RIP # 589 - USS SCORPION (SSN-589)

[SteveZ]

So there I was, a high school student thats family had just returned from overseas, ( father was a career naval aviator at the rank of Commander ) moved into a brand new house in Virginia Beach and I was on top of he world ! I just bought my first car, my dream hot rod ( 55 Chevrolet Coupe ) and I was ready to tackle my last two years of high school.

 

My dad said I should consider thinking about some kind of career including the military and of coarse, the US NAVY was high on the list. I hadnt made up my mind yet about any branch of the service if I was going to join. The war in Vietnam was starting to go full bore and there was a US draft to consider.

 

My neighbor next door was a career submariner out of NOB NORFOLK at the rank of Lt. Cmdr. and would often chat to me about how great life was in the ' silent service ' and said rank advancement was far quicker. 90 day rotations out to sea and 90 days back on shore which usually involved training. Submariners had the best chow in the Navy and you made life long friends and were a special member of a unique brotherhood. I was seriously considering a navy job in a submarine. My dad said that it was at least Navy !

 

I recall that my neighbor had been out on his ' at sea ' rotation and was only back a few weeks. Apparently another officer that was due to depart on another subs mission had an extreme emergency in the family arise, ( I heard his wife was near death in a hospital ) and the call went out for a replacement to fill in. I never did know what my neighbor did exactly on subs but I heard years later he was naval intel. Im certain that he didnt have to be ordered to go either, He was all Navy and nothing but !

 

Weeks went by and the vessels rotation was up and was heading west in the Atlantic, She gave a routine position report and estimated an ' on or about ' return date and time to return to Norfolk. And the sub was never heard from again. My entire family freaked out over this and my mother was best friends with this officers wife.

 

It was May 1968 and I was about to finish my sophomore high school year the next month. My neighbor replaced another officer at the last minute on the USS SCORPION SSN 589.

 

Over the years, Ive read several theories in books and on the web about the incident. A torpedo that went crazy during a routine test, a chicken duel with a Soviet submarine and the possibility that vessel fell victim to a streamlined overhaul program that didnt pan out too well. Another intriguing story is that the Scorpion went to sea without a functioning ' emergency blow ' system that may have saved the vessel. Again another rumor that surfaced years later that the officer with the family emergency was just a cover story. The story was that the officer ' refused ' to go on the mission because many safety and emergency systems on the sub simply were inoperative and the sub was cleared for sea anyway. I guess the cold war protocol was different back then.

 

I remember when Bob Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute did locate the subs remains and get hundred of pictures for the US NAVY.

 

WHATEVER THOSE GUYS GET IN PAY, IT AIN'T ENOUGH !! SUBMARINERS CARRY CANNON BALLS IN THEIR CROTCHES !

 

Thanks for reading my story. SteveZ

 

 

 

 

[Brian Keith]

Great post!

Thanks,

BKW

[SteveZ]

Thanks BKW. Maybe some retired submariners here to comment. They truly deserve a job well done and a sharp salute ! SteveZ

[zsmith]

As a submariner there are certain things that you hear about throughout your career... Scorpion, Thresher, 52 WWII boats on eternal patrol. Some of them (like the Thresher and her SUBSAFE legacy) teach us lessons learned at the ultimate cost. All of them serve as reminders of the brothers who have gone before us. It's definitely an odd feeling the first time the hatches are shut and you slide into the depths of Neptune's realm. As we always said, everything is going to be fine as long as your number of dives equal your number of surfaces.

 

you made life long friends and were a special member of a unique brotherhood.

Absolutely. I'm still in contact with many of the guys I served with. I've been a groomsman in their weddings, I've been named godfather to their children. I'm active in the Submarine Veterans and look forward to our meetings to interact with others who have been there. We even have a WWII vet at my base that I talk to as much as possible.

 

I have people ask me all the time if I liked being on submarines and if I'm a little crazy. I tell them that I would do it all over again if I had the chance... and that we're all a little crazy!

[SteveZ]

Like I said before. They don't make BVD's big enough for the sub guys !

[zsmith]

Your family friend/neighbor will always be remembered as long as submariners exist. At every meeting we do a tolling of the bell for all the boats that didn't return that month. In May we will once again ring the bell for the Scorpion and her crew. The USSVI's main purpose is "To Perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country."

 

And here you are 50 years later still remembering this man. That's the greatest tribute we can give them... to never forget them. Do you have any more information that you could share about him?

[SteveZ]

Sorry. dont have many details after 50 years. I recall his wife remarried some years later and moved on. My mother passed away a few years back and she knew alot. I'll see if I can contact my sister and see if she remembers the widows last name before she remarried. I dont remember.

 

I do remember that a radio message was received with the subs call sign that she was close to port. Turns out that the message was a fake. But............... how would somebody know the proper call sign and frequency of the boat if all that stuff was very classified ? Never heard the answer to that mystery either.

 

I saw a u tube video not long ago that included an interview with a man that had just transferred off the Scorpion just weeks before the accident. He wasnt to flattering of the submarine overhaul and maintenance program way back when. ( I was shocked )

 

Im sure our government made alot of cost saving cuts back then. My dads aircraft squadron that he commanded in 1967 along with dozens of others were deactivated in 1968 by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara under the Johnson administration to pay for the escalating war in Vietnam. Did the military take shortcuts in naval vessel maintenance and overhaul as well ?

[SteveZ]

Update.Just chatted with my sister. The Mans name was RAY DENNY and he was a Chief Petty Officer on the Scorpion. Dont know why I thought he was an officer. He should be on the crew list. Too many years have gone by. My Bad !!