Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 299, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 21, 1963 Page: 29 of 32
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Family Weekly. July 21, 1963
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Through an ironic accident, you are not aboard the day your ship goes down;
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KEEP IT BRIGHT
Don’t be too quick to blame Junior’s behavior
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something more down-to-earth, such as family
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Family Weekly. July 21, 1963
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STOPPAIN
INSTANTLY
How do you feel? What do you do? Here is the poignant personal account
of the sole surviving officer of the ill-fated atomic submarine
By MINER C. HILL, M.D.
Fellow and Diplomote, Americon Academy of Pediotrics
as told to Adele Whitely Fletcher
wife—the anxieties, the long periods away from
home, the times we couldn’t even write.
That wasn’t the case in Idaho, of course,
where I came home most evenings like a suburban
businessman. Barbara liked that change, and our
kids got to know the stranger in the blue uniform.
Maybe I can describe how I felt this way: 72
miles from our home in Idaho is a nuclear sub-
marine engineering compartment parked in the
middle of desert. The Navy put it there for
training, and when I first saw it I thought it
was pretty comic. But as my temporary assign-
ment was extended six months, then another six
months, I looked at it with different eyes. It was
a beautiful if incongruous sight
After two “temporary” years in Idaho, I was
so despondent I drove out to see my submarine
one evening. The sound, smell, and roll of the
sea were missing, but somehow I felt a little like
that kid 15 years before who had seen a sub and
vowed to sail aboard one. I made that vow again,
went home, and began writing letters to Wash-
ington. When that didn’t work, I took to the
telephone. Lieut Lou Pence, deskbound himself,
took an interest and, after my third year in
Idaho, called me: “Ray, your orders are on the
way—it’s, back to sea!”
I sold the house, and Barbara packed our
things. But orders never came. Another year
passed before Pence called again: “This time is
really it. I don’t know the ship, but you’re to
report to the East Coast”
He was right By August 1962. I was with the
Thresher, then undergoing an overhaul at Ports-
mouth. I had come home in many ways—to
good-bye to Barbara and the boys and brought
my gear aboard the Thresher. Everybody aboard
seemed fresh and new, as if they'd just awakened
from a limbolike sleep. They moved quicker,
joked easier—for a few hours. But then the
Thresher was being towed ignominiously back
to berth by a cussed little tug. Some more minor
adjusting—and waiting.
The following Monday, though, I sensed we
would really get out this time, then I got a tele-
phone call from Barbara. “I can’t see," she said.
“Come home. I can’t see.” She had had a stiff
shoulder and had bought some rubbing com-
pound. As she opened the bottle, the fluid splashed
into her eyes. Now, with five children, she was
helpless. I got permission to leave ship. I took
Barbara to a hospital,-got my sister-in-law to
help her at home, and by 2 p.m. was back on the
Thresher ready to sail the following morning.
Then I got a call to see the executive officer, Lt
Cmdr. Pat Garner:
“The captain says you’re not going with us.
You should be with your family.”
I explained I had taken care of everything
and hadn’t requested leave, but the‘exec’had his
orders, so I got permission to see the captain.
“I waited four years in Idaho and eight months
Pe
N_ MiGMR EDUCATION
an E2
Unhappy Child
the vocabularies of parents and
teachers. For when such a person
calls a child “bad,” the youngster
is likely to believe him—and act
accordingly.
After many years in pediatrics, I am
firmly convinced that a “bad” child is
an unhappy child and that an unhappy
child is, either physically or emotionally,
a sick child. Misbehavior should be re-
garded as a symptom of something that
is wrong, and the child who misbehaves
should be shown patience and affection
while the cause of his conduct is explored
and corrected.
When a child acts unpleasantly, the first
thing to do is to make sure no physical
problem exists. If none is found, the
child’s environment needs careful exam-
ination. For, except in rare cases of ex-
treme mental illness, there is no such
thing as inherent “badness.”
