Through the National Anthem and remain standing through the invocation. Advance the colors. [National Anthem plays] the chaplain will now offer the invocation. Would you bow with me in prayer . Eternal god, we gather here on this sacred ground to pause, reflect, and remember the 129 crewmembers of the United States ship thresher. They served their country in the height of the cold war and were fully prepared to do whatever called upon to defend our nation, be it above or below the seas. The tragic loss felt on that april day of 1963 still stings our hearts, but we are also thankful that out of this tragedy much good has come. Through the establishment of the Subsafe Program, our nation has the safest submarine force in history. This assurance of safety has been secured by those who had given their lives while on board the thresher. We thank you for those who have gathered here today who worked tirelessly to ensure those that made the sacrifice to our nation are never forgotten. Continue to bless their efforts. For the family members, friends, and loved ones of the crew of the thresher, we pray your continued hand of mercy to steady and support them as the hurt of loss still lingers. Bless this gathering this afternoon and all those that witness this program. Continue to instill in each of us the duty we have to serve you, ou nationr, our nation, and our fellow man. In your holy name, i pray. Amen. Please, be seated. Thank you to the United States navy band for their wonderful rendition of our National Anthem. [applause] i was given the opportunity today to be your master of ceremonies and introduce the speakers. If you look at your extensive program, your speakers biographies are listed, so i will keep my introductions short. Our first speaker is the reason we are here today, meaning the reason that the idea of a monument to thresher at Arlington Cemetery came to fruition. Kevin has been working tirelessly not for months, but for years to make this day possible. He recruited a board, including me. He recruited a treasurer to assist, because he couldnt be both treasurer and president. But through his efforts, we are here. I had to give a percentage when filling out the tax forms of what percentage of the effort was made by each one of the individuals on the board. I put 90 for kevin, because i couldnt get any higher. [applause] but you didnt come here to listen to me, so we will get on with our speakers. I would like to introduce you the president of the uss thresher anc memorial foundation. [applause] thank you all. Please be seated. Senator shaheen, john wiley, good afternoon and welcome to all here today. Can everybody hear me . To the thresher crew, your prayers and your dreams have been answered. With your support, we have achieved our mission of erecting a memorial to honor the 129 men lost aboard the uss thresher in the hollowed grounds of Arlington National cemetery. This memorial is unique relative to other memorials at anc. Not only does it perpetuate the memories of the 129 men lost, but also their legacy. Prior to the loss of thresher, we lost an average of once a marine every three years due to noncombat related incidents. Since thresher, we have lost no sub safe certified submarine. Those responsible for the sub safe inception and for those that continue its implementation, they have and continue to protect the lives of the men and women who serve on our nations submarines. On behalf of of the uss thresher families and former crew, i challenge all those attending to perpetuate threshers sub safe legacy to future generations in order to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring. The location of the memorial could not be better. Erected a long the roosevelt drive walkway, over 1. 5 million visitors will view this memorial and learn the story of uss thresher, to honor, remember, and explore. Id like to ask the following anc committee members, please stand, so that the crowd and project supporters may recognize you. Please hold your applause until i request it. Major was a consummate professional. The anc members working group. The anc remember and explore subcommittee. The anc advisory committee. The deputy superintendent for cemetery administration. Superintendent anc. And executive director, Arlington National military cemeteries. These are the gatekeepers at anc responsible for recommending approval to the secretary to the army. Would you please give them a round of applause . [applause] mr. Galeaz to the uss thresher family members, thank you for allowing us to serve you and your loved ones with the direction of this memorial erection of this memorial. May god bless america. [applause] our next speaker in your program is tom wiley. If you read his biography, you see a wonderful life of service to this nation as a member of our secret service. But i know tom from a different role. Toms brother, john wiley, was a member of thresher. He has been there with kevin and i at many meetings, representing the families and expressing rationale and reason why the thresher memorial is rightfully here at Arlington Cemetery. So tom, representing the families, welcome to the podium. [applause] mr. Wiley thank you, admiral. Senator shaheen, vice admiral, distinguished guests, thresher families, friends, thank you all for coming. On behalf of my family and other thresher families, i would like to thank kevin, president of the anc Thresher Memorial Foundation for his dedication, sacrifices, and persistence in arriving to this special day. The placement of the thresher moreno in Arlington National cemetery is a momentous achievement. Thank you, kevin. [applause] my name is tom wiley. Im very humbled and privileged to stand here before you as as thresher family member. My brother, john joseph wiley, graduated with distinction from the United StatesNaval Academy in 1951, and was on the thresher. He was my older brother, my role model, and my hero. On april 10, 1963, there was a national disaster. The United States navy lost a lead ship of the worlds most advanced class of Nuclear Powered submarines, attack submarines, and its highly trained crew. