Remembering Dave at Andros Island, Bahamas

Dave was stationed on Andros Island, Bahamas for a year. For quite some time now, Andros had been one of the destinations I hoped to travel to remember Dave.  A short flight from Nassau, Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas, yet the least populated. The island is located near the third largest barrier reef in the world, along the Tongue of the Ocean, where depths reach 6,000 feet in certain areas. 

Since Rob had great memories of scuba diving with Dave in Greece and Dave ultimately becoming a certified diver while in the Marshall Islands, what better way to remember Dave than for Rob to place a memorial under the sea!! Rob loved the idea because it was so different from anything else we had done to remember Dave.  Rob remembered Dave saying that diving was “almost like being in space.”  

The memorial consisted of a plaque that Cori and Ara contributed, a small piece of imitation coral that Rob hollowed out to hold Dave’s ashes, and for all of Dave’s friends, Scuba Steve.  At first, Rob wasn’t too sure about the Scuba Steve addition, but afterward commented that it was a good idea and that it added a bit of humor for Dave’s friends who smile at the story.

The morning was warm and sunny as we headed out to the Elkhorn Park snorkeling/dive site.  Lorne, the master diver, accompanied Rob while videotaping the scene.  Rob swam down to the ocean floor looking for the perfect site to place Dave’s plaque, coral and Scuba Steve.  He decided on a spot by a striking grouping of orange coral.  Rob was especially happy with the area because it is a popular dive site where many people will see Dave’s memorial.  He had to smile watching Scuba Steve “bobbin’ around down there.”  We’re sure Scuba Steve will break away and make his journey into the unknown–just like Dave.

We couldn’t leave Andros without visiting the AUTEC Naval Base where Dave was stationed.  We were fortunate that the contact person on the base remembered Dave.  Since the base is accessible only if escorted by a family member or friend, we were so grateful that Rhonda W. agreed to be our “friend” and personally give us a tour of the base.  She pointed out where Dave’s living quarters were, where he played soccer, went to the movies, and the beach he most likely wrote his poem, CROSSROADS. It was great seeing where Dave lived during his tour.  But most importantly, knowing that Rhonda remembered Dave “as being a friendly guy who always had a smile and was always willing to do what was needed to be done” meant the world to me.  They were sorry that he was leaving at the end of his tour.  Being that AUTEC is a restricted base, we were unable to take pictures, but that’s ok, because the pictures are permanently etched in my memory.

Well, our mission was accomplished.  It was time to leave.  We once again said our good-byes to Dave as we left a little bit of Dave under the sea off Andros Island.  I always blink back the tears as each new place falls in the distance.  I am so proud of doing this ‘for Dave,’ but I know I’m also doing it for me.  There are no goodie cartons to mail, Christmas and birthday gifts that I can give.  There’s no helping hand that I can extend to him.  There’s just these special ways I can remember him.  It helps me.  It makes me feel like I’m doing “something.”  I don’t know what else I can do.  There are over 20 places where we’ve “remembered Dave” and we’ve only just begun. 

Dave, are you watching?

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