Sunday, March 10, 2019
Dear Vincent.... fellow marine engineer, friend, colleague, teacher, thinker, educator....oh Vincent why have you left us? We are at a loss to understand. We shared so many good times...at the Naval College, at the University of New South Wales, at the Royal Naval Engineering College in England in 1984, at our weddings and countless social events.
Vincent, you didn't judge us when we couldn't understand you, or when we were sometimes careless with your friendship. You didn't ask much of us. You just kept trying to help us understand that there were problems to be solved that we could not see as clearly as you could.
You shouldered responsibility for issues that you didn't have to, but felt duty bound to do so.
Vincent I have so much admiration for how you cared for the health and future of the Navy, of its technical sailors,of the training and personnel organisations, of the way it all flowed and worked together. While many of us busied ourselves with our immediate jobs, you saw a bigger picture and tried to fix it, often to the detriment of your well being. Even so, you perservered, often alone and perhaps without enough support and recognition.
You also received more than the occasional set back and I marvelled at your tenacity and resilience to continue. But you never wavered. You were so true and loyal to your ideas, your ideals and those closest to you.
Vincent I miss you terribly. I miss your passion and big thinking. I miss your interest and enthusiasm. I miss your generosity and kindness. I miss your insight, your red headed stubbornness and your quirky logic. I miss your infectious need to teach and improve. I miss your inclusiveness, your concern for others and your big heart. I will miss our catch ups and discussions, that now seem all too infrequent.
Have a safe journey dear friend. If heaven has a DDG destroyer with a full watch below, then you will be right at home on the top plates, running those drills, making that machinery sing. And Megsy Twells, your finest and most influential engineer and mentor, will be watching and nodding approvingly.
Vincent, on this your last voyage, may you enjoy following winds and fair seas.
Till we meet again my friend.
God Bless.
