Pulaski Day: An Updated the History Guy Episode

[Valin]

Mar 6, 2023 #history #thehistoryguy #PulaskiDay

As today is celebrated as Pulaski Day here in Illinois, please enjoy this updated version of the history of the father of American Cavalry.

[Valin]

USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633)

USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633)

was the name given to the US Navy's initial nuclear powered ballistic missile launching submarines.  All forty one vessels were the most expensive and most powerful warships ever launched by any nation.  Carrying sixteen Polaris A-1 intercontinental ballistic missiles, these underwater giants could rain death and destruction upon an enemy on a scale once only imagined.  "Mutually Assured Destruction" or "MAD," was the order of the day.  "You bomb me and I'll bomb you to a level from which you'll never recover."  This was the creed behind the US Navy's SSBN fleet.  The submarines, nicknamed "Boomers" came to symbolize all that the Cold War stood for. 

This site deals with one of those submarines; the USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633).  The five hundred and fifteenth US Navy submarine and the only US Navy vessel named for a Polish national, Count Casimir Pulaski.  Her motto was "Per Tridentem Libertas" - or peace through seapower, and for thirty years from 1963 to 1993 she patrolled the world's oceans keeping America and her allies safe from the threat of nuclear war.  To quote George Orwell: "we sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."  I was one of those men.  I served onboard USS Casimir Pulaski from October 1985 to April 1989. 

I am writing a book about the "Pulaski Fish" to glorify her existence and let others know of the sacrifices her crew made daily to keep her at sea, defending her nation.  She served silently, carrying her cargo of sixteen missiles and her one hundred fifty crew to and from patrol after patrol.  If you served onboard the Pulaski I'd like to hear from you.  You can contact me at:  JDM4791@Juno.com.  In the meantime, enjoy your visit to the site.  Be sure to read the OVERVIEW sections and by all means, drop me a line with any questions, compliments, complaints, etc.

Cheers,

Don