Cultural Survival Skills

I was honored and proud to have served on the nuclear powered submarine Ethan Allen, SSBN 608, during the Cold War. We carried nuclear missiles and could alone unleash more destructive force than all previous wars combined. That is why this type of submarine is called a “Boomer”!

The Cold War was not so cold for us.

The following will help you understand why U.S. Submarine operations were hotter during the cold war than most everyone knows.

I was a member of the Ethan Allen submarine’s Gold Crew (We alternated Cold War Patrols with our Blue Crew). Shortly before our third 2-month submerged Cold War patrol, two our esteemed crew members were transferred to a fast-attack submarine named the “Thresher”. The Thresher was then lost with all hands on a deep test-dive. I hope you honor her crew, and others of past wars, by seeing the documentary video about the tragic Cold War loss of the Thresher.

I hope you will see both videos!

Cold War Submarine Service: https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/us/veterans-in-focus-silent-service/index.html

The Loss of the Thresher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-uJ1do3yV8

God Bless America and our military personnel!

This is what America’s upcoming Memorial Day is all about.

V. Tom Mawhinney

Tags: Blue Crew, Cold War, Cold War Submarines, Gold Crew, Memorial Day 2023, Submarine Service, The Thresher Tragedy, V. Thomas Mawhinney

This entry was posted on May 11, 2023 at 1:03 PM and is filed under Boiling the American Frog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.