(WIVT/WBGH) – On Saturday, there will be a memorial service for a Union-Endicott native whose loss changed the standards in America’s Navy.
At 12:30 p.m., the American Legion post 1700 in Endicott will host a wreath laying ceremony for U-E graduate, and Navy submarine engineer, Greg Fusco.
Fusco enlisted in the Navy in 1954 after graduating from Union-Endicott. He worked in the engine room of the U.S.S. Thresher Submarine, as a nuclear trained electrician.
On April 10 of 1963, the Thresher, Fusco, and all 128 other crew mates sank roughly 220 miles off of the east coast of Cape Cod during a test dive.
Bradford Fish is the base commander for the local chapter of the U.S. Submarine Veterans, and says after the incident, the Navy instituted a new safety protocol called the sub safe systems.
“Where they did much, much more ardent testing of all the vital ship systems that are subject to sea water pressure. And, as a result of that, of their loss and their sacrifice, no other submarine in our Navy has ever been lost as the result of a casualty due to that. So, their sacrifice, although terrible, was not in vain,” said Fish.
After an investigation, the Navy believes the Thresher likely suffered a joint failure, and imploded.
The flagpole outside of Ty Cobb Stadium in Endicott was donated by Fusco’s parents and is adorned with a plaque that commemorates Fusco and the Thresher.
