European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday. April 12, 1966 Page 9 arc Man work on Thresher s deck in chutes Lon 5.c., prior to 1941 Cruls. This 1964 photo shows wreckage of the nuclear submarine on he in for. After 25 years Thresher tragedy still  witness described the Oconn Noor As resembling i by Betsy Henderson Concord . Apr Edna Dino ahas trouble recreating the jumbled events of april 10. 1963, the Nihl she was told the Thresher a nuclear submarine earning Herr husband and 128 of her men had not re surfaced from a dive 220 Miles off the new England Casl. She in t quite sure who came to her Home or what icy said. She thinks friends helped put her five Chil Dren 10 bed and turned away reporters clamouring not reaction. She thinks a Portsmouth naval shipyard chaplain told her he would be there if she needed him. There is one thing however Dinola did remember As she reflected last week on sunday s 25th anniversary of the nation s worst submarine disaster i just did i Ihrk thai they would t come up  but the submarine powerless with a toppled nuclear reactor never had a Chance sinking deeper and deeper in the Atlantic until fierce Walcer pressure crushed its Hull and killed All aboard. Rear . Dean Axene. Thresher s commanding officer until three months earlier was returning to Portsmouth from Boston when he heard on the radio a submarine was missing. He drove immediately 10 the shipyard which Thresher had left two Days earlier. After Midnight Annc began calling family Mem Bis Many of whom were close friends and had Faith in the 278-foot submarine that the Navy said would dive deeper move faster and carry More weapons than any of her submarine in the  it was a great ship and it had a great Crew he said. When i was reassigned. I fought to stay on it Thresher had Ihrck years of Success when it left for tests the Mornia of april 8. Accompanied by he sub Marine tender Skylark Thresher s 112 military person Nel and 17 civilian technicians were looking for minor glitches in inc machinery after a routine overhaul. But the problems were More severe than anyone Fli rut . On april 10, the Skylark i cd � message from Thresher. 1,000 feel below the surface experiencing minor  garbled radio messages followed saying thresh was exceeding test depth Ihnn Alico Ptg o blow " a naval Lerm for resurfacing. At 9-17 la Jim Watson listening to skylarks radio heard the sounds of a ship breaking up a Dull muted  then silence. Skylark radioed thai Thresher was missing. It was a terrible experience a terrible thing Anene now retired and living in Pensacola fla., said of calling Crew families. He attended sunday s memo rial services for the firs time in 24 years but the memories Are still too painful for his wife. Some crewmen s wives like Dinola did t believe Thresher was lost and told reporters to print the Good news when their husbands resumed. Dinola finally Wen 10 bed that night. I had three babies and two other children and they had to be taken care of so you just go  she said. Although the Navy Lold her the sub was lost she told shipyard officials to leave her husband s car Wail ing at the pier. You would think that you would react immediate Lylo Sonu Lhing like this but you Don to she said. Dinola was t alone. Some speculated that Crew men might be alive sustained by air bubbles trapped in the wreckage. Another sub detected what some believed were Hull noises prompting the Secretary of the Navy 10 declare the night after the tragedy that there is absolutely no possibility that there might be Surv  but the truth did t Register with Dinola until Days later when friends told her ships had spoiled an Oil Slick inc telltale sign of wreckage. "1 finally realized what was happening and 1 went into orbit she said. A Navy Board of inquiry pieced Logcher what went wrong the Board considered 120 witnesses. 225 exhibits and 1 700 pages of testimony before concluding prob lems probably started with a leak in the saliva tar Pip ing. The Board said water had shorted out electrical circuits and shut Down the nuclear reactor leaving Thresher powerless. The Thresher presumably blew main ballast started to Rise then slowed and began to sink vice . . Grenfell Uroic in a 1964 analysis of the disaster. When the sub Sank below its collapse depth water pressure crushed the Hull. In August 1964, a research submarine found and photographed the wreckage Aboul i Miles Down. A ooze it Fol. I witness resembling a huge automobile junkyard with big pieces of heavy Metal All Over the  Thresher s sole surviving Crew member who look leave just before the sub left because his wife had had an Accident said he still believes the submarine could have been saved Raymond Mccoole. Thresher s reactor officer Suid he might have been Able to me the sub s momentum to prevent its plunge. He would have sacrificed the re actor to save the submarine he said. After Thresher the Navy developed a submarine safely program based on the Board s findings. The pro Gram includes strict construction methods and testing for Saltwater piping More initial shallow water sea Tri als and design improvements. My feeling is thai Progress is expensive and the Navy has certainly Learned Fitim three her Mccoole Sai Jast week it s a Jun Bow a Jeam. However Naif cdltt07wh"o was 4 when his father Merrill perished agreed i a lot of Good came out of that sad Day said col Lier who spent three Yean on a submarine himself and now is an instructor Al a Navy training Center in Sara Toga Springs . Collier has read names of the dead at several Thresher services and helped plan this years serv ice. Inc largest since the tragedy. Despite the pain of growing up without his father. Collier said mourning in t the main purpose of the service."1 take inc memorial service very seriously and it s a Bia Deal to me every year he said. But. From my a cent of View the Thresher incident and what Impact it had on National defense is really Why it s important. Ii made subs a lot safer. Many Many lives have been saved because those Guys a Vei heir lives. Dinola attended sunday s service. After working years in a school lunch program and As a nurse Dinola decided in 1986 to Honor her husband with a plaque in Arlington National cemetery. I finally decided it was Lime to have our own serv ice for Michael she said. "1 Felt that by then everyone would understand the situation.". Aided by pc crans benefits and social Security. I Nola has raised her family. This Spring her last Chile will graduate from College. I you do what you have to and inc Good lord 1 guides you she