Jay Mack Remembers Don Thomas, TM1(SS), FTR Boss, crew of '67-'68

From:         Jay Mack [mailto:JMACK@goaa.org]

Sent:      Wednesday, January 03, 2001 5:41 AM

To:      ‘jsantos@stellartec.com’

Subject:     RE: Hello from Diodon shipmate

 Yes, you bet I remember you.  It is good to hear from you.  The TM1 in charge of the forward room was Don Thomas.  He went on to the USS Dace, a nuke boat, and then to shore duty before retiring.  I used to write back and forth with him, but havent heard from him in some time. 

He found the Lord while on the Dace and he became heavily involved in his religion.  He had a son with heart problems and that was very hard on him.  If I remember correctly, your boss in the after room was Stanley Swedbloom.  How could any forget him? 

I left Diodon in October 1968.  They wanted me to re-enlist and go back to WestPac with them, but I wasnt too fond of the new skipper, LCDR Robert Duke.  Sometimes I regret my decision to not re-enlist, but hind sight is always 20-20.