EUGENE P. WILKINSON, 94
Died July 16th. First commander of a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine.
Commissioned in 1940 and first served on the heavy cruiser USS Louisville. Then graduated the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Ct., in March 1942 and during World War II served on 8 submarine war patrols.
He was the first commander of the submarine USS Nautilus in 1954, the world's first nuclear-powered ship. He was told that the first time he took the ship out, it would be a monumental occasion and that he should have something special to say. The Navy had a group of speechwriters work on it who came up with about a page-and-a-half statement.
Mr. Wilkinson decided that was too long and came up with his own thing to say. On January 17, 1955, he ordered all lines cast off and signaled the message "Underway under nuclear power." Short, sweet and to the point.
In 1961, he was the first commanding officer of the guided missile cruiser USS Long Beach, the Navy's first surface nuclear-powered ship.
During his career, he served as executive officer on three submarines: Menhaden, Raton and Cusk and commanded four: Volador, Sen Robin, Wahoo and Nautilus.
Quite a Career.
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