Remembering the USS Thresher | April 10, 2022

Remembering the USS Thresher | April 10, 2022

  Today we remember our 129 Submariner brothers and shipyard personnel who were lost onboard USS Thresher (SSN593) during testing in the Atlantic Ocean in the morning hours of April 10, 1963 and their families. There are numerous, excellent resources that discuss the Thresher, lead ship of a revolutionary class of nuclear powered attack submarines; about the disaster; and about the men who braved the depths of the oceans to serve aboard her. Many of them are provided below. At…

Read More Read More

Lost Tennesseans | LCDR Pat Garner

Lost Tennesseans | LCDR Pat Garner

LCDR Pat Mehaffy Garner of Memphis Tennessee was Executive Officer aboard USS Thresher (SSN593) when she was lost on April 10, 1963. Lieutenant Commander Pat Mehaffy Garner, US Navy Pat Mehaffy Garner was born September 26, 1931, in Memphis, Tennesee. He majored in psychology at Vanderbilt University after attending various local schools in Memphis. While at Vanderbilt, he was active in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, and a member of the Phi Theta Fraternity. He was graduated and commissioned…

Read More Read More

Lost Tennesseans | LTJG Frank Malinski

Lost Tennesseans | LTJG Frank Malinski

LCDR Frank Malinski, USN, of Memphis Tennessee served aboard USS Thresher (SSN593) when she was lost on April 10, 1963. Lieutenant Junior Grade Frank Malinski, US Navy Frank John Malinski was born on August 6, 1939, in Glen Ridge, N.J., the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Malinski, Jr. He attended parochial schools as a youth, and was awarded the Ad Altar Dei Medal, highest Catholic Shout honor, for his outstanding performance as an Eagle Scout. Frank was an honor…

Read More Read More

Tolling of the Boats 2021 | Keynote Remarks | Amb Charles Bowers

Tolling of the Boats 2021 | Keynote Remarks | Amb Charles Bowers

TOLLING OF THE BOATS Every year the Tolling of the Boats Ceremony commemorates those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country while serving aboard U.S. Navy submarines. The U.S. Submariners fo the Volunteer Base of USSVI in association with the Tennessee Submarine Memorial Association hold a tolling every October at the Middle Tennessee State Veteran’s Cemetery. Keynote remarks were presented by Ambassador Charles R. Bowers, U.S. Foreign Service (Retired). You can read the Ambassador’s introduction following the remarks here….

Read More Read More

Tolling of the Boats 2021 | Videos

Tolling of the Boats 2021 | Videos

TOLLING OF THE BOATS Every year the Tolling of the Boats Ceremony commemorates those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country while serving aboard U.S. Navy submarines. The U.S. Submariners fo the Volunteer Base of USSVI in association with the Tennessee Submarine Memorial Association hold a tolling every October at the Middle Tennessee State Veteran’s Cemetery. The videos of our October 2021 memorial ceremony are in two parts. The first includes remarks about the tolling ceremony and keynote remarks…

Read More Read More

Memorial Day 2020 – Never Forget Our Fallen Heroes

Memorial Day 2020 – Never Forget Our Fallen Heroes

Memorial Day 2020 Dear Friends: History is replete with stories of small bands of gallant warriors who bravely took on tall challenges and took fierce combat to the face of an enemy against great odds and with great consequences dependent on their bravery. In the darkest days of the Nazi onslaught over the skies of England, Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to the intrepid RAF airmen defending the beleaguered island, “Never in the field of conflict was so much…

Read More Read More

Lost Submariners from Tennessee Index

Lost Submariners from Tennessee Index

This site is dedicated to the memory — the service and sacrifice — of Tennesseans who were lost in the line of duty in U.S. submarines and submarine related Navy duty. We have assembled a roster of our shipmates who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  We have formatted the roster  by the date of their loss and by the hull number of the ship or boat they were assigned to when lost.  We continue to look for historical materials to add…

Read More Read More

Giving | Kroger Community Rewards

Giving | Kroger Community Rewards

The Tennessee Submarine Memorial Association is enrolled in the Kroger Community Rewards Program and will receive a gift from Kroger every quarter. VISIT THIS PAGE TO ENROLL Here’s how it works: One of the ways in which we do this is through our Kroger Community Rewards program. This program makes fundraising easy by donating to local organizations based on the shopping you do every day. Once you link your Card to an organization, all you have to do is shop…

Read More Read More

Welcome Aboard

Welcome Aboard

Welcome to the home of the Tennessee Submarine Memorial Association. This is a temporary web site as we finish construction of our first online presence. Check back in a few days to see what we’ve done. The Tennessee Submarine Memorial Association is an independent, nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Tennessee exclusively for educational and charitable purposes. The Tennessee Submarine Memorial Association’s purpose is to educate members of the community about the sacrifice of thousands of American submariners and…

Read More Read More