Oneighty...there's a little boy who will hear of you leaving and miss you.

[ScreamingMeemie]

http://www.lonesailor.org/log.php?search=yes&navy_log_id=782534&lname_search=GARD&fname_search=EDWARD&page=1&firstname=Edward&lastname=Gard



The little boy who always asked,"Mama has he posted another story...?" When I read this news just a few minutes ago, I found myself searching for my son's favorite stories... And I found this one, one I must have missed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=4489500

Ed, you will be greatly missed...you were loved, by a little boy who so looked forward to your stories...and his mom. Thank you for your friendship. You were a HUGE addition to DU...and I can't believe you are gone.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. Oh Sweetie.

:hug: I found myself writing rant after rant about death, but I never posted them. I hate death. I hate it when the people I care about are sad. And we've had too much loss here.
Mel

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. I am hating myself for not getting his book to him sooner.

:cry:

It was a great book. He was a great man. A real life "shoulder" (my son's way of saying soldier). :hug:

[shugah]

35. hi MrsG

i was going to offer to lend you my copy of Voyages on the Vicky Mary, but i see you've already read it. it is a wonderful book - i pulled it out this morning to read some, and cry some.

the stories about japan are what brought Ed and i to friendship - i have a son also, and he is fascinated by japan. when i asked Ed about his time and experience there, he sent me emails filled with his rich and colorful time there, his memories, i loved reading every word and was always impatient for more. i always told him he had a way with words... most of the japan stories he told me are in the book - i even get a mention (that's me on pg 157 :-) )

i will miss him so much. i will truly miss him so much.

[Haole Girl]

37. Don't beat yourself up about the book

I'm sure he wouldn't hold it against you! :hug: :hug:

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.

Benjamin Franklin


Oneighty will be remembered. :grouphug:





Edit: for exact quote

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Oh thanks, I have never seen this link or photo before.

Please give Baby Grumpy a hug for me. I hope you don't mind, but I cross posted the photo link to the GD thread below. I thought it was appropriate. :hi:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2229680&mesg_id=2229797

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. Not at all, gaot...

:hug:

We had gotten into a discussion (my son was enthralled that he was "really" a soldier) and he sent me this link for him. BabyG used to look forward to his stories as much as we all did.

My heart is with his wife and family. He had introduced her her a while back, but she didn't post much after that. I am hoping she logs in to see everyone's thoughts. :loveya:

[lizziegrace]

5. I didn't know he was a diver

what a loss for all of us. :cry:

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. He told the story of the day that picture was taken. It was the last time

they were to wear that bulky diving gear and he got trapped under that bridge.

Here are some of the things he wrote about being an EOD:

EOD Divers
From: oneighty
Date: Feb-14-06 12:40 AM
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Divers in my time were limited to 120 feet deep with SCUBA, 150 feet with the Mark Five Hardhat (Picture) and 60 feet with a third type of surface supplied dress known as Jack Brown.

Todays divers are capable of deeper dives due to the advent of newer equipment using mixed gases.

Most of the divers on the plane wreck off the east coast (flight 800) were EOD divers.

EODs are primarily concerned with rendering safe unexploded ordnance. Navy EOD also works on harbor clearance of sea mines and are responsible for harbor defense against enemy swimmers. Modern EODs can use trained Seals, Dolphins in their work.

Navy EODs are also responsible for clearing mine fields in the ocean. They have very sophisticated equipment now that we did not have in my time.

EOD work is very exciting. There is quite a bit of info on Navy EOD on the internet.

Later in life I worked in engineering field with Scott Aviation on diving equipment and also diving research at SUNY Buffalo, N.Y.

At forty years old I had to leave the diving field. So I went fishing. 'Voyages of the Vicky Mary' covers that mistake. Hahaha


Here is some more:

Re: Re: Good Morning
From: oneighty
Date: Feb-13-06 09:16 PM
>>All of my young life I was an avid reader which in turn led
>>me to want to be a deep sea diver. Which I did.
>>
>>Go to U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation on line. Go to the Navy
>>Log search for Edward Alva Gard.
>>
>>Ed
>
>
>Thank you Ed, for sharing that with me. That is a great
>picture. I cannot wait to show it to James. Now I can picture
>you as I read the story.
>
>Laura

I thought maybe boys would like seeing the 'Old time' Mark Five diver's dress. That is the last time I ever used it. I got tangled up in debris under the Cooper River bridge that day. We were checking concrete bridge pilings for the Army Engineers. That bridge is being taken down now. (Grace Memorial Bridge) Charleston S.C.
ed

[TK421]

6. That really got to me, and I'm not the emotional type

wish I read more of his stories

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. My son and I used to search for him and then read his stories...

Once we got the Journals it go much easier. We'll miss him.

[TK421]

20. This FUCKING sucks

I guess that is all I have to say about this situation

[madfloridian]

7. My tribute to oneighty....

Gonna hop into that car of mine and drive around the world

Part of his great book.

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. He'll be missed.

My heart goes out to his family. What a message he sent with his stories. He'll live on through them.

:hug:

[Ptah]

8. .

:cry: :hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. Ptah...

