A Reply to Those Who Have Reservations Against Supporting a USS HENRY BREAULT

This article will offer a reply to those who I feel are sincere in their comments (mostly on Facebook) that the petition to see a USS Henry BREAULT is fruitless. This is not to begrudge anyone, as I feel there are good reasons to be wary of getting one’s hopes up. I will respectfully offer a reply and offer of dialogue.

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“There is no precedent to name a submarine after a Medal of Honor recipient. You’d have better luck getting a surface ship named after him.”

I would celebrate this potential event, as there has never been a vessel named after Breault and he did spend time on Tin Cans; but let the powers that be tell us this is the case. I offer in reply that a submariner is not so low a submarine could not be named after them. Especially a submariner who had the honor of receiving the nation’s highest award.

The VIRGINIA-class submarines were intended to be named after states. That trend has deviated recently, with planned boats being named after regions (Long Island) or cities (Miami and San Francisco). John Warner, Hyman G. Rickover, and John H. Dalton either have VIRGINIA-Class submarines named after them or will have submarines named after them. Dalton and Rickover at least were both submariners. Before that, Jimmy Carter, Mendel Rivers, Henry M. Jackson and so many other boats have been named after dignitaries (think the 41 for Freedom). ?I highly recommend Breault be considered among those dignitaries, as one of our best.

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“Fish Don’t Vote, neither do dead sailors.”

I agree, which is why I have tackled this detail. I directly cite Rickover and I think he would do this if he had been aware of Breault in his lifetime (I can almost guarantee he wasn’t aware like most before 1997). Breault has significant ties to several states he lived in. He was born in Putnam, CT, but moved to White Plains, NY in his childhood. He enlisted from VT, offering an address in Grand Isle, VT. When he was in, he spent time in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in CA, and referred to Marysville, WA, as home in official paperwork. When he passed, he was stationed in Newport RI, where he also attended RTC and TM “A” school. It doesn’t have to be one state’s representative: it can be many.

?So if you are reading this and are from one of the states, please consider writing to your representatives in Congress that Henry Breault is connected to their state, they can email me if they need proof or further details.

“I’d rather name a boat after World War II boats, give the crew a name to live up to and honor more than one person.”

This is completely fair, and some boats are indeed being named in honor. However, the virtue of Breault being the ONLY enlisted means, he represents all of us. How is that the case?

Breault received the Medal of Honor for attempting to save the ship and when he realized nothing more could be done, doing everything he could to save his shipmates. In so doing, he saved the life of at least one of his shipmates (Lawrence Brown), and likely purchasing time for another (Charles Butler) to escape. Breault’s willingness to “cast all personal safety aside” as described by his commanding officer, Harrison Avery, became the driving spirit of the submarine force. In periods of distress, we put the ship and our shipmates above ourselves.

That is what the USS HENRY BREAULT means reaffirmation of the fact only we have lived: we put our shipmates above ourselves. Naming the boat after an icon does not mean he alone is honored, but all those who believe in what he represents are honored.