Since 07-06-02
THE GUPPIES
Long before
the advent of the hippie and the yuppie
There was a class of warship
that was fondly called the Guppy.
Now the Guppy was a submarine,
in case you didn't know,
Long and black and sleek she
was, and always on the go.
In World War
Two, the submarines were our first line of attack,
Many of them went out to sea and
some did not come back,
Now the submariners knew this
but still they went to war,
To defend their nation's freedom
was what they were fighting for.
After World
War Two had ended, when the Japs and Germans quit,
Someone
thought the old subs should be streamlined just a bit,
So they re-designed the old
boats and named them GUPPY Class
With snorkels, better batt'ries
and a hull to make 'em fast.
They went to
sea both north and south from the East to setting sun,
They never knew when night was
o'er and daytime had begun.
Theirs was a life of silence and
the darkness of the deep,
Sometimes their only pleasure
were a few hours of blessed sleep.
They ploughed
the seas from Pole to Pole in defense of freedom's goals,
From Pearl Harbor, and Yokosuka
to the faroff Iceland shoals,
To spy on Soviet submarines and
other ships of war
Was the job of these brave lads
who roamed the ocean floor.
They ran
patrols from Greenland to the shores of Timbuktu
The GIUK GAP and MED RUN were
just nothing for a crew
of Guppy sailors who thought the
NORTHERN RUN okay,
Then take shore leave in Norfolk
for another night of play.
How many
Guppies were there? Far more than I could name.
And each has earned an honored
place in the Guppy Hall of Fame.
They fought the war with Soviets
in secrecy and guile
Until the foe gave up the fight,
which made it all worth while.
Now they're
gone, as all ships go when their tour of duty's o'er,
Brave Guppies, stalwart
warriors, they roam the seas no more,
They've gone to graves far out
at sea and this should be their lot,
Gone from the sight of those
they served but not to be forgot.