:hug:

[fishnfla]

9. He had some great tales

I'll never forget the one of him and Mose collecting oysters on a cold Christmas morning, drinking Vodka and filling bushels. Mose lighting the kerosene heater "whoomph". Everytime I light a lantern and hear that sound, I'll remember Ed.

MRSG, do you have his book?

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. Yes I do. He sent it to me to read and I was going to send it back.

I still will, and perhaps his family can make some more copies of it.

[fishnfla]

15. My understanding is...

that he paid to have it published himself through a friend, had a certain number of copies made and just gave them away, many to DUers. I know he offered me one once, there's a story in there "porpoises" from way back when....I wisdh I could see a copy of the book myself

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. It's story number 98.

"I am working on my crab pot line in Five Fathom Creek down there in South Carolina. I have started at the ocean end of the creek so as to work my pots on the falling tide. It is easier that way.

The mud flats covered with marsh grass are cut here and there by tiny creeks and natural ditches formed by the tidal rise and fall. The mouth of the creeks and ditches are good locations to place a crab pot.

The tide has fallen to almost low tide. I am pulling a pot close to a very small ditch. There is very little water flowing from the ditch.

I hear a great flapping and huffing and puffing and from out of the ditch comes zipping a full size Porpoise, he splashes out into the deeper water and is gone."


:(

-Voyages of the the Vicky Mary (and other stories you might wish you had never read) Edward A. Gard.

[sui generis]

32. Mrs. Grumpy

I've had a few great posts with oneighty but never knew about the stories. I would dearly love to have a copy of his book if you have more info about how that might happen.

-Michael

[merh]

16. There are certain posters on DU that you search for when you

need encouragement or adventure or just a sense of "home".

oneighty was such a poster.

What gifts he gave, what a loss his death is for the rest of us.

thank you oneighty

:cry:

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. He was special...

he remembered everything, and was always willing to lend an ear. :hug:

[merh]

19. He was very special ...

Here is a link to his journal http://journals.democraticunderground.com/oneighty , thank goodness for the journal and search functions here because thankfully Ed left us pieces of himself to visit as we need.

:hug:

[TK421]

21. Doesn't this bullshit happen to people who LEAST deserve it?

I mean, come on....it seems like those who make the biggest positive impact on someone else suffer or, in this case, die. This isn't fucking fair and it makes me sick to my stomach

[merh]

25. It does seem like that doesn't it.

I'm sorry that you are in such pain :hug:

oneighty was one of our best, we can honor him by trying to live and share as he did.

Remember the love, remember the man, remember the joy he gave and the adventures he shared.

May you find peace through your rememberances. :hug:

[WCGreen]

22. I remember that story and printed it out for Christmas.....

Ed gave me tips on a few things I shared with him...

Damn....

[ScreamingMeemie]

26. That story really illustrates (IMO) the type of person he

was to everyone here.

[SoCalDemGrrl]

23. Thank you for posting that beautiful Xmas 2005 story..RIP oneighty

what a wonderful man - I wish I had known him.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

24. What do you mean RIP ?

Oh my goodness I remember posting in his thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x5176882#5176907

[Skittles]

28. Ed passed away yesterday

we will miss him terribly

[buddhamama]

27. ...

a lovely post, Mrs.G in memory of truly exceptional person. a kind soul. :hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

29. I'm thankful he shared all of those bits with DU.

:hug:

I'm also thankful that I never get around to cleaning out my PM box. :loveya:

[myrna minx]

30. I will truly miss this dear man.

:cry: Thank you for posting this. :cry: May he rest in peace.

[myrna minx]

31. I will truly miss this dear man.

:cry: Thank you for posting this. :cry: May he rest in peace.

[sui generis]

33. Another link - search for "Ed Gard"

http://www.thenecessarylanguage.com/stories/

and his book "Voyages of the Vicky Mary", I did find references but no links.

[trof]

34. Thanks for the photo and 'lonesailor' url

Ed Gard was a handsome dude.
damn

[catmandu57]

36. Damn

I knew he was back in the hospital, but this is the first I'd heard he'd passed, damn.
We talked this spring, he told me then that he would be creamated and buried at sea, 600 fathoms deep if I remember correctly, he said it would be his deepest dive, and longest too.
So long old salt, RIP Ed.

[Hav]

38. .

Thank you for the links and his beautiful story. May he rest in peace.
So many great people on DU.

[Dangerously Amused]

39. I still can't believe he's gone.

:cry:


I think Ed wouldn't want you to to beat yourself up over holding on to the book, sweetie. Anyway awhile back I discussed with him the potential of getting some more copies of the Vicky Mary published, though at the time his thoughts seemed to be focused more on finishing the second book he had in his head and getting that published before returning to the first one. But during that discussion I did look up the publisher information of his first book. It's here:

http://www.printaccess.com/perl/pia?action=display&aff=pianys&pid=ARK5686


Perhaps the publisher would be willing to print up a small batch if enough interest is generated. Some indie publishers these days are even doing books on demand - i.e., ordering one at a time is fine as everything's on disk. Though the cost is a bit higher that way. Something to think about.


:hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

40. Dear DA...

:hug: :cry:

I know. I keep expecting to see another story here or there.

Thank you for being such a good friend. That is a really good idea.

[Nikia]

41. I enjoyed his stories too

I am sorry that he has passed away.