[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 69 (Wednesday, June 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4692-S4694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 318--HONORING THE 129 SAILORS AND CIVILIANS LOST 
 ABOARD THE U.S.S. ``THRESHER'' (SSN 593) ON APRIL 10, 1963; EXTENDING 
 THE GRATITUDE OF THE NATION FOR THEIR LAST, FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION; 
AND ACKNOWLEDGING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NAVAL SUBMARINE SERVICE AND 
       THE PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD TO THE DEFENSE OF THE NATION

  Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Smith of New Hampshire, Mr. Gregg, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Warner, Mr. Robb, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Levin, and Mr. 
Kennedy) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
agreed to:

[[Page S4693]]

                              S. Res. 318

       Whereas this is the 100th year of service to the people of 
     the United States by the United States Navy submarine force, 
     the ``Silent Service'';
       Whereas this is the 200th year of service to the Nation of 
     the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard;
       Whereas Portsmouth Naval Shipyard launched the first Navy 
     built submarine, the L-8, on April 23, 1917;
       Whereas 52 years and 133 submarines later, on November 11, 
     1969, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard launched the last submarine 
     built by the Navy, the U.S.S. Sand Lance;
       Whereas the U.S.S. Thresher was launched at Portsmouth 
     Naval Shipyard on July 9, 1960;
       Whereas the U.S.S. Thresher departed Portsmouth Naval 
     Shipyard on April 9, 1963, with a crew of 129 composed of 16 
     officers, 96 sailors, and 17 civilians;
       Whereas the mix of that crew reflects the unity of the 
     naval submarine service, military and civilian, in the 
     protection of the Nation;
       Whereas at approximately 7:45 a.m. on April 10, 1963, at a 
     location near 41.46 degrees North latitude and 65.03 degrees 
     West longitude, the U.S.S. Thresher began her final mission;
       Whereas the U.S.S. Thresher was declared lost with all 
     hands on April 10, 1963;
       Whereas from the loss of that submarine, there arose the 
     SUBSAFE program which has kept America's submariners safe at 
     sea ever since as the strongest, safest submarine force in 
     history;
       Whereas from the loss of the U.S.S. Thresher, there arose 
     in our Nation's universities the ocean engineering curricula 
     that enables America's preeminence in submarine warfare; and
       Whereas the ``last full measure of devotion'' shown by the 
     crew of the U.S.S. Thresher characterizes the sacrifice of 
     all submariners, past and present, military and civilian, in 
     the service of this Nation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) remembers with profound sorrow the loss of the U.S.S. 
     Thresher and her gallant crew of sailors and civilians on 
     April 10, 1963;
       (2) expresses its deepest gratitude to all submariners on 
     ``eternal patrol'', forever bound together by their dedicated 
     and honorable service to the United States of America;
       (3) recognizes with appreciation and respect the commitment 
     and sacrifices made by the Naval Submarine Service for the 
     past 100 years in providing for the common defense of the 
     United States; and
       (4) offers its admiration and gratitude for the workers of 
     the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard whose 200 years of dedicated 
     service to the United States Navy has contributed directly to 
     the greatness and freedom of the United States.

     SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF RESOLUTION.

       The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit this resolution 
     to the Chief of Naval Operations and to the Commanding 
     Officer of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard who shall accept 
     this resolution on behalf of the families and shipmates of 
     the crew of the U.S.S. Thresher.

