Portsmouth to Remember USS Thresher Victims

This weekend family members of the 129 sailors who were lost at sea aboard the USS Thresher (SSN 593) 50 years ago will join with scores of Portsmouth area residents and dignitaries to remember their sacrifice.

According to the USSVI Thresher Base group in Portsmouth, a memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 6 at Portsmouth High School at 1 p.m. The group's website states the 50th Annual USS Thresher Service is by invitation only.

The group's website also states it has received 663 RSVP's from family members of the lost sailors who died on April 10, 1963 200 miles away from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard during sea trials and from former crew members. Current Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees and anyone else who has a connection to the tragedy are also welcome to contact the group for an invitation, according to the website. To request an invitation, people should contact Kevin Galeaz, the commander of the USSVI Thresher Base in Portsmouth via email at ThresherBase@comcast.net, or by phone: 603.232.6201

The memorial service will feature several speakers from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, and Kelly Ayotte, R-NH. The group's website also states they will utilize the school cafeteria for additional seating outside of the auditorium and use a large-screen project to show the ceremony.

On the actual 50th year anniversary, Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine, area residents will gather for a ceremony at the Kittery Traffic circle where a memorial for the USS Thresher sailors will be formally dedicated at 9 p.m.

A group of volunteers in Kittery, Maine, raised the $72,000 needed to create the USS Thresher memorial at the Kittery Traffic Circle.