• Sunday, September 28th, 2008
The article below was written by Dr. Joyce Brothers in 1963 after the loss of the USS Thresher and the 129 men aboard her. It attempts to explain the reasons that Submarine sailors are who and what they are.
My days in the Submarine Service are among the finest in my memories. As Dr. Brothers explains below, all of us learned that we could count and be counted on by our shipmates - at sea and in port. I considered many of them my family, my brothers.
Risk is an Inspiration in Submarine Service
The tragic loss of the submarine Thresher and 129 men had a special kind of impact on the nation … a special kind of sadness, mixed with universal admiration for the men who choose this type of work.
One could not mention the Thresher without observing, in the same breath how utterly final and alone the end is when a ship dies at the bottom of the sea … and what a remarkable specimen of man it must be to accept such a risk. more…
• Sunday, September 21st, 2008
Part 11 - We have no idea how, but we manage to have a major piece of our sonar gear fall off the ship. We joke that it was somebody from the Russian ship. It does make for an exciting few minutes as water rushes in the hole where the equipment used to be - but we survive to fight another day.
more…
• Sunday, September 21st, 2008
Part Ten - We are still in Curacao, a Russian freighter was docked on the same pier as us - who thought that would work? A couple brave soles mustered the courage to visit the Russian ship and swap some gear. Too bad for them that the top-side watch on our boat that night was a bit over-zealous and turned them in when they returned. more…
• Sunday, September 21st, 2008
Part Nine - On our way around to Pearl we expected to stop at all kinds of great places. We did not expect Curacao. It’s a lot like a studio movie lot. If you are on the pier where cruise ships dock - wow, gorgeous. If you are on the pier where nuclear Submarines dock….Um, what’s the smell? Our recreation officer feared a mutiny if something wasn’t done quickly, so he arranged a trip to a lake that rented sail boats and other “fun stuff”. Not all of us know how to sail. I’ll leave it at that. I will say I think the “incident” may have been Karma biting somebody in the butt for giving driving random directions while nearly passed-out in the back seat of a moving car. You know who you are. more…
• Sunday, September 21st, 2008
Part eight - Understandably, any fire is bad. But a fire on a Submarine is VERY bad. And, if that fire is in the area of the boat that helps us know where we are…well, you get the idea. When Sonar guys think that’s the case - we move fast to fight it.
And so our saga continues, with our clan traveling merrily along still swelled with pride from their recent victories over the infamous mark 30 targets. When suddenly in less time than it takes a sonar man to hit the rack - they are engulfed in smoke and the word was passed “fire in the sacred CSES.” The first thought of all was - NO! not before a liberty port! But two of the group, quick to react with no worry of life or limb rush to combat the casualty. Knowing that at any minute they could be “OVER COME” by SMOKE! Then they discover there is NO FIRE, it was just the cooks destroying another meal… And it was back to normal again.
Fire in the equipment space
Part 9 - Bob is NOT a sailor
