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In January the USS SARGO entered Dry Dock No. 2, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for a Restricted Availability (RAV), involving overhaul of major non-nuclear equipment. The USS SARGO successfully completed the RAV in May and conducted local operations through June in the Pearl Harbor, HI area. In July USS SARGO successfully completed an Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination (ORSE) and received a Fire Control “E” from Submarine Division ELEVEN. USS SARGO continued local operations in the Pearl Harbor area in August and participated in Prospective Commanding Officer PCO operations, including a visit by the boat to Lahaina, Maui where on 14 August 1971 USS SARGO acted as host for a wedding. Bob Gerle RMCM(SS)(1970 – 1972 and 1973 – 1975) shared the following newspaper article: Kehres – Gerle Vows Said On Submarine “The deck of the USS Sargo, a U.S. Navy submarine, was the setting for the wedding of Data Processing Technician Third Class Carla Kehres and Senior Chief Radioman Robert Gerle on Aug. 14. “Some 40 witnesses, including Mr. and Mrs. Bill Kehres of 4256 Graham Court, the bride’s parents, were on board for the ceremony conducted by Cmdr. Robert O’Dell, submarine base chaplain. Both the bride and bridegroom wore white – she her WAVE dress whites, he his tropical white long uniform. “The submarine was between the islands of Lanai and Maui, not far from the romantic old whaling village of Lahaina, on Maui. RM1(SS) Ted King and Mrs. King attended the couple. “Sargo Skipper Cmdr. K. L. Highfill offered his submarine for the wedding, and the crew set up a tape recorder and speaker on top of the ship’s sail to play a rendition of the ‘The Hawaiian Wedding Song.’ Firecrackers, rockets, fire hoses, and blasts from the USS Coucal, anchored several hundred yards away, added to the festivities. “The newlyweds traveled to the Lahaina pier aboard a launch from the Coucal, on which sailors had erected a metal ‘Just Married’ sign. The wedding reception at a hotel in the resort of Kaanapali included an impromptu swim for the couple. “After the honeymoon on the Island of Hawaii, the newlyweds are making their home at Pearl Harbor, where they first met. She, a former employee of Mercantile Bank (now United Bank of Boulder), is stationed with the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet’s office, [and he] on the Sargo. Bob Gerle shared the following photos from the wedding ceremony:

The Wedding Party on the Deck of the USS SARGO (SSN 583)	The Bride and Groom

The following photos (and captions) were provided by Ralph Berry:

"Liberty in Maui, this is probably the duty section. Everyone else was on the beach getting shit-faced with the hippies."	(Front and Center) Ammerman IC1(SS) (Left to Right) Dave Kamerzell CS3(SS), John ?, and Richard Mehochko TMC(SS)

In September the USS SARGO successfully completed a Navy Technical Proficiency Inspection, prepared for and deployed on a WESTPAC deployment.

Courtesy Bob Gerle	Courtesy Bob Gerle
1971 Submarine Ball (Left to Right) Unknown, Ed Lukas, Bob Gerle, "Snake", and Sam Jones	Loading stores for WESTPAC - September 16, 1971

USS SARGO visited Guam for its first port of call. In October SARGO arrived in the Subic Bay, Philippines area after transiting the San Bernardino Straits on the edge of a typhoon and made the first visit by a nuclear submarine to Kaohsiung, Republic of China. Thomas F. McClure ET1(SS)(1970 – 1972) shared the following: "The history outlined mentions that we skirted the Typhoon getting into Subic Bay. The trip through the San Bernardino Straits for three days was, to say the least, a bit hairy, with 20 to 40 degree rolls for most of the trip, in fact when we arrived at Subic Bay, we sent a Nuclear ET1 back to Pearl Harbor, he had been very seasick for the entire time. The story is that after being in Subic Bay for about 3 to 4 days we were ordered back to sea because the Typhoon had turned towards the Philippines. The waves were so high that the propeller's tips were coming out of the water at periscope depth, at 400 feet we were still rolling about 10 to 30 degrees, bad enough that Captain came out of the Wardroom and ordered the OOD to take us deep because we wanted a quite dinner. I think we stayed down deep for about a week before we returned to port." USS SARGO crossed the equator off of Singapore before returning, in November to the Subic Bay, Philippines area. The USS SARGO conducted an extended submerged training cruise during December. The following photos taken during the 1971-1972 WESTPAC were provided by Bob Gerle:

Courtesy Bob Gerle	Courtesy Bob Gerle
Ed Lukas	Jerre Grant

Courtesy Bob Gerle	Courtesy George Massad
Wiley "Doc" Coleman checking out Dick Litscher	Patch made up by the crew for the 1971-1972 WESTPAC cruise

NAVY UNIT COMMENDATION

The USS SARGO received its fourth Naval Unit Commendation for the period August 1968 through December 1969.