On 15 January, THRESHER Base inducted thirteen (13) members into the Holland Club. Their names have been added to the Holland Club Muster Lists located on the USSVI Web Site (http://www.ussvi.org/hc/hc-index.htm) and the THRESHER Base Web Site (http://www.thresherbase.org/). If you puruse the USSVI Holland Club Muster List you will find many distinguished veterans of the Submarine Service are members; Seaman to Admiral, many heroes and legends of our Submarine Force, past and present. It is an honor and privilege to be included on the same roster with these men, and to be part of the Holland Club. To all of our Holland Club inductees, we salute you and thank you for your fifty (50) plus years of devotion and service. "Pride Runs Deep"

Gary Hildreth (THRESHER Base Commander) and Larry Oiler (THRESHER Base Senior Vice Commander & Holland Club Coordinator) presented Holland Club Certificates, Welcome Aboad Letters, Membership Cards and 50 Year Patches to Edward J. O’Neill (qualified 1953), Daniel R. MacIsaac (qualified 1941), Thomas Young (qualified 1955), Eugene E. Franceware (qualified 1950), and Roger E. Babcock (qualified 1953) during the ceremony. At the beginning of the ceremony, Gary Hildreth read an article written by Doctor Joyce Brothers titled "Who are submariners?" Even thought the article is several years old, it hit the nail on the head in light of the recent incident involving a submarine that ran into what apparently was an underwater mountain and the heroic actions taken by the crew to get the ship home, and in their caring for injured shipmates. Extract of the article is provided below.

Holland Club Packages have been mailed to Robert J. Anderson (qualified 1953), Charles D. Bennett (qualified 1955), Leo L. Cloutier (qualified 1952), John W. Czajkowski (qualified 1943), Norman J. Dineen (qualified 1955), Carl I. Furlong (qualified 1954), Donald V. Simpson (qualified 1955), and Michael L. Yates (qualified 1955). They were not able to attend the ceremony for various reasons (out of the area, health, etc).

"There is nothing daredevil-ish about the motivation of a man who decides to dedicate his life to the submarine service. He does indeed take pride in demonstrating he is quite a man, but he does not do so to practice a form of foolhardy brinkmanship to see how close he can get to failure and still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the contrary, the aim of the Submarine Service is to battle the danger to minimize the risk, to take every measure to make certain that safety, not danger, is maintained at all times.

Are the men in submarines braver than those in other pursuits where the possibility of sudden tragedy is not constant? The glib answer would be that they are. It is much more accurate from a psychological point of view, to say they are not necessarily braver, but that they are men who have a little more insight into themselves and their capabilities. They know themselves a lot better than the next man. This has to be so with men who have a healthy reason to volunteer for a risk. They are generally a cut healthier emotionally than others of a similar age and background because of their willingness to push themselves a little bit further and not settle for an easier kind of existence.

We all have tremendous capabilities, but are rarely straining at the upper level of what we can do; the United States can be proud and grateful that so many of its sound, young, eager men are confident enough about their own status in life and the welfare of their country to pool their skills and match them collectively against the power of the sea."

Dr. Joyce Brothers