| Posted by Harry
Parker MM2SS - USS Seawolf SSN575 - 1962 thru 1965
It was Saturday April 11th, 1998, and BR Barbee and myself made a pilgrimage from Boston to the USS Thresher Memorial Service At Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH. We had a real nice early morning drive (about 1 hour) with fair weather all the way. We arrived at the shipyard at Approx. 08:00, whereupon we were directed to the shuttle bus which drove us all of 2 minutes to the auditorium. Coffee and donuts were provided and we had a chance to mingle with the many early arrivals before the 09:00 start of the ceremony. We finished our coffee and visiting and proceeded in and took a seat. BR mentioned to me that Moose was planning on attending, as he had heard from him in chat, but neither one of us knew him by site. BR spotted someone taking a picture of the Thresher painting and names list down front on the right side of the stage, this was a tall, muscular man wearing a Sub Vets hat and BR thought this might be Moose. As fate would have it Moose was also looking for BR and me, but he also had never seen either one of us. Moose began to go full circle around the auditorium in his search. When he came by us I hailed him down and asked "would you happen to be Moose"??? Mystery solved, Moose joined us and we got to know each other as we waited for the ceremony to start. The service was very somber and moving. In particular was the story of Lt. Andrew Sorbie USN/RET. Lt. Sorbie was an enlisted man on the Thresher and recounted to us some of his memories of the crew and the boat. He was selected for the Navy’s NESEP program and had orders to go ashore to school. The boat was doing shakedown and had several Staff officers aboard. A tug came out to pick up the Staff and take them ashore, Lt. Sorbie (at that time an enlisted man heading off to school) joined the Staffers for the tug ride to shore and the start of his NESEP program. Little did he know as he stepped aboard and stood on the deck of the tug and watched Thresher pull away, that she and her crew would soon be lost. As he recounted the story and what he felt when he got the word of Threshers loss and how it affected his life and career, he was drained by the emotion. Even a single life is a great loss, but this man had known intimately as a brother knows his family, the entire crew. And there by a quirk of fate stood he, safe from harms way, but eternally weighed down with monstrous loss of this family. All these 35 years have I am sure brought him much in his personal and family life, but they have not erased even a little bit his feeling of loss for this fine ship and her glorious crew. The service was concluded with a reading of the names of the crew and other personnel who went down with Thresher, and with the reading of each name there was a solitary tolling of the ships bell. Guests were invited to rise and acknowledge this tragedy and their feeling of loss as the names were read. It put another deeply personal perspective before us as we watched this quiet momentary acknowledgment of those who sleepforever in the deep. After the Memorial Service at the Auditorium we drove over to Albacore Park for a wreath laying ceremony at the Thresher memorial. It was quite different from the auditorium, we were all standing outside in the warmth of the spring sunshine with the green grass and trees and the blue sky. The wreath laying was quiet and serious, with a short speech and taps. But somehow in the out of doors with the warm sunshine I felt as though Threshers crew might be looking down upon us, observing our efforts to keep their memory alive. I privately acknowledged them and said a quiet thank you for all that was learned and the many improvement that came about in submarine safety as a result of their paying the Supreme Sacrifice. God bless and look out for the men of the USS Thresher, your loss has made it possible for countless others to come home safely. After the wreath laying BR, Moose and I went for a tour of the USS Albacore. She is an experimental AGSS 569, her keel was laid in 1952, and she was for a long time the worlds fastest submarine. She went through 4 major stages of experimental development, each a major step towards dramatically improving her speed and performance. If you get to Portsmouth don’t miss touring Albacore. She is one of the most interesting submarines you will ever board. Just about all of Albacore is open to the public (with the exception of the Battery compartments and lower level machinery spaces). She has just about everything you would expect a submarine to have but most of it is not in the usual places. She is 205 feet long and had a compliment of 5 officers and 50 enlisted. From the apparent space it seems she ought to have a crew of about 15. She is like a big toy for submariners, you could spend days exploring her (and Moose and I nearly did), BR had to drag us off. I felt like I was starting quals. all over again (although it will take a few more visits to get everything down cold). Moose and I had our eye on a nifty 100 pound plus 10 foot souvenir (which I shall not identify) but we decided they would never believe we brought it aboard with us , so we gave in and proceeded to the Portsmouth waterfront for some chow. We settled in at a lovely waterfront restaurant for some real good seafood and some great service (the waitress insists that we have to come back), we probably overtipped but what the hey. Pleasant conversation, sea stories, new friends, what more could one want. We touched lightly on the past the present and the future, talked about the last Bash, and thought we might try to get a Mini or a Micro Bash together this summer (more to follow). I still carry some private feelings about Thresher and her loss. I was on Seawolf and involved in searching for Thresher, we did our best, it was all we could do. Going to the Memorial Service felt good, and feeling the Thresher Crew at the outdoor service was very cathartic. Sometimes we just need to acknowledge that which we cannot change to make it OK - this was true for me. All in all it was a great day - although I truly wish as I am sure we all do, that it never had to be. |
