U.S.S. Snook Base Seeks Members

Submariner's Group Honors Fallen Comrades, Swaps Stories of Service

Last updated Saturday, December 29, 2007 7:57 PM CST in Our Town

By Bettina Lehovec
THE MORNING NEWS

"Dolphins" refer to the insignia earned once a submariner demonstrates a proficient level of knowledge about every part of the submarine. A sailor has up to nine months to pass the tests. If he hasn't done so within that time frame, he's off the boat.

There's a reason for that, Rathmell explained. In the totally self-contained environment that is a submarine, it's vital that every man on deck take responsibility for keeping it safe. No matter what a submariner's area of expertise, he must be able to recognize trouble signs in any part of the ship.

"It's a matter of life and death," Rathmell said, adding he was as proud of earning his dolphins as he was of graduating from college the year before. Rathmell served on the U.S.S Bream out of San Diego from 1966 to 1968, including two months in the Vietnam war zone. He joined the service as part of the Naval Reserves.

The advantages of submarines in the military can be summed up with one word -- stealth, Rathmell said. The underwater craft are used for reconnaissance, blockade running, aircraft carrier protection, the covert insertion of special forces and to attack enemy ships or submarines.

Submarine service is voluntary. Snook Base members had different reasons for joining, but a common denominator was fascination with "the silent service" and its mystique. Sailors are screened to make sure they can handle the time underwater. A sub is no place for a person with claustrophobia, said Chuck Hicklin, a retired lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserves.

Hicklin is the oldest member of the group. His military service began in 1942 at age 17 and continued for 42 years. He served on active duty as an electrician during World War II and as an officer during the Korean War.

Memorable experiences include going through the Panama Canal on a sub on his 18th birthday. The electric diesel powered boat did not submerge. In the 1960s, nuclear-powered subs were developed with greater capacity for long term submersion.

The base Hicklin's sub operated out of was on the Atlantic side of the canal, but the crew operated largely in the Pacific, Hicklin said. They were sent there to scout for Japanese craft and to keep the U.S. craft safer. Throughout the Caribbean, there was risk not only from German forces but from Allied ones, Hicklin said. U.S. subs were made to look like German ones. Occasionally, a U.S. plane mistook its own sub for an enemy. The U.S.S. Dorado was sunk by U.S. armed forces in 1943, for example.

One of Hicklin's jobs was racing to set off color-coded flares when the sub surfaced to alert U.S. ships to its friendly status.

"There were two people looking for you -- an accidental (attack) and the Germans for real," he recalled.

Hicklin served on the U.S.S. Chivo, one of two subs outfitted to destroy radar installations in the planned invasion of Japan. In 1945, the nuclear bomb was dropped, forestalling the invasion. That was good news for the men aboard the Chivo, who knew, as all submarine sailors do, that there's not much hope of survival if hit.

"When a submarine sinks, nobody gets out alive," Rathmell said. The group's monthly meetings feature a moment of silence for the submariners who have died on duty. During World War II, the submarine service had the highest fatality rate in the Armed Forces, he said.

The group also allows veterans to rekindle old memories and swap stories.

"We all have the connection of knowing what it's like to live in a big tube and not see the sun very often," Hicklin said. Submarine sailors are typically selected for their extrovert qualities, he added. "There was a lot of camaraderie, a lot of laughing, a lot of storytelling."

That continues in the group today.

"The meeting is a lot of sharing stories," Rathmell said. "That's the common bond we have."

His goal as base commander, a position he assumed last fall, is to raise awareness of the group and build membership. A future project might be adding a submarine veterans plaque to the Veterans Wall of Honor in Bella Vista, he said.

At A Glance

U.S.S. Snook Base

Meets: 11:30 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month

Venue: Ryan's Family Steakhouse in Rogers

Who's eligible: Any sailor who has served on a submarine and earned his dolphins

Information: www.ussvi.org

Source: Staff report

Fast Facts

Submarine Names

U.S. military submarines during World War II were largely named for fish and other "denizens of the deep." Names included the U.S.S. Archerfish, the U.S.S. Salmon, the U.S.S. Bluegill and the U.S.S. Triggerfish.

Today, nuclear-powered submarines are named mostly for states, cities and presidents.

Source: Staff Report

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