| Patrons Sought for USS Thresher Book |
HISTORY NEWS
Silent Strength, the hardcover edition of D. Allan Kerr’s Portsmouth Herald articles profiling some of the remarkable men lost aboard the USS Thresher, is being published this April by Peter E. Randall Publisher in Portsmouth. Those interested in purchasing the book (with the working subtitle can pre-order copies thru the Thresher Memorial Project Group at a discount. The book will sell for $29.99 upon publication, but those who pre-order can purchase a copy for $24.99.
The worknig title is Remembering the Men of Genius and Adventure Lost in the World’s Worst Submarine Disaster.
What’s more, folks sending in $75 can be listed as sponsors within the pages of the book. The $75 total includes the purchase. However, in order to have your name printed in Silent Strength, your contribution must be submitted by 15 February.
$50 of the $75 payment made through the Thresher Memorial Project Group is tax-deductible -- minus the value of the book -- as the group is sponsored by the Kittery Maine Improvement Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation.
Proceeds from the sales of Silent Strength will go toward the Thresher Memorial Project. Simply send in your payment to Thresher Memorial Project, PO Box 321, Kittery ME 03904, and write Silent Strength in the memo section of your check.
You can also make payment via PayPal on the Thresher Memorial Web site at: http://threshermemorialkittery.sharepoint.com/Pages/Memorabilia.aspx (click on the “Donate” icon).
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has written a foreword for the collection. Most of the chapters appeared as newspaper articles in the Portsmouth (NH) Herald in a year-long series leading up to the tragedy’s 50th anniversary on 10 April 2013, but new ones have been added as well.
The Kittery, Maine, memorial includes a 129-foot flagpole commemorating the 129 men who died aboard the Thresher that April morning of 1963. An adjacent park currently under construction near Town Hall features a bronze plaque listing the names of those who perished in the world’s worst submarine disaster, and a black granite carving of the Thresher recently donated by local sculptor Thomas Berger (see http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20131202-NEWS-131209968?cid=sitesearch).
The park also honors veterans from all military branches. A water stone located at the site is being named for Kittery’s own Gen. William Whipple, the only Maine native to sign the Declaration of Independence.
The Thresher (SSN 593), designed and built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, was the most advanced naval vessel of its era. She was created to hunt and destroy Soviet submarines at the very height of the Cold War. The Thresher sank during deep-diving tests off the New England coast following a nine-month overhaul at the shipyard.
Copies of Silent Strength delivered thru the mail will require an additional postage fee of $5.95. Pre-order buyers in the Seacoast area can pick up their copies at a special event to be scheduled during Thresher anniversary events in April.
Thank you for your continued support.