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard lost highly skilled friends. The Raytheon Company also lost highly skilled employees and friends. The Shipbuilding Community was in shock. Former thresher crewmembers lost submariners in a boat on which they proudly served. The nation lost 129 men, defending our country during the cold war challenges with the soviet union. And the 129 families lost loved ones. As thresher families know, no family, no individual is ever prepared for the shock of the tragic news like the thresher disaster. No one is prepared to grieve or comfort or console family members and friends. It was very difficult for the families. They had hoped and prayed their loved ones would be saved, but there were no bodies, no caskets, no real closure, just memorial services. And this book, silent strength, the author has a chapter titled one disaster, 129 stories. Indeed, each family has their own personal story on how they cope with their loss. Memories of our loved ones are all that remain for our thresher families. Every thresher family has their own story on how they learned of the thresher disaster on that terrible day. These were the days before social media. There was no texting, no facebook, no cell phones. Instead, people were told in person, or called by relatives or friends, or heard the news over tv. Siblings knew something was wrong when they saw their mom crying. It was not any different from my family. My brother johns wife, patty, was in connecticut, looking for housing. She heard the terrible news from the famous anchor Walter Cronkite on the television. My mom learned about my brother john from her own brother as she was walking home from church with my brothers younger siblings. My dad, an engineer on the pennsylvania railroad, was working in the mountains of western pennsylvania, moving coal trains. He was told the bad news and sent home. My sister saw the news on the television. Me, i was a freshman at purdue university. I had received a transistor radio from my parents as a christmas gift, december 1962. Took it back to college, and it worked for a few months, then it quit. New batteries didnt fix the problem, so it sat on the windows edge, not working. On april 10, i came into my dorm room, and the radio was working. I asked my roommate, also a freshman football player, how they got the radio to work. He said he just got the urge to turn it on. We sat there in the room, tossing a football back and forth, talking about how our first spring football practice in the big ten was going. Then the news about the thresher can only. I ran down to the tv to see the news. I ran to my room, and the radio was lost. I asked my roommate why he turned it off. He said he didnt, he said it stopped working the moment i was out the door. The radio never worked again. The thresher crew, along with the other Navy Personnel on board, remembers a group of elite submariners. They had completed advanced training in nuclear power. It was written that the thresher was manned by the best and brightest of the cold war generation. My brother john stated he considered it an honor and privilege to serve as a member of the thresher elite crew. They were young, with promising futures. The civilians on board were the best of their profession. All 129 men were brilliant. They were described as men of genius and adventure, but more importantly they were great americans. They had backgrounds in a variety of interests. Many had been to scouting. They were students on a variety of winning teams. They were scholars. They were involved in student governments or student yearbook production. They were members of the church or High School Choral groups. Many were veterans. There was a linguist and a translator. They were all strong individuals. Thresher families lost husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, grandsons. Parents lost their oldest or their youngest son. Some lost their only son. One family lost two sons, because their brothers wanted to serve together. Some mothers never recovered from their loss. Strong fathers wept openly. Older siblings helped their parents cover the younger ones. Big brothers, baby brothers, best friends were lost, heroes to their families. Children lost fathers, wives lost husbands. Somehow, the wives, despite their own grief, found the faith, courage, and strength to carry on. Wives of children had to take on a new role as head of household. They had to comfort and explain the loss of a father. They helped the children to grieve and to heal. They were now responsible for raising the children to be strong, successful, and educated adults. Even