Veterans who served aboard a Navy submarine called the USS Sterlet hold rich memories of their one-time undersea home. Among them:
• The Sterlet was named after a fish known for its delicious caviar.
• It survived five war patrols in World War II.
• It continued far-flung missions into the Vietnam War era.
• It served as a set for a 1951 movie titled "Submarine Command."
• Its life afloat came to an abrupt end in 1969 when it was sunk while serving as a practice target for another submarine.
This week, Sterlet vets - including five who served in World War II - will hold a reunion in Tucson.
The reunion, which begins Wednesday and continues through Sunday, is open only to the submarine veterans and their family members. But members of the public are welcome to view a model of another submarine, the USS Tucson, Wednesday at The Hotel Arizona, 181 W. Broadway, the site of the reunion.
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LIFE ON A SUBMARINE
About 35 former crew members and their families are expected to attend the reunion - and spend plenty of time recalling their sometimes routine, sometimes thrilling days beneath the waves.
"There's always a risk when you go down. You don't know if you're coming back up," said Richard Jarenski, a one-time crew member who is now commander of the USS Sterlet SS392 Association.
Jarenski, who served as a yeoman aboard the 311-foot-long Sterlet from 1966 to 1968, took part in patrols off the coast of Vietnam.
"We were down sometimes as long as 18 hours, but typically you would go down for three to six hours," he said. "Typically, the Sterlet would have a total of 91 to 93 people on board, but off of Vietnam we could have as many as 150 to 175 on the submarine."
Can submarine service be a claustrophobic experience?
"If you're claustrophobic, you find out right away, usually on your first dive or patrol," Jarenski said. "I was on a 115-day run and never once felt locked in."
Jarenski said crew members formed a close-knit unit.
"Everybody relied on everybody else, and we kept each other out of trouble," he said.
see a model sub
A 23-foot-long model of the USS Tucson submarine will be on display Wednesday at The Hotel Arizona, 181 W. Broadway. The actual USS Tucson is based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192.
