ADVENTURE IN INNER SPACE

[Music] what time is it well if my watch is right that trains about do I'm so excited I can hardly wait what if he's changed much oh I hope he isn't dinner with a couple of your home cooked dinners under his belly won't be thin long [Music] there's our son making his usual quiet entrance maybe we should pretend we don't well he's right on time yeah sure be good to see Jim again way you're growing you'll probably not even recognize you [Music] hi Jim hi Jim you looking wonderful [Music] that sea air must agree with your son it's great to be home hi tiger I see you still have the Rolls Royce yeah it rolls and that's about all well man anyone for when a mom's home cooks steak and apple pie dinners which I just happened to have for our returning hero that's for me all right on with five if you don't mind you may need some help with the pushing wait you'll follow along and pick up the pieces [Music] hey by the way mom's been telling me in her letters about this rocket thing is that going sounds pretty good yeah we're pretty interested in it and we've got a lot of plans I'll tell you about it later on it you've got a few minutes sure [Music] surprise we made it hey that's Sally yeah hang on I'll be right back hey Sally hi where are you going downtown gee I haven't seen you in a long time you sure have changed yeah bye oh boy [Music] how about this last piece of pie gee mom I've had two already sure I just don't know where I'd put it alright I'll save it for later fine okay mom hey Jim yeah you know you're asking about the Rakhi Club on the way home yeah well we're having a meeting in the physics lab tonight with mr. Jones do you want to come along or the Shelly have you tie it up tonight hey watch there no tonight I'm free tomorrow night no but tonight we go where you want as a matter of fact I did bring some material home that you and the guys in the rocket Club might be interested in great let's get with it would you get my hat and folder over there yeah sure good night mom dad come on we're gonna be late Bob drive carefully and fellas let's not stay out too late don't worry dad I'll watch it why don't we cut it a bit short tonight fellas since we have a guest the gym is a former student of mine and I might add one of the better ones Jim I think by now you've seen pretty much what we do with all the emphasis being placed on outer space there are clubs like this all over the country and as a science teacher I think this is a very encouraging sign I certainly agree with you mr. Jones but as I've been sitting here I've been thinking that with all of this emphasis on outer space I wonder how many people give any thought to inner space it is all the interest and challenge of outer space and it's a lot closer to us mm-hmm sounds interesting Jim why don't you come up here and tell us something about this inner space all right I'm sure you all know that two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered by water and until recently just as in outer space man didn't have any way really to explore this world of inner space two-thirds of the Earth's surface covered by water but now just as we have racquets to begin exploring outer space we have a vehicle to explore inner space the nuclear submarine as I mentioned to my brother Bob earlier this evening I brought along some material I thought you might be interested in conventional submarines are limited in range and length of time they can stay submerged and for this reason they were never able to explore inner space to any great extent but then man tapped a new source of energy the atom this made possible the nuclear submarine and for the first time in history man could go far enough deep enough and stay down long enough to explore this whole new world right here on our own earth the Nautilus the first nuclear-powered submarine made scientific history the harnessing of the atom meant the end of dependence on surface oxygen submarines no longer needed to surface frequently and that meant they could make all kinds of breakthroughs in undersea exploration [Music] so it wasn't long before several nuclear ships made incredible voyages across the North Pole under the ice [Music] [Music] [Music] the Triton sale completely around the world along the same route which once saw the tiny wooden ships of Magellan's fleet but the Triton went Magellan one better he sailed completely around the world underwater and came home in 80 days whereas Magellan took almost three years and these are just the early adventures in inner space we've still got worlds and worlds to discover lands as remote as Venus or Saturn hidden under tons of water for centuries well I guess I've been getting a bit wound up in it but it's been quite an experience for me so far yes Jim when did you first decide to go into submarines well I guess it all started about three years ago if you'd like I'll give you an idea of how it happened as I said it all started about three years ago when I was about to graduate from this very high school as much as I wanted I realized I wasn't going to be able to go on to college what what the business reverses dad had been having recently like you fellows I was interested in science and had done pretty well in it I had heard something about a nuclear power program the Navy had and since I was looking for an opportunity to get into a field where a fellow with my interests could learn and advance I thought I'd look into it so I dropped around to the post office I had a talk with the recruiter and told him I had heard about the Navy's nuclear program I told them of my background and my interest in science and he began to explain the details of the program to me the more he talked the more interested I became [Music] a few days later after I had time to think about it and made up my mind I had the recruiter over to talk to mom and dad I like the idea that Jim will be getting such wonderful technical training yes mr. Evans the Jim's aptitude in the scientific field which we can certainly see from his high school grades I think the Navy's nuclear program would be ideal sure it's what you want to do Jim it's just what I want mom why nuclear energy is the coming thing and this way I can get in on the ground floor I'll be getting the best practical education in the