A submarine veteran from South Carolina traveled over 1,000 miles with a replica sub to participate in Manitowoc’s Fourth on the Shore celebration.
Dave Harvey joined the Navy at 18 years old, and served on the USS Halibut in 1971. After 20 years of service, he retired and joined United States Submarine Veterans Inc.
USSVI boasts roughly 12,000 members, including some in Wisconsin. Harvey tells SeehaferNews.com that he enjoys participating in events focused on submarines and came across an article a few years back showcasing the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s annual SubFest celebration.
He decided last year to come see what it is all about.
“I loaded up my little tent, I showed up in Two Rivers and decided to camp at a campground,” he explained. “I learned two things real quick about this area. Number one, I’m too old to sleep on the ground. And number two, I likely froze to death that morning.”
While eating breakfast, Harvey met who he called “some wonderful people” who told him all about the Maritime Museum, and so, he decided to visit.
“The museum itself caught me off guard with the entire maritime history of this lake in this area,” he said with amazement. “It’s taken it back to what I thought we should have had a long time ago in in education.”
Dave Harvey
After enjoying the lakeshore area, Harvey went back to his home base and told everyone that they had to participate this year.
So, he and several others from his base loaded up their 30’ replica of the USS Thresher, which was created at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in the 1990s.
“In 1963, coming out of the shipyard, the Thresher went on sea trials with shipyard workers and sailors. Something happened, and she sunk and everybody was killed on board,” he explained. “The results of the loss of that submarine is why we’re all here today. Because the mistakes made on Thresher was immediately applied to all the submarines in the United States Navy.”
The replica has been parked at Submariners Pub along Maritime Drive, so many people have already experienced it, as did countless people on her trip to Eastern Wisconsin.
“People hanging out the window, taking pictures, asking us questions everyplace we stop,” he said with a chuckle. “How many people can fit in it, etc., etc.. Is it remote control? Is it real? No. It’s not.”
Harvey voiced is amazement at how much Manitowoc County appreciates and celebrates its maritime history, especially as it relates to the gem of the Maritime Museum, the USS Cobia.
“The attitude that I found last year on the Cobia and how they want to help that is really important,” Harvey said. “It’s alive and well here.”
Harvey encouraged everyone to come out and experience the parade and see the replica submarine.
The parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. along South 10th Street and Maritime Drive, out to the Yacht Club.
The full Fourth on the Shore details can be found at VisitManitowc.com.
