First
Monday 9 April 2001 is National POW/MIA day.
On
Monday 9 April we also pause to remember all those
submariners who died as prisoners of war, as Monday is
national POW/MIA day. Becoming
a POW is normally not
on the mind of a submariner. To have survivors
after a
submarine accident is not the norm. It is actually a blessing.
Recently after the loss of Kursk Vadm Rudolf Golosov of the
Russian Navy said that "submariners are a special brotherhood,
either all come to the surface or no one does."
To
have survivors in a submarine accident
or loss is not the norm. When Cochino was lost, the crew members were
very fortunate to have been rescued through the valiant efforts of the
crew of the Tusk and the loss of six Tusk crewmen. Most are not that fortunate.
During
WWII there were 123 submariners taken as prisoners of war.
Including
medal of honor recipient Dick O'kane who survived the war after the loss
of Tang in a Japaneese POW camp. 25
submariners died as prisoners of war. So Subvets like many other
veterans organizations remembers those who suffered, and those who died
in POW camps serving their country, never to return home.
They
too are on eternal patrol.
10
April 2001 is the 38th Anniversary of the loss of USS THRESHER (SSN 593)
For the Subvets organization, the loss of the USS Thresher was the driving factor for establishment of the U.S. Subvets organization. It was the loss of Thresher that convinced Joe Negri and the others that a separate organization from the Subvets WWII was needed to remember all submarines that have been lost. And also that an organization was needed for camaraderie for all submariners.
Where
submariners who served before WWII, during WWII, and after WWII could
bond, and remember all who had paid the ultimate sacrifice in
submarines, and to share their experiences and good times with. And so
the U.S. Submarine Veterans organization was born.
The
following is a poem that was written about the THRESHER in April 1963
On
that cold April morn, on nuclear power,
You were headed for sea and that fateful hour.
to dive below and never return
Now your children ask, with a cry of concern.
A
good part of your crew I remember well,
For two years together, we saw heaven and hell.
Out in the Atlantic, were we did Sail.
Under a glassy surface or beneath a gale.
Most
often.... there's the Terrible "T"
It was our loving name, that we called thee.
Now the boats of the fleet, will see no more
Of their Mighty Sister and the name she bore.
Thresher,
Thresher, oh why are thee
Lying so far down under the sea.
We search for you from far and above.
With much sorrow, but mostly love.
To
the ports of Everglades, the Cape and Key West,
Charlestown, San Juan and all the rest.
Wherever we sailed you left your good name.
The Thresher in History will go down in fame.
__________________________
To
my ex-crew members, but forever a shipmate - Jim "Kimo"
Ward.
And
in closing Wednesday 11 April 2001 is the 101st Birthday
of the Submarine Force In remembering the history of the
submarine force and celebrating our 101th birthday and that we
are the best, we must never forget the
These
men who have been lost, paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
They were submarine men like you and I. Highly
trained, closely
knit
as a crew. Those men who are now serving for a different commander paid the
biggest price and were the biggest contributors to the success of our submarine
service and have given us a very rich heritage to be proud of.
In
the words of Abraham Lincoln, they have given the " ...
Last full measure of
devotion."
The
United States Naval Submarine force has suffered grievous losses at the
hands of enemies of the United States and in the arms of the sea. We
have lost whole submarines and their entire crews. We have lost
individual shipmates,
friends, relatives. It is well that we should remember them for it
makes us more aware of the bond that we have: the dangers we faced, the dangers
our shipmates continue to face and of the sacrifice we have not yet
been called on to make.
The
primary purpose of the Submarine Veterans Incorporated
and U.S. Submarine Veterans of WWII is to pay honor and tribute to these
shipmates still on patrol and to the submarines that are their eternal
resting places.
So
over the next few days, please spend a few minutes remembering
1.
All our Shipmates who were Prisoners of War.
2.
All those Shipmates lost on THRESHER.
3.
All those Shipmates who
were lost in harm's way on submarines.