After Sunfish was decommissioned I received permission from the admiral of the fleet to sail with her on her last voyage from San Diego to Bremerton, Washington. It was very emotional to be underway on the Sunfish again after all those years.

At the Sunfish reunion, I read my essay during the banquet. There was hardly a dry eye in the house. One of the wives told me I would be a great writer someday because I wrote with courage. I believe she was right about courage. What Joey Gonzalez has in common with "The Last Voyage of the Sunfish" is the courage and the passion and the honesty that went into the writing.

I took that as serious advice and I would give the same advice to anyone who aspires to be an author: always write with courage, passion and honesty. Bare your soul. Don’t try to hide behind the words.

The essay is posted on the Sunfish website and there’s a link from my website, www.joeygonzalez.us.

Anything else you’d like to say about yourself or your work?

No one has ever asked me why I chose the title Joey Gonzalez, Great American. I want to share that with you. I named the book after my grandfather, Jose Gonzalez who came from Spain to America to be an American – not a minority. His proudest moment was the day he became a U.S. citizen. My grandfather lived as an example of the personal qualities that have helped make America great. He was self reliant. He fulfilled his responsibilities. He never accepted anything he hadn’t earned by his own labor. He loved his adopted country and would have defended her with his blood and his life. My grandfather was a Great American. I know he would have loved the book. I hope he’s watching from Heaven and enjoying all the hoopla.