Silent Strength, the hardcover edition of D. Allan Kerr¹s profiles
celebrating some of the remarkable men lost aboard the nuclear submarine USS Thresher, is being published this April by Peter E. Randall Publisher in Portsmouth.
Those interested in purchasing the book (with the working subtitle
Remembering the Men of Genius and Adventure Lost in the World¹s Worst
Submarine Disaster) 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.
What¹s 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 thru 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 once the publisher is paid. 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.
Buyers can also send payment via PayPal on the Thresher Memorial website
at: http://threshermemorialkittery.sharepoint.com/Pages/Memorabilia.aspx
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 Herald in a year-long series leading up to the tragedy¹s 50th
anniversary on 10 April 2013, but new ones have been added as well.
Several of those profiled were natives of Kittery and Portsmouth, and
surviving family members are still active contributors to the Seacoast
community.
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 worst
submarine disaster the world has ever known, and a black granite carving
of the Thresher recently donated by local sculptor Thomas Berger.
The park also honors veterans from all military branches. A water stone
located at the site is being named for Kittery¹s 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.
Vis Tacita, Latin for ³Silent Strength,² was the submarine¹s motto.
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.
D. Allan Kerr
Posted in order to keep residents informed of the ongoing project and fund raisers.