| Crossing the Bar - October 7, 2006 Reunion Memorial Service for Frank.
On January 3, 2006, Frank Speer lost his battle with cancer and passed away. Anyone lucky enough to have had Frank Speer touch their lives were truly blessed. He was one of a kind and will be missed by those who knew him. My life first touched Frank's when I came on board the USS Davidson in October of 1966. He was a seaman and was already directing new crew members in their duties in 1st division. It didn't take long to realize that he was one of the ship's characters. During his time on board from 1965 to 1970, he directed 100's of deck apes in their duties. Right up until the time he left the ship as Frank Speer BM2, he could chew your butt out and you would walk away with a smile on your face. You learned a lesson but you didn't feel like a whipped pup when he did it. He would use his dry humor on you and at the end of the day, you would be buying him drinks as if nothing had happened. Everyone knew Frank even though we all worked in different areas of the ship and only came together three times a day for chow and the nightly movie. If he was on the receiving end of a butt chewing he would find a way to have it done with humor. He was that kind of a guy. After I left the ship I thought of him often. With the advent of the computer and e-mails, the two of us found each other in 2000. He was the one who set up our first reunion in Eureka Springs, AR. and nine of us came. When we met for that first time in 30 years it was if we had never been apart, and the humor was still there. He kept us in stitches that whole weekend with stories of the ship and the guys who were on board. We also learned things we didn't know. One of his ongoing statements at the first reunion on through to the 2005 reunion is "Has anyone found my fingers?" "Wonder what happened to them?"(Last month we were able to answer that question for him).
Our next 4 reunions grew and one reason for it was that the guys wanted to see Frank again. Where Frank was, there was always a group around to listen to him. I wish I could tell you how many times I heard some of the stories, but they still remained funny. Many times it was the way he told them or his facial expressions.
 Unfortunately with time some things come to an end. For Frank it was cancer and he fought it for a year and a half but always showed up for the reunion even if he had to postpone a chemo treatment. He wanted to be in reasonable shape to attend and that was the case in 2005. Deep down he knew that this would be his last reunion, and that in 2006 his name would be added to the deceased list that we kept on the front table of the meeting room. He wanted to say his goodbyes.
Before and after that reunion we had slowed down on e-mails and called each other everyday or so to bitch and complain about the big and little things in life. It was a toss up on who did the most but for me I felt 110% better after talking with him.
As the pain got worse, Frank entered the hospital and then one day the phone rang and it was Frank. Same old Frank only more serious. He called to say he wasn't going to make it, have everyone pray for him, thanks to everyone for the cards and he thanked me for being a good friend. I knew it was his goodbye call and he wanted to do it while he could. I wanted to talk longer to him but it was hard for both of use to continue. On December 31, I got to speak to him again but what he said I couldn't make out. On Jan. 3, 2006, he passed away. I had lost my best friend and the crew had lost a good friend too. Deke Keller, at the reunion, recorded some of his stories and they will now live on in his own voice--the ham sandwich and Captain's Mast and Chickens on the Fantail just to name a few.
Our first Captain was a storyteller too and now he has a partner. I'd like to think that they are sitting together on a bit on the bow of the ship telling each other sea stories with the other deceased crewmembers around them. So maybe the next time you hear a distant low rumble in the sky, it isn't thunder afterall. Maybe It is Captain Stanfield, Frank Speer and the guys laughing at some story one of them just told.
Goodby Frank--save a few stories for us and we will see you again when you pipe us aboard.
Robert "Tweetie Bird" Schippers |
