A moment of Silence.
Fifty years ago the USS Thresher (SSN 593) went down with all hands. It was neither a valiant loss in battle nor a dramatic mission gone wrong. It was just a bad series of events that prevented the submarine from returning to the surface.
But it was that loss of those 129 sailors that led to efforts to never allow that to happen again. And because of the Thresher every man who serves in the US Submarine Service today can feel a little more secure they will return safely to port.
Today, again, I raise a toast to those that serve.