MM2(SS) Joseph Allen Ashley, USN, USS SAN FRANCISCO (SSN 711) Services

RDML Jay DeLoach and his wife, Jodi, represented Commander Naval Submarine Forces at Petty Officer Ashley's memorial and burial services this past weekend. The following is a portion of his report to the Force Commanders.

 MM2(SS) Joseph Allen Ashley was buried on the family property in Spencer, WV on January 16th with full military honors.  Mr. and Mrs. Ashley were very grateful for the large Navy presence during the two days of memorial services in Akron and Spencer.  My wife, Jodi, and I visited with the Ashley's and their sons, Dan and Ben, along with

FORCM(SS) Dean Irwin and ETCM(SS) Chris Clark for about an hour before the Saturday service. They are a warm, patriotic, lovely family who are extremely proud of their sons in the military.  Ben, their youngest son, is a Private First Class in the Army stationed at FT Bragg, NC, while their oldest, Dan Jr., is an engineer with the railroad. The family is also very grateful for the phone calls from ADM Donald and RADM Sullivan and are very much looking forward to the trip to Guam on the 24th.  They expressed their appreciation for the Navy and for the constant phone

calls, emails, and information pertaining to their son's death. Mr. and Mrs. Ashley spoke of the special bond their son shared with his shipmates and spoke of how much Joseph love the Navy.  They mentioned how they've "adopted" several of Joseph's shipmates. 

The services were well attended...approximately 200 people at each service, including many relatives, friends, and former classmates...some in the service with the Marine Corps and Air Force.  Four shipmates from the USS SAN FRANCISCO attended the Saturday services, and twenty past and present shipmates from the San Francisco were there on Sunday.  There was a 'positive' article in the Sunday edition of the local Akron paper, Akron Beacon Journal, about the  Saturday evening service.  Ten local Reserve personnel from Akron, under the direction of CDR Charlie Strassle and DCC(AW) Best, performed a very professional job as the honor guard detail during the six-hour viewing period on Saturday.  MM2(SS) Ashley was given a respectful and honorable Navy burial in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia where said goodbye to their fellow Sailor.   A very thoughtful poem written by one of MM2(SS) Ashley's shipmates was read at both services, and MM1(SS) Patrick Shaw sang "Walk Around Heaven" during Sunday ceremony.  Jodi and I were both honored and proud to be along side these fine young men. 

At the internment, the Navy Honor Detail performance was most impressive, with a three-gun salute, Taps by a Navy bugler, and folding of the American flag -- all of this while it was snowing.  FORCM(SS) Irwin and I presented flags to Mr. and Mrs. Ashley.  By the end of the weekend, the entire Ashley family, from grandparents to distant cousins,

had made the Navy personnel feel at home with plenty of hugs and hearty handshakes from all.  The San Francisco sailors were then taken to the local church for a good country meal.