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STORIES OF THE MEN USS
San Francisco SSN 711
Joseph Allen "Joey" Ashley
Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph
Allen Ashley (U.S.N.), a lifelong resident of
Manchester, Ohio, went home to be with the Lord
on Sunday, Jan. 9, at the age of 24.
Joey died as a result of severe head injuries he
sustained when the nuclear submarine U.S.S. San
Francisco, home-based in Guam, ran aground while
out on maneuvers in the South Pacific.
He leaves parents, Daniel and Vicki Ashley of
Manchester; brothers, Daniel Jr. (Dawn) of Canal
Fulton, PFC Benjamin (Kati) of Fort Bragg, N.C.;
grandparents, Joseph Jr. and Helen Ashley of
Reedy, W. Va., Rev. Dallas and Ellen Smith of
Harrisville, W. Va.; aunts and uncles, Linda
June (Ashley) Fleisher of Akron, Les (Debbie)
Ashley of Doylestown, Jim (Lyneen) Ashley of
Reedy, W. Va., Dallas Jr. (Teri) Smith of
Rossville, Ga., Alfred (Kathy) Smith of Mason,
Ohio, and Aaron (Barb) Smith of Manchester. He
also leaves many close and loving cousins,
shipmates, and friends.
Joey was a 1999 graduate of Manchester High
School, where he was a member of the marching
band and was also a member of Boy Scout Troop
118. After graduation, he chose to follow his
father's footsteps and joined the Navy in 2001.
He was also a member of both the Canal Fulton
Baptist Church and the Akron Baptist Temple, and
frequented many other churches in the area.
Wherever he was based, he found a church to
attend. Joey never met a stranger. His
personality captured and affected each of us in
its own way, and his memory will remain in our
hearts forever. Joey was loved by all who knew
him and we are all blessed to have had him in
our lives, even for such a short time.
Southern Pride: Ode to
the Gen'ral
I write this for a man I
know.
You all should know him
well.
We call him Gen'ral Cooter
and
this here's the tale I tell:
The only Gen'ral that I know
who sailed the ocean blue
Aboard a mighty submarine
Ole Cooter'd lead us if
The South should rise again,
And Rebel pride would
flourish strong
In all the men he knew,
Cause nothin' mattered much
on race
As Cooter's army grew.
One day he gathered with his
men;
His shipmates of the sea,
And leave home, they set on
out,
A foreign port to see.
The mighty Captain welcomed
them,
Beneath the waves they flew
With shellbacks there, and
pollywogs
And Cooter's army grew.
Through many missions,
tests, and trials
The mighty ship prevailed
Her warriors would prove
their worth
Wherever she was sailed.
The best damn boat in all
the fleet,
And all the sailors knew
The Captain had the finest
men
Cause Cooters Army grew.
But an underwater mountain
Did cause the ship to wreck,
And all those roughneck
salts onboard
Were flung on to the deck.
The Gen'ral could not rise
again,
Soon ev'rybody knew.
We did our best to save his
life,
And Cooter's army grew.
The Captain stood there by
his side
And bid him stay and fight.
Some re-enforcements would
arrive
If he could make the night.
And prayers abounded with
support
From all the loyal crew
They rallied strength and
gathered hope
And Cooter's army grew.
We found some good ole
country songs
To ease his pain away,
But with Hank Jr. playin'
loud
Ole Cooter slipped away,
And following the midday sun
He left our battered crew.
The Gen'ral soldiers mourned
his loss,
But Cooter's army grew.
And as we laid him down to
rest,
We held his banner high,
And heard a hoot and holler
from
Those Rebels in the sky.
And as the good Lord took
him in,
He kept our Gen'ral true.
The angels came to march
with him,
And Cooter's army grew.
B.A. Dirksen
-1/0/05-
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