WHEREAS,  the nuclear fast attack submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) was designed and built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, launched in July 1960 and commissioned in August 1961; and

WHEREAS,  the USS Thresher was the first of a brand-new class of submarine created to be a weapon of deterrence at the height of the Cold War and was considered the most advanced naval vessel of its day; and

WHEREAS,  on April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher became the first nuclear submarine to be lost at sea, when it sank during a deep-diving test more than 200 miles off the New England coast, taking with it 129 brave United States Navy sailors and civilian workers; and

WHEREAS,  thirteen of the men who died aboard the USS Thresher were employees of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, 3 of the Navy officers lost were stationed at the shipyard and several of the Navy crewmen were residents of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and all left behind grieving families, friends, neighbors and colleagues; and

WHEREAS,  the loss of the USS Thresher remains the worst submarine disaster the world has ever known and directly resulted in the Navy’s creation of SUBSAFE, a safety program to ensure that no submarine ever suffers a similar fate, and no submarine that has passed through the program has been lost; and

WHEREAS,  the Town of Kittery, birthplace and final home port of the USS Thresher, is dedicating a 129-foot flagpole in Memorial Circle on April 7, 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this terrible tragedy and to honor the 129 Cold War casualties lost that day, men of genius and adventure who represented the finest qualities of our Nation; and

WHEREAS,  the State of Maine and its citizens, and the entire United States of America and its citizens, are greatly indebted to the sacrifice of these brave pioneers; now, therefore, be it