Commemorating Pearl Harbor onboard USS Cod (SS 224)
Bartlett Maritime Corporation Chief Financial Officer Theodore J. Dalheim, Jr. (left), Chairman & CEO CAPT Edward L. Bartlett, Jr. (right).
Cleveland, OH December 7, 2022. Bartlett Maritime Corporation is pleased to have participated in commemorating the Pearl Harbor attack from the decks of USS Cod (SS 224) in Cleveland Harbor today.
Joining a group of distinguished guests, CAPT Edward Bartlett, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Bartlett Maritime Corporation, provided remarks linking the attack on Pearl Harbor to events occurring this very day.
Gato Class Fleet Boat submarine USS Cod was one of 228 Fleet Boat submarines that took the battle to the enemy’s front doorstep and “Held the Line,” while the decimated US Navy fleet rebuilt from the Pearl Harbor attack, with seven World War 2 submariners being awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in combat, to:
His own Cold War service onboard USS Gato (SSN 615), namesake of World War 2’s winning Fleet Boat submarine design class lead ship, and whose sponsor was the wife of Admiral “Red” Ramage – one of the seven World War 2 submariners awarded the Medal of Honor for combat action and
To the future USS Arizona (SSN 803), whose keel was at that same time being laid by General Dynamics Electric Boat at Quonset Point, RI.
His remarks, provided in full at the end of this release, echoed the recent theme of VADM Bill Houston, Commander of US Submarine Forces, that for more than 100 years, to this very day, the US Navy Submarine Force has “Held the Line” in both combat and during peacetime.
After several decades without a near-peer competitor in the world, America now finds itself at the crossroads once again. Serious National Security challenges are once again at the forefront, and today’s Submarine Force is a key element in ensuring our nation’s strength. These new challenges further emphasize the absolute importance of all actions, such as those proposed by Bartlett Maritime Corporation, to expand and enhance the capacity and capability of the submarine industrial base supporting both new ship construction and commissioned ship maintenance.
The nation’s Submarine Industrial Base, which in the 1960’s consistently delivered a new submarine into service every 44 days while properly maintaining this rapidly growing fleet and as recently as the 1980’s delivered 5 new submarines into service per year while properly maintaining a Submarine Force of more than 100 submarines, is in the midst of a now-widely-acknowledged and well understood capacity and capability crisis. There are many reports from various agencies detailing this crisis, summarized at https://www.bartlettmaritime.com/.
In response, Bartlett Maritime Corporation is preparing to execute its immediately actionable, cost-effective public-private-partnership proposal – The Bartlett Maritime Plan™ – to add the required capacity and capability to the Submarine Industrial Base. The company’s team includes an exceptionally well-qualified team of senior leaders in both Naval shipbuilding & maintenance and in various key aspects of commercial industry on both the company’s Senior Advisory Board and the company’s senior operating staff.
Comments by CAPT Edward L Bartlett, Jr.
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bartlett Maritime Corporation
On the occasion of the Pearl Harbor Commemoration at USS Cod (SS 224)
In Cleveland, OH, December 7, 2022, 11:30 AM
“Thank you, Paul. My name is Ed Bartlett, and I am founder and CEO of Bartlett Maritime Corporation, the company which is working to bring submarine work to Lordstown and Lorain. But I don’t want to talk about that today, given the significance of today’s date.
We are standing onboard USS Cod (SS 224), which is a Gato Class submarine. Cod represents the 228 “Fleet Boats” which “Held the Line” in World War 2. At a time when the American Navy was small and had been decimated at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, it was our Submarine Force which took the battle to the enemy’s doorstep – invading the enemy’s territory and putting their ships to the bottom, where they belonged. It was the Submarine Force that “Held the Line.” These are not my comments – I was recently at an event where Admiral Bill Houston, Commander of the US Navy’s Submarine Forces in the United States Navy today, spoke. This was his theme. The Submarine Force Holds the Line, today, as it always has.
Eight submariners have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Seven of them were awarded the Medal of Honor for combat actions during World War 2. We are here today to honor those men, and everyone who sailed with them, in this victorious effort.
Personally, I am a veteran of Cold War submarine service. I served on three attack submarines – the last of which, USS Gato (SSN 615), was named for the first USS Gato (SS 212), the Class lead ship for these Fleet Boats. Admiral Red Ramage’s wife was the sponsor for USS Gato (SSN 615) – my Gato. Red Ramage is one of the seven submariners who were awarded the Medal of Honor for combat action during World War 2.
Today, in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, Pearl Harbor is being commemorated in a very unique way. Future United States Ship Arizona (SSN 803) is having its keel laid at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Quonset Point, RI. It will be the next USS Arizona, following after USS Arizona (BB 39), which was tragically lost at Pearl Harbor. Approximately half of the casualties from the Pearl Harbor attack were crew members of the Battleship Arizona. The next “battleship” Arizona – SSN 803 – will be an extended-length Virginia class attack submarine. I could not think of a more appropriate time for this keel laying to happen.
In conclusion, I just want to thank Paul and everyone at the USS Cod (SS 224) memorial for everything that you do here and to remember everyone that has participated in making ours the greatest Submarine Force that the World has ever seen.
Thank you."