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a resolution that 
recognizes the contributions and sacrifices to our nation's defense 
provided by the men and women of the United States Naval Submarine 
Service and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine, and to 
specifically recognize that ``last full measure of devotion'' shown by 
the crew of the USS Thresher on April 10, 1963.
  As you are aware, this year the U.S. Navy is celebrating the 100th 
year of service to our country by the Naval Submarine Service. From the 
acquisition of its first submarine, the USS Holland, in April 1900 to 
the present day, the U.S. Naval Submarine Service has served America 
bravely, gallantly, and steadfastly. We are all aware of the debt we 
owe the Submarine Service for their role in World War II when, in the 
immediate dark days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the ``Silent 
Service'' took the war to the enemy. Although they lost 52 submarines 
and more than 3,500 submariners, they accounted for 55 percent of all 
enemy ships lost and significantly contributed to the final victory in 
the Pacific. Since that time the Submarine Service has continued to 
protect the nation through its deterrence patrols and many other 
missions. In just the past few years the ability of our submarines to 
provide a stealthy, land-attack capability in support of operations in 
the Persian Gulf and in Kosovo has proven once again that their 
adaptability and capability are vital to the security interests of this 
nation.
  A significant supporter of the Submarine Service for the past 100 
years and this nation for the past 200 years has been the Portsmouth 
Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Beginning in 1800, the shipyard 
provided the U.S. Navy with ``ships of the line'' and during the War of 
1812 it became a Navy command. But it is the shipyard's contributions 
to the Submarine Service that I want to talk about here today.
  In April 1917, the first submarine built in a government shipyard, 
the L-8, was launched at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and in the 
ensuing 52 years, the shipyard launched another 133 submarines, 
including a record 31 in 1944 alone. In November 1971, the last 
submarine built in a government yard, the USS Sand Lance, was launched 
at Portsmouth before they took on their new role to overhaul, repair, 
and refuel nuclear submarines. But during their 52 years of building 
submarines Portsmouth delivered many firsts to the Submarine Service: 
First U.S. submarine built with an all-welded steel hull--the Snapper; 
first U.S. submarine built of high tensile steel--the Balao; first 
snorkel installed in a U.S. submarine--the Irex; first truly 
submersible hull developed using dirigible form, a breakthrough in 
hydrodynamic design--the Albacore; and the first nuclear powered 
submarine built in a government shipyard--the Swordfish.
  But the shipyard and the Submarine Service could not have 
accomplished these important contributions to our nation's security 
without the unfailing valor and unselfish service of the submarine 
crews and shipyard workers that put them to sea. Perhaps there is no 
greater example of our American virtue of standing together for the 
common defense than the story of the USS Thresher, a nuclear submarine 
launched at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on July 9, 1960.
  When she was launched the Thresher represented a new class of 
submarine for the Navy. The Thresher-class was designed to be the 
world's first modern, quiet, deep-diving fast-attack submarine. Some of 
her innovative features included machinery rafts for sound silencing, a 
large bow-mounted sonar, torpedo tubes amidships and a hydrodynamically 
streamlined hull. After two and a half years of trials, evaluations, 
and the development of new fast-attack tactics, the Thresher returned 
to her home yard. On April 9, 1963, she got underway for a series of 
deep-diving trials to be held about 220 nautical miles east of Cape 
Cod. On board was a crew of 129 made up of sailors, officers, 
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers and contractors. Shortly after 
beginning her dive, something went horribly wrong and the Thresher and 
all 129 souls on board were lost at sea.
  But another example of our American character is the drive to create 
success from adversity and from the loss of the Thresher came two 
initiatives that have permitted the Submarine Service to gain 
unchallenged preeminence in undersea warfare.
  First was the implementation of the SubSafe program. This standard 
dictates that every submarine, every hull integrity-related system and 
every pressure-related part within those systems must be 100 percent 
certified safe for use aboard the submarine. And since that time, no 
submarine has been lost because of a similar casualty.
  Second, a recommendation by the Deep Submergence Systems Review 
Group, which looked into the cause of the tragedy, was that a 
curriculum be established to train engineers to design and develop 
systems specifically for use in the ocean environment--the discipline 
of ocean engineering. Since that time ocean engineering programs have 
been established in Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Texas, 
Virginia, Hawaii and the Naval Academy. From these programs have come 
the engineers who have designed and developed the Los Angeles, the 
Ohio, the Seawolf and the Virgnia-classes of submarines. Engineers like 
retired Admiral Millard Firebaugh, a former ship superintendent at the 
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, who earned a doctorate of science degree in 
Ocean Engineering from MIT and went on to become the program manager 
for the design and construction of the Seawolf.
  We in this nation owe a great debt to the 129 crewmen of the USS 
Thresher, to all who have served aboard submarines over the past 100 
years and to the civilians who have accepted the risk and sacrified 
alongside their submarine shipmates. When I learned that there had 
never been a resolution passed in this body acknowledging the loss of 
this gallant crew and expressing our gratitude for their sacrifice, I 
believed that in this 100th year of the Submarine Service and the 200th 
year of their home yard, the Portsmouth

[[Page S4694]]

Naval Shipyard, it was entirely appropriate and timely of us to do so.
  I therefore ask unanimous consent that an enrolled copy be 
transmitted to and accepted by the commanding officer of Portsmouth 
Naval Shipyard on behalf of the families and shipmates of the crew of 
the USS Thresher, the crews of the Naval Submarine Service and the 
workers of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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