though it was hard, they succeeded. The thresher wives were heroes too. They were strong. [applause] they were the personification of the threshers motto of silent strength. Memories are all that we have of our loved ones. We will always remember them through mementos such as old photos, old letters, a news article, and most importantly, family stories. They are remembered for that contagious smile, that deep laughter, a deep thinker. They are remembered for raising tropical fish, cultivating roses, they are remembered as fishermen, boaters, musicians, known for playing the violin or the piano. Doing woodwork, being members of Church Choral groups, or being an amateur radio operator. They were remembered for being active in their church and communities, the 4h club, being a stock car racer, a photographer, a golfer, a volunteer fireman, members of the masons or the knights of columbus. A coach, a teacher. It has been said that the men of the uss thresher were assigned stations while defending. To ensure the challenges that the thresher encounter would not have been again, new and better protocols were established for a program called sub safe. Although the lives of our loved ones were lost, they were not lost in vain. Memories. Now Arlington National cemetery has a new memorial, and thresher families have a lasting memory of our loved ones. President kennedy said of our loved ones that the future of our country will always be sure when there are men such as these, that give their lives to preserve it. A memorial in the nations for most sacred National Cemetery will recognize the legacy of the uss thresher and its crew as they continue on eternal patrol. The memorial will honor and recognize the sacrifice made by our loved ones for our country. It will emphasize the point that freedom is not free, even in times of peace or armed conflict. The Arlington National cemetery is respected and held in high esteem by our nation and the world. Arlington nations cemetery is our sacred and hallowed ground, where our nation honors its fallen heroes. And never forgets. The loved ones of the thresher families will never be forgotten. The opportunity 51st annual Thresher Memorial Service in the seacoast area. During that time, family members challenged me for today. And i thank you for that. Pretty highthe bar for speakers today. You did not need to hear me again. Speaker,ing for a navy i recall a discussion i had at a recollecting times in high school on the seacoast went to another school. Our keynote speaker went to york high school. Some of the students we went to school with our members of families in the middle section. He understands the community from which they came from. With that, our next speaker, admiral john richardson. Thank you. Flagor shaheen, fellow officers, guests, friends, and most of all, the families of the uss thresher crew and of the Shipyard Workers and private sector experts that still lie on eternal patrol. Many of us today have taken an oath to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This oath binds us together. It binds us around the world. Over,as shown, over and that it is impossible to predict what ourto comprehend may require from us on any given day. April 10, 1963, began with so much excitement, the excitement of sea trials. It is the end of a long road, construction, testing, preparation, training. And it is the beginning of another road, going back to sea. Crews and ships and boats are made to go to sea. It is the natural state of a ship and its crew. Its the natural state of a ship and its crew. The day started with anticipation and professionalism. 100 129 personnel focused on a challenging program. Talent you can look in your program and see the anticipation and the pride in the faces of the crew. Who could have known on that day that began with so much hope, known that the day would finish with so much sadness and despair . Indeed, that these men and their families would pay the ultimate price for their dedication to our constitution and the nation that it guides. While the loss of any of our people is a great tragedy, the loss of submarine crew brings with it unique aspects, unique challenges. As mr. Wiley said in his magnificent remarks, it is so hard to bring closure. A submarine submerges and disappears beneath the waves. Thats what they do. Then, amongst everybody who knows, there is a sense of anticipation, maybe a slight sense of anxiety, until the end of the mission the end of the mission when we should see the ships surface and return home. We should see the ship tied up to the pier and the crew come ashore. That did not happen on april 10, 1960. There was no ship on the surface. There was no return to report, no crew coming ashore, no embraces, no joy, just uncertainty and a growing sense of dread. Something had gone wrong. There was some scattered communication about a problem. Over time, it will become clear that the ship had become lost, that they had paid the ultimate price. Our challenge how best to honor the dedication and sacrifice of these men and their families. How do we best do them homage . How do we best do what we can to bring them closure . Well, we must come together as we have to recognize and remember each year. Today marks a major step in this effort the dedication of a memorial here at Arlington National cemetery to honor those who were lost on the uss