By USS Pogy Public Affairs Office
USS Pogy — Crewmembers of U.S. submarine USS Pogy (SSN-647) visit with patients at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. During a port visit to the land down under, 16 officers and enlisted men from Pogy made time to make a special visit to patients of the Royal Brisbane Hospital and its cystic fibrosis ward. Brisbane Royal Australian Navy Chaplain, Bert Jones arranged the event to see how the submarine goodwill ambassadors could brighten the lives of some of the more seriously ill patients at the hospital. The visit turned out to be a complete success.
The ship’s Royal Australian Navy liason, Lt. Belinda Mitchell put it simply “it was wonderful to see the faces of the patients light up when they saw one of your Sailors walk into the room . . . This visit really worked out well for all involved and exceeded every expectation we ever hoped for.”
Upon arrival, crew members and patients joined for a group photo before the Sailors broke off into smaller groups to visit each ward. “The hospital visit allowed me to provide a smile and some happiness to the patients I met. I gave them a chance to forget their medical problems and to explore the life of a submariner” said Goosecreek, S.C. native Chief Electronic Technician Richard Morales.
The Sailors entertained patients for hours with sea stories, answers to the numerous questions about life as American submariners, and games with the children. According to ET1 Russell Breedlove of San Diego, the visit to the hospital was definitely one of the highlights of his stay in Australia.
“We were afforded an opportunity to visit with children and adults who were genuinely glad to talk to us. There were a lot of smiles and laughs from patients and Sailors,” said Breedlove. “This was the kind of experience that makes you proud to be Navy.” Each patient was given a photograph of the Pogy pushing through the arctic ice cap, and the children were also given a Pogy ballcap as tokens of their newly gained friendships and a memory of the visit.
For the 16 Sailors who gave a little bit back to the local community that day, it is a memory from the land down under that will never fade.
Other Pogy volunteers include: Lt. Cmdr. Jon Dowell, Western Springs, Ill.; Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Jimmy Lunsford , Amarillo, Tex.; Sonar Technician (Subs) Seaman James Bierly, Fontana, Calif.; STS1 Robert Dyar, Waskom, Tex.; EM2 Chris Clark, Rock Island, Ill.; Machinist Mate 1st Class Garry Kernan, Port Orchird, Wash.; Lt.j.g. David Kuhn, Farmington Hills, Mich.; EM2 Jon Marc Zedlitz, Georgetown, Tex.; ETC Richard Morales, Goosecreek, S.C.; ET1 Russell Breedlove, San Diego; ET1 Randy Hawks, Chicago; Fire Control Technician 1st Class Michael Johansen, Fremont, Mich.; Lt. Cmdr. Micael Dargel, East Lyme, Conn.; Lt. Tom Marzalek, Oak Lawn, Ill.; ET1 Ken Wiese, Indianapolis, In.; MM1 Bill Tettenhorst, Airora ,Mo.
-USN-
