Submarine Memorial To Be Dedicated in Chattanooga
The Chattanooga-area chapter of the United States Submarine Veterans Inc. will conduct a dedication ceremony October 13, 2007 at 11 a.m. to commemorate a new memorial monument in honor of all U.S. submarine sailors, past, present and future, at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
The monument is being dedicated to perpetuate the memory of shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country in order that their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice are a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments. The funds for the monument and ceremony were obtained from donations by members of the United States Submarine Veterans, Inc., HADDO Base and local supporters. No public funds were involved in this endeavor.
The ceremony takes place on the U.S. Navy’s 232nd birthday and includes remarks by guest speaker Vice Admiral Ron Eytchison, U. S. Navy (retired). Eytchison, a Signal Mountain, TN resident, graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy. He was an Olmsted Scholar in politics and law at the University of Sao Paulo and received an M.A. from the School of International Service of American University. He served on active duty for over 33 years in the nuclear submarine force. Duty assignments ashore included being head of Navy nuclear personnel programs, Director of Navy Strategy, Plans and Policy, and Director of Strategic Targeting for all U.S. strategic nuclear forces. He worked for the Secretary of Defense in developing START II force levels. In 1979 he served on President Carter’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island. Since retiring from active duty he has served as TVA Senior Vice President, Nuclear Operations, a nuclear management consultant to the power and nuclear fuels industry, and is a past president of the Navy League of the United States, Greater Chattanooga Council.
The United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. has a membership in excess of 12,000 nationally. The membership consists of U.S. Navy submarine personnel who have been designated “Qualified in Submarines” and earned the prestigious “Dolphins”, an insignia which is gold for officers and silver for enlisted personnel. The USS HADDO Base located in Cleveland, TN was chartered on October 26, 2006 with an initial membership of 6 personnel. Today, less than one year later, HADDO Base boasts 68 members.