thresher. A place for all to gather and remember, but most especially, the family and friends of those who lie in eternal rest in the deep. A place to come together to remember, to meditate, and to pray. And again, we must express our deep gratitude to the entire team on the Thresher Memorial Foundation that made this day possible. David gunter, the son of quartermaster chief gunter who remains on eternal patrol. The other members of the foundation. The daughter of Lieutenant Commander john billings on eternal patrol aboard the thresher. You heard from the brother of lieutenant john james wiley. They have done a remarkable thing here and we are also l so grateful. Lets recognize them one more time for what they have done, this herculean effort. [applause] the other way that we can honor those brave men and their families is to do everything possible, everything we can to make sure that Something Like this never happens again, that we learn everything we can from this tragedy and put those lessons to work to build our ships stronger, to make our procedures more effective, to train our crews better. This is exactly what we have done. Perhaps the most visibly in the advent of the sub safe program, an environment of accountability and attention to detail that changed the entire way that we build and operate submarines. The sub save program is the very best of its kind. It has no equal in the world, and it remains in place to this day. The 20 or so submarines that are under way submerged as we speak right now are guided by the Lessons Learned from uss thresher, so it is an honor to be here today. An honor to mark the dedication of this memorial here in our nations resting place as a remembrance to the 129 sailors and Shipyard Workers, those brave souls who lie at peace in the deep, and honor to continue to help bring closure to all those who lost a loved one on that day and an honor to take time and remember all those magnificent people who have paid and are still willing to pay whatever it takes to preserve this fragile thing that we call freedom. Thank you all very much. [applause] it now gives me great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker. We could not ask for a more fitting speaker than senator shaheen. She has a deep knowledge and great love of our navy and submarine force. A member of the committee of armed services, a cofounder of the senate navy caucus, senator shaheen is keenly aware of the high standards and great sacrifices paid by our servicemembers, especially our sailors and Shipyard Workers, and has dedicated much of her life in Public Service to ensuring that we continue to provide the best equipped, most highly trained navy possible. Please join me in a warm welcome for senator jeanne shaheen. [applause] senator shaheen thank you very much, admiral richardson, for that very generous introduction. I had the opportunity to serve with admiral richardson during his time as the chief of Naval Operations. I am so honored to be here with you this afternoon to recognize the legacy of the men we lost on the thresher 55 years ago. To all of the family and friends and submariners nationwide who were here, those of you from the sea coast of New Hampshire in maine, this day has been a long time coming. This memorial and the many people who have dedicated their time and efforts to ensuring that the thresher is never forgotten, this is a very exciting day for us to finally see this memorial dedicated. I want to recognize, as the other Platform Party members have, all of the family members of the crew who are here with us. Tom wiley, thank you for your very eloquent remarks. For all of you who are here, it is important for you to remember that your relatives did not die in vain, that their sacrifice will now rightfully be memorialized at our nations most hallowed ground, and that has been made possible in no small part by kevin, and i want to recognize kevin as everyone else has because without his leadership and the support of all of the family members who are here, i think it is safe to say that we would not be here today. Kevin, thank you so much. [applause] senator shaheen i also want to thank secretary of defense mark esper because he is the one who really helped to move the bureaucracy to make this memorial possible. Secretary esper, who was then secretary of the army, really listened to the concerns of community members. He understood the importance of building this tribute for the men who were lost aboard the thresher. Finally, i want to recognize some of my colleagues from the congress who are here joining us today. My fellow senator, maggie hassan, from New Hampshire. And congressman joyce from new pennsylvania, thank you both for being here. [applause] senator shaheen as you all know and so many of you have dedicated your lives to making sure that we never forget those that we lost on the thresher. This memorial will pay tribute not only to their service and sacrifice but to the Lasting Impact the loss has had on submarine safety. The legacy of the uss thresher holds an important place in the hearts of granite stators and so many others across this country. It was 55 years ago on the morning of april 10 that the thresher failed to surface from a dive of approximately 220 miles off the coast of cape cod. It was the worst submarine disaster in American Naval history. We lost 129 men that day fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, friends, community members. I know we have 129 stories reflected in the audience today, and tom wiley very eloquently talked about his personal story, but i want to talk about a feel of the men we lost that day because i think it is a reflection of all of the other members of the thresher crew. Paul currier was one of those. He was a graduate of Exeter High School and attended the university of New Hampshire. Paul was active in Community Affairs and served as a coach of the exeter league, which he helped to found. We also lost wayne lavoie, who graduated from Spaulding High School where he played football and basketball and served as president of his School Student activity association. Throughout his nine years of service in the navy, wayne was awarded the navys good conduct medal, the National Defense service medal, and the China Service medal. Franklin palmer, who graduated from dover high school. Throughout his high school years, he was a member of the local Boy Scout Troop and along with several of his friends, he formed ac scout ship that often sailed around the waters of durham. Franklin served in the navy for three years before he returned to the shipyard to work as a machinist, which is what brought him to the thresher. The loss of these men, the contributions that they made and their shipmates made that loss led to the creation and implementation of the most comprehensive Naval SubmarineSafety Program in the world. As you have heard everyone describe, the sub safe program. I think it is worth repeating because since sub safe was put in operation, no certified sub safe submarine has gone down. The legacy that all of those men lost on the thresher leave us is the freeing from harm all of those Navy Submariners who have come after them, and for that legacy, we are all so very grateful. [applause] this memorial will serve as a constant reminder of the dangers all submariners space when they volunteer for duty and of the sacrifices that were made not just by these men and their families, but for all of those who serve. A memorial in their honor at our National Cemetery is a fitting tribute to their service and to the impact they have had on the submarine community. Again, thank you to everyone who has played such a Critical Role in getting us to this day. I look forward to seeing the wreaths laid at the memorial and for the opportunity to visit it often. Thank you. [applause] now we will have the United StatesNaval Academy womens glee club. Eternal father, strong to save whose arm does bind the restless wave who bids the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep o hear us when we cried to thee for those in peril on the sea lord god, whose almighty word the winds and waves submissive heard who walked upon the foaming deep and calm amid the rage did sleep o hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea amen [applause] our ceremony is not over, but the rest of it is not here, so because there is no pa system at the memorial site, i want to give a little explanation of what will go on down there. First, after we reassemble, we will have four wreaths placed on the memorial. The first representing the family Peter Schaefer and penny schaefer craig, son and daughter of master chief engineman Benjamin Schaefer and his brother, john Davis Schaefer were shipmates on thresher, so they are niece and nephew of john. The second wreath will be placed representing those who strive to keep our submarines safe through the Subsafe Program by vice admiral tom moore, commander of the naval sea systems command. The first wreath is a red wreath. The second is yellow. The third is white, being placed by the rear admiral who is the director of the Undersea Warfare Division on the office of the chief of Naval Operation representing all activeduty submariners. Finally, the tricolor red, white, and blue wreaths will be placed by the National Commander of United States submarine veterans. Our chaplain will offer a benediction and taps will be played, and then we get to move again because we will go then to the women in military service to america memorial at the head of memorial drive. You might have seen the model of the thresher out in front where we have a reception, where we continue to tell stories about those we love, so let us adjourn to the memorial. [applause] this is American History tv covering history cspan style with lectures, interviews and discussion. 48 hours all weekend every weekend only on cspan3. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] each week, American History tvs reel america brings you archival films that provide context for todays Public Affairs issues. Audio]ith no you can watch archival films on Public Affairs in their entirety on our weekly series reel america saturday at 10 00 p. M. And sunday at 4 00 p. M. Eastern here on American History tv. Professor jordan smith talks about the invention of rum. We recorded the interview at the organization of american historians annual meeting in philadelphia. Jordan smith, you are here at the annual meeting talking about rum. Why . Im working on a book project that examines the production of rum in the 17th century world. At the heart of the project is an attempt to ask how rum was invented over centuries as different groups of people from the americas, europe, and africa converged and combined his