For example, in April 1963, off the coast of New England, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher SSN-593 was reported overdue from deep-water diving tests. Since we were operating only a short distance away, we arrived on the scene within a few hours. But the Thresher was far too deep for anything we had​—she was lost in 8,400 feet of water. The ocean was unusually calm when a low-flying aircraft dropped a flower wreath. This was all we could do for the 129 souls lost in the sea below. I felt so helpless.

It was while I was on a long trip inspecting submarine pipelines that I learned something that greatly appealed to my love of the sea and my feelings for those who had died at sea. I met one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and soon my wife and I agreed to a study of the Bible.

I was so relieved to learn that this beautiful earth and its oceans would not be burned up with fire, as I had been taught as a Baptist. (Psalm 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4) I was fascinated with the thought that the dead, even the dead in the sea, would be resurrected. Such scriptures as Revelation 20:13 really touched my heart: “And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades gave up those dead in them.” I wanted to live forever on a paradise earth. Not long thereafter, my wife and I were baptized, on September 4, 1966.