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| Posted by BR
Barbee
Harry Parker arrived at my place around 0650. We took off up I-93 and I-95 for Portsmouth NH. Beautiful, cloudless morning, with the temp about 45 degrees. Arrive at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard around 0800. Parked the car and boarded a Navy bus in the parking lot. Two minute drive to the shipyard auditorium. Coffee and donuts provided in the lobby. Met a few Marblehead Base guys I knew and they, of course, bugged me about not attending meetings in quite a while. Harry and I went in to the auditorium and sat down to wait for the ceremony to start at 0900. I saw a huge guy walking down the aisle toward the stage to take a photo of a painting someone had done with the Thresher underway and the names of all who went down on her superimposed over the painting. I remarked to Harry that, "Up here in Maine, maybe Ramjet and mOOse might show up." After the big guy took his picture, I said to Harry that I thought the guy was mOOse. As the guy walked near us Harry asked him if he was mOOse. Harry Moore said, "Yeah, who are you guys?" I introduced myself as B.R. Barbee and Harry knew immediately who I was. He then sat down with us. Service started around 0910 with around 250 people in the audience:
(As each name of those lost on Thresher was called, anyone who knew or was related to that person rose. This was moving.) After this ceremony, many people headed over to Albacore Park, where the USS Albacore (AGSS-569) is located on dry land. Behind the building that sells souvenirs there is a tree-surrounded area that contains a monument to Thresher, one to all the boats lost in WWII, one for USS Squalus, and one for another older boat before Squalus that was built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and was lost at sea. This was the location for the wreath-laying ceremony for Thresher. Around 60 people made an open circle in front of the Thresher monument and LT Andrew Sorbie and FTCS(SS) Stuart MacGregor placed the wreath. Taps was played and a prayer was said. Then everyone milled around and talked. I went and talked to Jack Ensminger, National Senior Vice Commander USSVI for a few minutes and then introduced him to Harry Parker and Harry Moore. Sea stories abounded. Harry, Harry, and I then went for a tour of Albacore. Very nicely kept up boat. You can access just about the whole boat, with the exception of the battery wells and the bilges. A lot of the gear would be familiar to any Diesel boat sailor, just located in different locations. I won't go into detail here about what all we saw, but the boat is well worth the visit if anyone's ever up that way. After the tour of Albacore, Harry, Harry, and I went into Portsmouth for lunch. Had a nice seafood meal. Great view of the Piscataqua River with the beautiful Portsmouth Naval Shipyard over on the other side. Our lunch lasted about two hours and many more sea stories flew. We gave the waitress a good tip so she wasn't too upset that we were tying up her table. Then Harry Moore headed north and we headed south. On the way back to my house, I remarked to Harry Parker that it was great how three guys who had never met except on Ron's BBS could get together and have an enjoyable time together as if we'd all served on the same boat. That's what wearing Dolphins is all about. Submarines Forever |
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| Posted by mOOse
So, I get up at the crack of dawn to head to Kittery for the Thresher service and I decide I'll stop by RamJet's place and see if he wants to go. I get there and he's tinkering in the basement. Turns out he promised the Mrs that he would help plant roses. I figured he'd have to do the laundry and wash the windows so I headed out. Got to PNSY and shuttled to the auditorium. I sign in and look at the guest book where I see B.R. Barbee and Harry Parker had signed in. So now I'm on a mission to find 'em. 'Course I have the SubVet hat on but I can't locate them. I considered making a general announcement to have all BBS personnel muster at the entrance, but as I walked around this guy says "hey, are you mOOse"? It was Harry and Bob. BR said it was hard to tell without the bathing suit on. The SubVet hat helped. BR posted about the ceremony so I won't repeat it, but it was very moving to witness Lt.Sorbie's tearful account of his leaving Thresher via tug and watching her steam away for the last time. On to the Albacore. Wow...watta sub. Harry and I could have spent all day in there. I got a good photo of BR in the aft escape trunk after he circumvented a plexiglass barrier on the ladder. I happen to find the pit sword laying on the accumulator manifold in the ER. It was about 10" long and heavy as hell. Harry and I were trying to conceive a plan to obscond with the item and decided a several hundred pound, 10 foot long pit sword wouldn't fit down our pants. If you've never seen the Albacore it's quite a treat. Vertical engines, twin opposing screws, cruciform rudder/stern planes, a rudder on the rear of the sail, no armaments, etc. Very unique. On to a great lunch and some no shitters and BR and Harry were off. I decided to stop and see the RamJet on my way through and Lyn said he was out diggin clams. Apparently he had gotten all his housework done and had to go get some grub. I hiked down to the flats and got some good pics of the clammer at work. It's a real treat hookin' up with you bubbleheads. |