world not just textbook stuff the Navy is actually using nuclear energy now I'm sure I'll have a real future in this field mom sounds very good son are you sure you can qualify I'm going to do my best well it's kind of up to you folks at this point but with your permission we'll find out well we found out and I qualified I joined the Navy and went to boot camp three weeks later I took my first step toward the thing I wanted most the submarine service I was interviewed by a classifier well Evans I see you're interested in submarines that's right you have a good score and your basic battery test you have a specialty in mind that you're interested in I've been thinking about machinists mate you have a high mechanical aptitude rating this might be the very fuel for you by the time boot camp ended I had been accepted for submarine school I knew there were many hurdles to cross ahead lay a long stretch of schooling before I could call myself a nuclear submarine er but I was on my way [Music] [Music] [Music] machinist mate school this was one of the most critically needed ratings in the nuclear program along with electrician mates and electronic technicians that meant we would have excellent chances for advancement we worked with all types of machinery and equipment that drive and service submarines after three months graduation again and orders New London and the Navy's famous submarine school the home of Submariner since the beginning of the submarine service [Music] at these very piers submarines had been fitted out for war patrols filled with supplies armaments and torpedoes so that they could carry the war to the enemy on his own home ground I knew it would be quite a heritage to live up to at New London you study and study hard because there's a lot to learn the Navy has come a long way from the days of wooden frigates and iron men today its radar nuclear power and electronics [Music] but you still have to be tough physically to since you're going to be an amphibious animal you need to learn everything you can about this new environment in which you're going to exist and the preparation is tops [Music] finally see duty on my first boat not a nuclear boat yet a conventional submarine but it gave me my first taste of real salt spray [Music] there's no feeling in the world like going to see the waves reaching to the horizon the feeling of going places that's the excitement of the sea whether you sail an 18th century schooner or a conventional submarine like buying now I could call myself a sailor when I first started standing my engine room watches I finally realized the reason for all those months of training and study there's just no substitute for fine training and I was ready thanks to the Navy later on I stood watch at the diving planes we took her down boy if you think that isn't a thrill and my shipmates were learning their specialties too [Music] by the time I finished my first cruise this was really my ship and before long I qualified for the emblem which sets you apart in the Navy as a member of the silent service the Dolphins of a Submariner and in the process the stripe of a third class petty officer and then the final phase of my training nuclear power school one year of the finest technical training that a guy could want [Music] math physics reactor principles thermodynamics these were just a few of the courses I took during the first six months my textbooks were packed but the information scientists and scholars had spent years to discover I realized I was getting a fabulous education about the world of the future [Music] but the Navy doesn't depend on textbook theories alone at work on the actual machines during the last six months in prototype school all that Hardware suddenly seemed to come alive we were given problems which we might someday face at sea problems we'd be ready for when the time came the training the education sea Duty on a conventional sub actual operations of nuclear machinery all had prepared me for the moment no nuclear sailor can forget the first glimpse of his own boat machinist mate Jim Evans reporting for duty sir [Music] [Applause] [Music] as the days passed at sea I began to feel more and more that I really belong and I think the Navy must have agreed because I was promoted to second class [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] sometimes there was horseplay and laughs but there was a serious side to [Music] so time goes on the hours pass in two days and days in two weeks by now you're a full fledged and fibia s-- animal and like any other amphibious animal you must spend part of your life in the water but you must also spend part of it on land and what better way to spend it than in foreign ports getting to know the customs of other people [Music] [Applause] but men must go down to the sea and ships and for our ship it was time to return again [Music] our ship had been called the ultimate weapon back to work in a world that's slowly but surely giving up more of its mysteries a world that's the natural habitat for all submarines conventional nuclear and the FBM the fleet ballistic missile submarine that's armed with the most formidable weapon yet devised for the defense of the free world [Music] the Polaris missle a triumph of American science all packed into one weapon system that you can't even see [Music] it's quite a life you really are home Jim Evans well that's about how it happened fellas Jim it's really encouraging to me is a teacher seeing one of my students going into a program like this and it's wonderful that such opportunities do exist for young men like you and in time for fellas like our group here this evening that certainly opens up a whole new area that I never thought about before that's right Jim what do you say we set up malts for these hungry rocketeers or hungry future submariner good idea hey Jim yeah you're gonna have a submarine sandwich with your mouth [Music] this was the story of one young man we chose to call him Jim Evans but Jim Evans is really many people your son your brother your cousin your neighbor young men from all parts of this vast and wonderful nation of ours it is these young men who are truly America's first line of defense dedicated to the service of their nation and the cause of freedom throughout the world [Music]