August 30, 2024
Edison and Ford Winter Estates Hosts the USS Thomas A. Edison Association Reunion
On September 6, Edison and Ford Winter Estates will host the USS Thomas A. Edison SSBN/SSN-610 Association 2024 reunion. During the reunion, crew members will present a special donation of a model of the USS Edison submarine, a hull penetration (piece of submarine), and several old photographs of crew members aboard the vessel to the Estates.
The association is made up of surviving veterans that served on board over the submarine’s lifetime. This year’s location was selected for the reunion because it was the winter home site of the boat’s namesake, inventor Thomas A. Edison. Reunions are held every two years at different locations across the United States.
The reunion will start at 9:45 a.m. with crew members taking a special tour inside the homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. The group will gather in the river pavilion for lunch and at 11:30 a.m., the association members will present multiple submarine-related items to the Estates.
Submarine Timeline:
The USS Thomas A. Edison first launched on June 15, 1961. It was commissioned on March 10, 1962 and decommissioned on December 1, 1983. The vessel was sponsored by Mrs. Madeleine Edison Slone (Thomas and Mina Edison’s daughter).
Edison Connection:
Thomas Edison received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal in 1920 for his work on the Naval Consulting board during World War I. The first USS Edison was a Destroyer (DD-439) during WWII. That vessel was sponsored by Mina Edison. The second was a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, which was sponsored by Madeleine Edison Sloane (Edison’s daughter). The motto for that vessel was Pontentia Tenebras Repellendi (Power to Repel the Darkness). Only one of a few civilians to have a US Navy vessel named after him, Edison was considered an American hero and icon in addition to his earlier work on the Naval Consulting Board.
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