Tribute to Joe (Joseph E.) Vogel

[Protondecay123]

i was an FNG on a tin can destroyer doing Reftray in Gitmo and got PADI OW certified. Our next port was Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI. The Welfare and Rec officer gave us a heads up that there was an opportunity to dive with Joe, a former UDT Torpedoman. We were pretty intimidated but the ships van hauled us over to his shop and he was the friendliest jokester you ever cared to meet. He loaded us up and took us to Coki Beach. We did our predive checks, got buddied up and did a shore dive at Coki Beach that morning. We rubbed the head of a small ray, checked out a moray eel and some barracudas. Saw some neat creatures that looked like sea grass but would retract into their holes when you got close. Some cool camouflage! We got out just before lunch and he took us to his home and fed us. While we were diving, his lovely wife Sandy was preparing lunch for us. We dove again that afternoon. That evening Joe took us on our first night dive. It was a great experience and he told us that after watching us over two sessions he felt confident in leading us on that dive. It was so nice to have such kindness extended to you so far away from home. Being on active duty was tough, but whenever we pulled into St Thomas we could count on one crusty barnacle to show us a great time! Fair winds and following Seas, Joe. We have the Watch!

 

[flyboy08]

RIP Joe!

 

[Tom Winters]

I got a c card from Joe in 1969 when shops started wanting cert proof for fills. I traded him a nice u/w photo for a NAUI paper card that’s still somewhere in the house.
He always wanted to swim underwater from Coki to Thatch Cay using that damn skip breathing technique. The only thing that did for me was give me a massive headache.
He really was a great guy.