The Deep Remembers

OPINION: FTB1(SS) Dave Bowman, Past Commander and Base Historian

Beneath the waves, their watch is kept,
No trumpet sounds, no tears are wept.
The deep remembers, still and wide—
Our silent sailors, side by side.

Look, if you want to start an argument among submariners, it’s simple: start discussing what happened to the USS Scorpion SSN-589 on May 22, 1968.

When I was in SubSchool (1982), I was told – with no uncertainty – that the Soviets had torpedoed her in retaliation for their belief that we had sunk the K-129. It wasn’t even discussable; it was an established fact.

Later discussions would be about a Mk-37 torpedo making a hot run and detonating. Still others are equally as certain that a battery exploded. Perhaps there was flooding through an open valve? In the past few years a book appeared that was basically an indictment of the material condition of Scorpion, referring to her as the “USS Scrap-iron,” and being depth limited and in a dangerously unmaintained condition.

What a given person believes about the loss of Scorpion, in my mind, says more about the person holding the belief, than it does about the actual loss of the ship.

Here’s the thing though – whatever happened was not a mystery to the men of the Scorpion. They knew what was happening and they did everything they could to recover from it.

“Thats a bold statement, Dave. How do you know?”

Buried deeply in the reports from the Trieste’s examination of the wreck is a surprising detail. Believe me – it’s buried and yet, it’s literally right there on the page. The Trieste crew saw – and presumably photographed – the body of a sailor outside of the wreckage.

The body was described as wearing submarine coveralls and a “kapok style life vest.” That would indicate to me that at least one sailor knew what was going on and was trying to – or had – gotten out of the submarine.

In so many ways, this is the sobering reminder of the human cost of the loss of Scorpion. They knew something was badly wrong, and their training kicked in. They fought the casualty, and they attempted to survive, as we had been taught to do. That they failed is not an indictment, it is a testament to thier training and skills and to their service.

I often tell my listeners that the ocean is always trying to kill you. Sometimes, even when you do everything right, the sea wins.

My own opinion as to what happened to Scorpion has both evolved and softened through the years. I keep it to myself because any debate, while interesting and occasionally deeply passionate, often loses sight of the single fact that matters most: the ninety-nine men of USS Scorpion SSN-589 lived, served and died doing their duty.

There is no tombstone, no maker floats above them. But today we remember their service and their sacrifice, and we perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of duties while serving their country, that their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice may be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments.