Veterans of the Navy's submarine force, whose nickname is the Silent Service, feel they get the silent treatment when it comes to public recognition.
Yesterday, more than 200 submarine veterans and guests tried to make up for being out-of-sight, out-of-mind by gathering to dedicate a monument in New Suffolk, the site of the first U.S. Navy submarine base established a century ago. The gray granite marker depicting submarines and presenting historical information also commemorates the Navy's first sub, the HOLLAND, accepted by the government 100 years ago this week, and the thousands of servicemen who subsequently volunteered to aid their country beneath the waves.
Waves were very much in evidence yesterday as a stiff southwest breeze churned Peconic Bay into a froth and sandblasted the crowd in the small Southold hamlet. But the members of the Long Island Base, or chapter, of the U.S. Submarine Veterans persevered even as copies of their speeches blew out of their hands. To make up, at least a little, for their silent running at sea, the veterans began and ended their ceremony by firing a signal cannon.
"It wasn't until America's entrance into World War II that the importance of the submarine was fully recognized," said Mike Carmody, commander of the veterans group that planned the memorial for three years and then raised more than $20,000 to make it a reality. "Although the submarine service only accounted for 1.6 percent of the Navy's total personnel during the war, submariners accounted for an incredible 63 percent of all Japanese merchant ships sunk. American submarine forces paid dearly for their actions. Fifty-two were lost during the conflict, resulting in the deaths of more than 3,500 submariners," he said.
"Most of the missions that submarines perform are secretive and it doesn't get publicity so they're unsung heroes," Carmody, a second-generation submariner from Babylon, added later.
The memorial, which also includes a display of photos, is located several hundred feet south from the private marina that served as the initial base. The Holland was the inspiration of inventor John P. Holland. When testing his designs in New York Harbor proved impractical, he leased the Goldsmith and Tuthill Shipyard in New Suffolk in 1898. The submarine was purchased by the Navy on April 11, 1900, and commissioned as the Holland on Oct. 12.
Among the guests yesterday was the son and namesake of the Holland's first Navy commander, who grew up to command his own Navy submarine. The father of retired Capt. Harry H. Caldwell of Niantic, Conn., commanded the Holland from 1900 to 1902. "He never talked to me about his Navy experiences," said the younger Caldwell, who will be 78 on Tuesday, the same day as the Navy's acceptance of the Holland. "He died when I was pretty young, when I was 17, and he had already left the Navy in 1909."
Following in his father's wake, Caldwell spent 20 years of his Navy service in submarines, culminating with his promotion to commander of the SPIKEFISH after World War II.
Caldwell remarked that he was never bothered by being confined underwater in a submarine. "I'm much more uncomfortable with heights," he said.