Meet more ‘Silent Submariners’ who live in the community

Editor’s Note: Frank Conway’s Memorial Day edition article about local members of the community who served in the “Silent Service” as submariners was well-received by our readers. You can read the full article at bit.ly/DINEWS_Submariners.

 

The article asked to hear from any local veteran submariners and their families who live in the community and were not part of the original article, and we were excited to hear from those who reached out. If there are more of you out there, we’d love to hear from you, too. 

 

Robert Peiffer writes:

 

I read with interest the article on the submariners in the Memorial Day edition of The Daniel Island News. I, too, am a submariner resident of Daniel Island, though with more limited duty in submarines than the individuals mentioned in the article. 

 

I went to college on a Navy ROTC scholarship, and my first assignment, in mid-1965, was to attend the Navy Submarine School in Connecticut. Upon graduation from that school, I was assigned to the USS Catfish (SS 339) where I earned my dolphins in 1966.  

 

The Catfish was a sister ship of the USS Clamagore (SS343), the submarine that, until recently, was at Patriots Point. I also served on the USS Redfish (AGSS 395).  

 

I loved my submarine duty, but realized that my personal skills were more aligned with logistics and administrative duties, and I shifted, in 1968, from being a “line officer” to the Navy Supply Corps, retiring in Charleston in 1991 as the Commanding Officer of the Naval Supply Center, Charleston.  

 

I loved every minute of my submarine experience and always knew that my submarine shipmates were the best of the best.

 

Elaine Cechak writes:

 

I recently read Mr. Conway’s article on the American silent service of the submariners. I love the article. Thank you for recognizing the local military submarine force. I just want to mention that my husband, Chris Cechak, was also a naval officer submariner. We live here full-time on Daniel Island.