[Today’s guest post is by Scott Campbell.]
Recently I got word that my good buddy Bill Straass had passed away.
I first met Bill in the summer of 1985 when I was the Dissemination Secretary on the Ship Project, the project to man-up and purchase a cruise ship on which to deliver “New OTVIII” and the newly released “OT Hatting” courses in the tranquil waters of the Caribbean. Bill was among the Flag Land Base Sea Org staff who had volunteered to become crew members on the ship at a Flag event announcing the Ship Project. He had been the FSO NOTS HGC Board IC (Flag Service Organization New Era Dianetics for OTs Hubbard Guidance Center In-Charge, now that’s a mouthful) up to the point at which we were able to replace him on that post and bring him onto the Ship Project.
Bill was legendary at Flag for having busted Pierre Ethier, the famed Class XII auditor and perennial FSO “Auditor of The Year,” for falsifying his auditing hours! Upon learning of Bill’s report, Pierre promptly threatened to kill Bill if he didn’t retract the Knowledge Report he’d written. Undaunted, Bill stood his ground and refused. An investigation got done and Pierre got an Ethics program. That was the thing about Bill, he was absolutely fearless when exposing any type of malfeasance or abuse of power.
Bill and I were both mechanics by nature, and up to the point at which we got to the ship and started working in the engine room, we were, although competent at our Ship Project posts, “fish out of water,” so to speak – we definitely weren’t admin types. Nevertheless, over the course of the next year, we actually did man-up and purchase a cruise ship which we would then re-christen, “Freewinds.” Once on board, Bill was posted as the Engine Room “Mechanic’s Chief” – in charge of the Machinery Unit and all of the mechanics in its various sub-units – consisting of a dozen people. It was a huge responsibility.
At that time I was his Main Engine Mechanic. Between late 1986 and up to the Freewinds Maiden Voyage in June 1988, we worked day and night to make the Freewinds ship-shape to be able to sail safely and accommodate passengers. Bill faced this awesome responsibility with unflinching confront and brilliant management of his personnel. We did indeed “pull off a miracle” – all while passing the stringent Det Norske Veritas Classification Society inspections for passenger vessels. To give you an idea of the scope of that responsibility, I will just say this: A cruise ship is like a small city. It has to provide not only water, sewer, electricity and all of the amenities of a fine resort hotel, it has to do that reliably and consistently while plying the Seven Seas. Not an easy task.
On a cruise ship, the sailing schedule is like the Bible; it is held inviolate. Not only is the ship’s itinerary planned months in advance, it’s also booked at least six weeks in advance at all times. Passengers are beginning or ending their cruise at nearly every port, so the ship cannot miss an arrival or departure time, as people are flying in or out from most of those ports. Like I said, Bill’s job was an awesome responsibility. He also maintained these standards long after my wife Karry and I left the Sea Org in late 1994. Bill and his wife Alison stayed in the S.O. until 2003.
Bill was in the Sea Org for a total of 23 years. He and I served together for 9 of those years. We had many adventures and I could tell many stories. But the story I want to tell today is that of a man who loved his fellow man enough to defy death many times in pursuit of an ideal. He loved to strive, overcome and accomplish… and then celebrate!
Bill was the most brilliant diagnostician I have ever known. He just plain understood how things work. No matter if it was the ship’s 28-foot-tall main engines or the sophisticated and computerized electronic radar equipment on the Bridge, when literally no one else could figure it out, Bill would come in, find the problem and fix it. His piercing intellect also gave Bill unique insight into the subject of “knowing how to know,” a/k/a, Scientology. Bill was like a human E-meter. When examining any problem or listening to any conversation. if something “read,” Bill would instantly recognize the outpoint or truth and (without discretion!) spit it out, often to the enlightenment, chagrin, or offense of the person in question. Bill didn’t care one way or another, he wanted truth and justice — not out of any desire for retribution or petty revenge, but for actual enlightenment and for Karmic equilibrium. In this regard, Bill was without peer.
Bill loved to have fun too. Whether it was enjoying a pizza and a couple of beers while on a weekend liberty, watching a movie in the crew lounge, or reveling at the annual Christmas “Bosun’s Party” – (with a bottle of Bacardi 151 rum in hand) Bill was all about having a good time and blowing off some steam after a hard day’s work, completing a major task or celebrating the close of another year. He had a wicked sense of humor and was always entertaining to be around. I have many fond memories of our times together, both good and bad. His “black humor” when all was lost, encouraged me to get through many times of despair.
Bill was also instrumental in my own survival during my harrowing ordeal on the ship. He literally saved my life by sneaking me untainted food and water as I lay dying on the deck in an aft compartment of the ship. I had not eaten or drunk anything for over a week, as they were putting drugs in my food and drink. This was after I had been subject to long-term sleep deprivation, Black Dianetics and other forms of psychological torture, which literally drove me into a psychotic break. Bill’s life-saving assistance at that time inspired me to survive the ensuing 15 months of imprisonment, drugging, systematic demoralization and prodding to commit suicide. He has my undying gratitude for this heroic act of defiance.
Bill was finally himself forced out of the Sea Org after events developed following a bleeding ulcer. Bill was a hemophiliac, genetically missing a crucial coagulant factor in his blood. Someone with this condition cannot stop bleeding if wounded. For him, a bleeding ulcer was a life and death situation. Upon this discovery, Bill was sent ashore to a hospital in Curaçao. It was there that he received an infusion of a couple of units of blood. Unknown to anyone at that time, the blood was tainted with HIV. (It was in 1989, before the blood supply was being screened correctly for HIV). I will spare you the agonizing and tragic details of what followed, those stories are well documented on the internet, but suffice to say that it cost him everything, his health, two marriages, his life’s ambition, his subsequent attempts at establishing careers… everything.
Bill wound up on Public Assistance and living in public housing in the state of Maine. Despite all of this and his bitterness at the inhuman treatment he received from Church of Scientology officials, whenever we would call each other on the phone, he would fondly reminisce about our time and adventures together in the Sea Org, and what could have been.
Thank you Bill, for all you did for your fellows. Fair winds and following seas, my friend – until we meet again.
— Scott Campbell
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Beautiful tribute Scott. It’s nice to read an accounting of so much good, honesty and heart in an individual. Sounds like Bill had a good friend in you as well. I wish Bill Peace and Love in the Great Beyond.
(It’s amazing the stories of harm and destroyed loves this vile church has created.)
Everyone, save the Nibet, is disposable. And Bill Strauss was disposed of when he got sick. So much for loyalty and respect for service. There are many sad stories in the Clamiverse, Bill Strauss is another one of them. RIP Bill.