

I have just returned from the 8th reunion of the USS Bashaw, (SS-241, SSK-241 & AGSS-241) held February 20-23 in Hawaii. The event has been in the planning stages for a couple of years, and this time the people responsible for setting it up outdid themselves. There were 48 people including spouses attending, including 4 officers, one a previous captain of the Bashaw, four chiefs and the rest of us crew members.

Here is Don enjoying a nice drink

The function started with a cocktail get-together at the Hale Koa Barefoot Bar on the beach hosted by the association. (I think the bar tab was quite high!) There were crew members from the mid-50’s up to her decommissioning in 1969. Kind of funny seeing old crewmates and 70-somethings acting like they were still in the Navy. Everyone had a great time telling old war stories on into the evening. A young sailor off the USS Ohio came by and thanked us for our service and we chatted for about thirty minutes. Found out that the Ohio was the first to have female crew members.

View of the Bowfin from shore

Tuesday, we were bussed out to the Arizona memorial first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds. While there, an admiral from the Stennis (Editor's note: Don is referring to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis CVN-74) was there before his ship got underway. Should have recognized the admiral’s barge alongside. Then over to the Bowfin and the museum there. One of the ladies with us crocheted red, white and blue leis for us and it made it real easy for us to get into the museum etc. as they worked as ID for the ticket takers.

Bashaw crew with their red, white and blue leis

The rest of the afternoon and all day Wednesday were free time and most of us took tours or walked on the beach at Waikiki. BTW: Hotel street and Chinatown are still there. For those of you who have not been to Oahu lately, you won’t recognize it. I was there for three years 1960-1963, on the Bashaw and there weren’t any freeways or many tall buildings. Now lots of freeways, and Waikiki is definitely where they store all of the tourists. No more clear views of the beach from most places and it’s like skyscraper canyons.

Bashaw crew on Columbia's mess deck

Thursday was the highlight of the trip with a tour of the USS Columbia (SSN-771) and a few people who were not able to get below decks, were taken on a tour of the sub base. There were about 8-9 boats in Pearl Harbor that day that I could see, and one was the newer Virginia class USS Hawaii (SSN-776) nose to nose with the Columbia. All of the boats were under maintenance with scaffolds on their sails. The Columbia was no exception, with workers all over and some of the crew off for training. While below decks they even fired a water slug and the Tomahawk missile doors were open topside. As we boarded, we found out that the ships store was closed because the storekeepers were off to school. When we came through officer’s country, there was a young looking officer working on a computer and we exchanged hellos and he asked how I was doing. I replied I was bummed with the ships store being closed, and he asked “was there something you were looking for?”. Yes, I said, a hat. He said he would see what he could do. A while later and a deck down, he came through and passed me a new hat for nothing. I later found out that it was the captain I was dealing with. Those captains and chiefs on there are a lot younger looking than I remember them.

Don reminds us of another good reason to visit the islands

That night was the best luau that I have ever been to at the Hale Koa. If you can get into the Hale Koa, I highly recommend attending it. There’s even a “geedunk” of sorts at the Hale Koa with cheaper food than you get elsewhere. We parted ways after that and voted to hold the next reunion in San Diego, no date set yet.

If you haven’t been to a reunion of your boat yet, I suggest you do at least one. This was my second and will make the next one, good lord willing.

Don