Pearl Harbor Welcomes the USS Frank Cable: Bringing Together Generations of Service

On October 29th, 1979, the USS Frank Cable (AS-40), an American submarine tender, was commissioned into the United States Navy. Her mission was to tend to the Los Angeles-class attack subs and, after her commission, spent several years serving as the repair ship for Submarine Squadrons Four and Eighteen off the coast of Charleston, SC. Later, the vessel was directed to assist the rescue efforts of the Korean Airlines Flight 801 crash and in the relief efforts of Super Typhoon Paka.

During her years of service, the crew of the Frank Cable have earned over 20 different awards, including 13 Battle Efficiency “E” awards and four Golden Anchor Awards. After spending five years away from home, the Frank Cable and her crew returned to the United States from Guam and, for the first time since her commission, docked at one of the country’s most notable harbors.

Visit to Pearl Harbor

Over 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the crew of the Frank Cable sailed into Pearl Harbor to partake in activities that tourists travel from all around the globe to experience. Along with enjoying the wondrous sights of Oahu, the crew of the Frank Cable paid respect to their fellow sailors at the USS Arizona Memorial. At one of the most-visited spots on Oahu, the Frank Cable crew was joined by thousands of civilians, curious about the 1941 attack.

Like millions of travelers before them, the crew of the Frank Cable experienced the emotions awakened by the historically important memorial. This visit, and visits from other crews before it, show just how the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument helps bridge the gap between the sailors of 1941 and those serving today.

While many of Pearl Harbor’s survivors are gone—or too scattered throughout the country to connect with current servicemen—memorials like the one dedicated to those lost aboard the USS Arizona stand in the place of verbal recountngs of the morning of December 7th, 1941. As the crew of the submarine tender found, hearing about the events of Pearl Harbor is a completely different experience than actually seeing the wreckage lying at the bottom of the harbor.

It wasn’t just a trip through time for the Frank Cable crew, however. They were allotted time to explore the island and embark on cultural journeys and tropical adventures.

Pearl Harbor’s Exhibits and Memorials

The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument is important to more than just current members of the US military. The attack on Pearl Harbor is a vital part of the history of the world, having served as the turning point of the United States view of World War II.

Visits to the USS Arizona Memorial, the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, Bowfin Submarine, and the Battleship Missouri offer an in-depth look into the events of that Sunday morning in December, one that helps bring together the sailors of yesteryear to the current class of servicemembers manning vessels like the USS Frank Cable.