Deep diving into history with the submariners

There will be a decommissioned full-sized WWII Mark 14 torpedo float at the parade, which has been touted by organizers as the Oregon’s Greatest Veterans Day Parade.

“We also have a Claxton which is a big hit,” said retired and qualified submariner Sam Hornreich. “I enjoy seeing the faces, especially the kid’s faces when we pass by.”

“It’s so exciting that we’re being recognized in the parade as Grand Marshals,” said Don Ling, retired and qualified submarine serviceman. “We were called the silent service because we couldn’t talk about what we did.”

The submariners get together six times a year as a way to socialize and remember those who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties.

“Let’s face it, most of us are getting up there in age, I myself am 81,” Ling said. “And most of the young guys on subs are busy with families, so it is just us older submariners that meet.”

Qualification for a submariner generally entails serving six months on a submarine and being able to pass a test covering the entirety of the submarine systems.

“You have to learn all the major systems on the ship; electrical systems, air systems, hydraulic systems, and then you got to learn something about the weapons systems and the navigation system, the propulsion system,” Ling said. “If you happen to be in an emergency and you have to batten the hatches you might be in a compartment you don’t normally work in and you have to be able to turn the right valves and know what to do.”

Life under water is not for everyone and many tests are performed on individuals long before they are put on assignment.

“There is a wash-out program in sub-school where they test your ability to be in enclosed quarters,” Hornreich said. “You also take a pretty heavy psychiatric exam to see if you are extroverted or introverted. They don’t want any introverts on the submarines, they blow up, but extroverts are constantly talking.”

Due to the nature of this assignment, these men develop strong bonds and work to maintain those bonds long after leaving the Navy.

“We just came back from Branson, Missouri, for a reunion of a boat and there is still a rather large group of the original crew members,” Hornreich said.

Hornreich enlisted after receiving a draft notice in 1965 and attended college before joining the Navy in 1966 as an electronic tech.

“I originally wanted to get into underwater demolition, but my electronics tests were at critical levels so I asked, what else can I do,” Hornreich said. “They told me I could go on submarines so that is where I went. After that, I was sent to new construction on the ship that I was going to be on, the USS Bergdahl. I was in the pre-commissioning crew. I’m what’s called a plank owner, which means that I was part of the original crew on that submarine.”

Ling joined the Navy in 1959 and served eight years as part of the silent service. During his service, he would go out to sea for three months at a time and return for one month before repeating the cycle.

“It seemed like every time I went on patrol something historical happened,” Ling said. “I was on patrol when the USS Thresher sank in 1963. I was on patrol during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was out when Kennedy got assassinated when the Vietnam War began which instantly made me a veteran of that conflict even though I was in the North Atlantic. I have also been under the Arctic Circle five times on patrol during the Cold War.”

As these men went out on secret missions in efforts to keep their country and fellow citizens safe, they would also think of home.

“For three months at a time I would do everything for myself,” said Jeanette Ling, who’s been married to Don for more than 60 years. “Then he would come home and I would have to adjust to someone else making decisions.”

Jeanette Ling moved from California to Connecticut, without knowing anyone, to live on base while her husband disappeared into the ocean for months at a time.

“There was a gentleman who worked at the base and he would come and check on all of us girls,” said Jeanette Ling. “He’d bring us ice cream and make sure we were okay, it was really nice.”

With the Veterans Day Parade on the horizon, the submariners are ready to stand proud and show every Douglas County parade attendee their stoicism and honor as they perform their duty as Grand Marshals.