Advance the colors. [national anthem plays] retire the colors. 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 sub safe 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, 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 to you the president of the uss thresher anc memorial foundation. [applause] kevin thank you all. Please be seated. Senator shaheen, admiral richards, tom wiley, clark, good afternoon and welcome to all that are 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 hallowed 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 submarine 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 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 along 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 shannon way. Major shannon was a consummate professional. The anc members working group. The anc remember and explore subcommittee. The anc advisory committee. Ms. Rihanna yeats, the deputy superintendent for cemetery administration. Ms. Catherine kelly, superintendent anc. And executive director, arlington 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 erection of this memorial. May god bless the men lost, and may god bless america. Thank you. [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, rear 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 memorial 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 employees and friends. The Raytheon Company also lost highly skilled employees and friends. The Shipbuilding Community was in shock. Former thresher crewmembers lost submariners and 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 to process the shock of the tragic news like the thresher disaster. No one is prepared to grieve or properly 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. In his 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 the radio or 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 mother and 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. Inght older sister was iron when 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 came on. I ran down to the tv to see the news. I ran back up to my room, and the radio was off. 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 of a Group Members 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 had been student athletes 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 comfort the younger ones. Big brothers, baby brothers, best friends were lost, heroes to their families. Children lost fathers, wives lost husbands. The wives were overcome with grief, trying to comprehend this tragedy. 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 and successfuld 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 cards, old letters, old 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 hunters, 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 are 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 stayed at their 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. The legacy of the thresher, it crew. Although the lives of our loved ones were lost, they were not lost in vain. Memories. Now, Arlington National cemetery has a new national 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 emost 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 National Cemetery provides knowledge, history, and recognition of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Arlington National Cemetery is our nations 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. Thank you. [applause] i had the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at the 51st annual thresher memorial service, up in the seacoast area. During that time, family members challenged me for today. And i thank you for that. But it also set the bar pretty high for speakers for today, so you didnt need to hear me again. When looking for a navy speaker, i recall a discussion i had at a conference, recollecting times in high school on the seacoast area. Our keynote speaker went to york high school. Some of the students that we went to school with are families in the middle section. Not only is he the recently retired chief of Naval Operations, but he understands the community from which so many of the thresher sailors came from. With that, our next speaker, admiral john richardson. [applause] thank you, senator shaheen, fellow flag 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 here today have taken an oath to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This oath binds us together. It binds us through time. It binds us throughout the world. Time has shown, over and over, that it is impossible to predict and hard to comprehend what our oath of office may require of us on any given day. April 10, 1963 began with so much excitement, the excitement of sea trials. Anyone who has been on a sea trial knows this feeling. 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. The day started with great joy and excitement anticipation and , professionalism. Personnel all focused on a test agenda. You can look in your program and see the anticipation and the pride in their faces. Who could have known on that day that began with so much hope, 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 a 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. O port, nono return t crew coming ashore, no embraces, no joy, just uncertainty and a growing sense of dread. Something had gone wrong. Something had gone wrong. There was some scattered communication about a problem. Over time, it would 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 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. , theeard from tom wiley john g of lieutenant wiley. They have done a remarkable thing here and we are also 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