Mark Kelly: “I rise to honor men who bravely served the United States in our most trying times as a Nation. Today marks the 100th…”

“I rise to honor men who bravely served the United States in our most trying times as a Nation. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. submarine force. Will Rogers once said, ``We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. Today we applaud the heroes and we honor fellow submariners who remain on eternal patrol. May we never forget them and their brave deeds.'' Those are the words of Mr. Rogers. The thoughts of Will Rogers live with us today. During the most serious challenges our Nation has faced, the men of the submarine service did their jobs above and beyond the call of duty. They were essential to creating victory in war and remain essential to keeping America strong in peace. War fought under the sea developed its own physics and harsh realities completely different from the experiences of any soldier who came before them. These men placed complete and total trust in their skippers and their skippers had to have the same faith in their men. During World War II, the price they paid for their successes was heavy. The submarine service carried the highest mortality rate of any U.S. service, more than a 20 percent loss of life. However, one has only to look at the statistics to see how effective our submariners really were. With only 1.6 percent of all Navy personnel, the submarine service sank over 55 percent of all Japanese ships sunk in the war, including one-third of all Japanese Men-of-War.”