Today would have been my brother Ken’s 76th birthday. He died 4/30/1995. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. As youngsters, we were very close. Public School, then Andover. Team mates in hockey and lacrosse. I went off to Yale and Kenny to Brown. We spent entire summers at Lonelyville, Fire Island and life guarded together. After graduation from college, we served as officers on the same ship, the destroyer USS Abbot (DD629), home-ported in Newport, RI. On November 6, 1956, we sailed for the Mediterranean. Nasser blew up several ships, closing the Suez Canal as we steamed across the Atlantic. The story [with terrific accompanying slides] that I have recalled about this time details an adventure we shared that could have ended far differently.

Please click on this link to read it and see the photos: “U.S.S. Abbot Mediterranean Cruise 1956”

Having Ken alongside me was very reassuring as the incident unfolded, there’s no one else I would have chosen! The slides were taken with a camera Mom and Dad gave us before we sailed.

One of my prized possessions is a letter to Mother from Mamie Eisenhower dated 10/30/1956:

Dear Mrs. Rider,

You were truly kind to write such a warm, friendly letter expressing your faith and confidence in the leadership of the President. Your devotion and loyal support mean a great deal, and I can’t tell you how comforting and encouraging it is to hear from the many who constantly keep us in their prayers, asking divine guidance for the President in all acts and decisions.

You certainly must be proud of your two sons on the U.S.S. Abbot for they are patriotically doing their part in serving their country.

With gratitude for your good will and my very best wishes always,
Mamie Dowd Eisenhower

Posting all this would not have been possible without the Abbot web site and the incredible work of Walt Baranger, the keeper of the history, editor extraordinaire and collector of fact whose father served aboard the Abbot from 1943-1945.

George S.K. Rider