A child’s reaction to any background
problem can have serious results. I had
an eight-year-old patient who spent week-
days with her mother and weekends with
her father because her parents were sep-
arated pending a divorce. She was brought
to me because she had no appetite, did
not gain weight, and was becoming un-
ruly. A thorough physical examination
and careful questioning made it quite
clear this child was the victim of unhappy
environment
I urged that the father return home for
a month; and when he reluctantly agreed,
I urged both parents to show considera-
tion to each other and express greater af-
fection for their child during this critical
test period.
officer. It seems IT never get the chance.”
But Captain Harvey was adamant. “There’ll
be plenty of chance for you to qualify. Your wife
needs you at home.”
Cmdr. John Lyman and I drove home together
that night I guess he knew how disappointed I
(Cowtieaed on page 6)
Family Widelyj July tl, 1963
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SCRATCHES,
SORES
Quick!-
PumQus at once to
minor burns, cats.
Th BAD" , ,
CHIT,D Nuclear Subs!
“ * Dover, the sea, old friends. The Thresher was in April we got orders for a test run. I said
heavily complemented with former shipmates,
and many of the crew had been my students at
the nuclear power training unit in Idaho. The
skipper under whom I would eventually serve,
Lt. Cmdr. John W. Harvey, had been on the
Nautilus, and I knew he had a gifted way with
men and ships. One of my friends, Lieut John
Smarz, had been aboard the Thresher since she
was commissioned and gave me a run down:
“There’s no ship in the world like this one—
faster, goes deeper than anything we’ve known.
We’re lucky—just wait till we take her out”
Raring to Get Thresher to Soo
By January I was sharing John’s excitement
and, like everyone else, raring to get the Thresher
back to sea. I was electrical and reactor-control
officer and had five chief petty officers and an
engineering crew which was the best I’d ever
encountered. But every time we seemed ready,
some new modification or experimental equip-
ment would be installed, and we’d be delayed.
By spring the Thresher’s wardroom was rest-
less, and the old expression, “Just wait till we
take her out,” had a bitter tag line—“If we
ever take her out!” My “E” division reflected
the impatience, and my toughest job was to keep
them keyed up through the tedium of yard life.
I was more eager than most, I suppose. I still
wore the submariner’s silver dolphin on my uni-
form, meaning I’d qualified on nuclear subs as
an enlisted man only. I was aiming for the offi-
cer’s golden dolphin, and this had been an extra
long wait for me.
and fungi that often causeinfection B
Camo-PENIQUB a also won *
derful for fever blisters, cold sores, J
gum boils; gives amazingly fait T
relief from itching and guards t
against infecting insect bam.
When used on pimples, Cam- .
m-Puqus helps prevent then ’
F I HAD MY WAY, the word
“bad” would be barred from
COMBATINFECTION
PROMOTE HEAUNG
wm smseene
Campho-
Phenique
use IT FOR
MimBuanans, I
on “complexes”; the cause is likely to be
fights, drab diet—or even wax in his ears
fejeeeg
A-ee.
,20
pain pro-
motes rapid healing.
Caxpno- PHENIQUE
it a Broad Spectrum
Antiseptic. It kills the
many kinds of bacteria
NKY RECORD of this case reads more like
IVI fiction than a medical report. At the
end of a month, my patient was eating
wll, had gained five pounds, and was
much less unruly. Nor is that all. Because
of the attitude her parents displayed dur-
ing the test period, they rediscoyered
what had attracted them to each other
in the first place. The father remained
at home- and there are now two more
children in this happy family.
Parents who take time to be pals make
a great contribution to a child’s back-
ground. And they make their children
happier, and thus better behaved, when
they refrain from airing adult problems
in front of them. I even go so far as to
recommend that parents, if need be. pre-
tend to be happier and friendlier than
they really are.
A child’s playmates are important, too.
I used to encourage my own children to
cultivate those who liked to play games
and who were interested in making
things. For among children, as among
adults, those who are busy are least likely
to be troublemakers.
Displeasing conduct reveals itself in so
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I. Checks Fungus Growth.
2. Prevents its Spread.
3. Stops Itching.
4. From stoe Rapid Healing.
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Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 299, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 21, 1963, newspaper, July 21, 1963; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1517650/m1/29/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Denton Public Library.