The Reunion of the Crew of S-235

Fifty-three years had passed since the surviving crewmen of S-235 had all been together. Plans were laid over many months to make the much-anticipated event happen. Over the intervening years, they had each recalled numerous events that had melded them into a hospitable, well-oiled machine in which every member fulfilled his expected role in amiable comradeship with the others. Now they longed to be reunited for potentially one last time.

German Schnellboot, World War II

Not everyone who had been a member of S-235 would be able to attend the reunion. One had passed away several years earlier. One was rumored to be dealing with health problems that prevented his attendance; he hadn't even responded to the invitations. And the crew had lost contact entirely with others who had joined the S-235 gang near the end.

Even the survivors who could attend the four-day event had their own struggles with the inevitable problems of time and aging--arthritis, knee replacements, myasthenia gravis, deteriorating eyesight, back problems, etc.--that limited them. But their minds were still sharp, and their memories of the time they had spent as mates were vivid.

One by one they had entered their assigned quarters, not knowing what to expect but hoping and praying for the best. One survivor recalled, "I was just praying for mates who were clean. I didn't want to be stuck having to live with a slob."

The captain, the senior crewman, was nearing the end of his career and would soon be reassigned to new duties elsewhere. But he would have a profound impact on every crewman while he was still in command. They knew the ropes, so to speak, yet they still had much to learn and needed his steady hand and common sense wisdom.

Then there were the two newbies, who were greenhorns, unaware of what was going on, groping their way through the initial learning period, getting lost, failing to appear when and where they were expected, and learning from their numerous mistakes. Perhaps most unsettling to them, however, and adding to their struggles, were the practical jokes the veterans played on them as a means of both initiating them to the crew and taking their measure as individuals.

How would they react to their hazing and teasing? Would they fit in? Could they take the hard work that would be demanded of them? Would they meld together as a team?

They went through a lot during the next year. Learning, growing, and struggling together, each with his own problems and challenges. And they had had fun together, in spite of--or was it because of?--it all.

And that was the very reason they looked forward to this much-anticipated reunion. They were only a partial crew, but they would assemble and enjoy their renewed friendship.

During World War II, the German Kriegsmarine ("War Navy") had fast torpedo attack boats called Schnellboote ("fast boat"), but that isn't what I mean when I refer to S-235.

The crew of S-235 were college roommates living in a dormitory named J.Y. Smith and in room 235, the last room on the western end of the second floor. One was a third-semester senior Bible major, Ken Collier; two sophomore history majors, Craig Stone and myself; and two freshmen, a Bible major named Frank Eberhardt and a first-year student in the Institute of Christian Service named Jim Stephenson.

Partial crew of S-235: (left to right) Jim, Craig, and me

Time and space couldn't begin to allow the telling of even a fraction of the things this crew did together. Uncharacteristic of college roommates, they never bickered or argued or fought with each other, but they did a lot of teasing and pulling of practical jokes on each other. But it was all taken in good fun and produced a lot of laughter at the reunion as various ones recalled events that were still vivid in their minds after all those years.

Kings Mountain monument

At the reunion were Craig, Jim, and myself. Our time was not spent in merely sitting and talking, although we did plenty of that. We also visited the Kings Mountain and Cowpens National Military Parks. (What else would two history majors do?) We visited a gun store. We tried to locate our senior prayer captain, Ken, but he was out of town. And we did a lot of eating, both in restaurants and in our home. And, just as we had done as college roommates, we all chipped in to make the reunion happen.

Plaque at base of Cowpens monument

One never knows when--or if--we'll all meet again. Time and events happen. But we all know that we will see each other one way or another, if not in this life, then in heaven in the next, for we are all believers. We have the hope that surpasses all earthly knowledge and understanding.

Do you have the same assurance?