Dear Samuel Woodford,
It’s no secret that you make your mother and I very proud. You are kind and generous. You are inquisitive. And you are devilishly cute. You certainly wear the Wiley name well.
I want to tell you today about your Great Uncle John, another Wiley to be very proud of.
John was born in Altoona — just like you, little buddy — and he was the second of six children, your Opa’s older brother.
In high school, John was recruited by several ivy league schools, but instead he chose to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated near the top of his class in 1961 and was presented his diploma by President John F. Kennedy.
Following graduation, John volunteered for submarine duty and was trained as a nuclear engineer. In December, 1962, he reported to duty to his first submarine: the USS Thresher. The Thresher was the best of its time — the Navy said that it could “dive deeper, move faster, and carry more weapons than any other submarine in the fleet.”
On April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher was tragically lost at sea, taking with it 129 crewmen and civilian personnel. The loss of the Thresher gripped the nation, and devastated the Wiley family, including John’s wife of just over a year.
Today, fifty years later, we honor Uncle John’s memory and the sacrifice made by those brave young men. I got to visit Portsmouth, New Hampshire this past weekend to commemorate the USS Thresher, and it was an experience that I will cherish.
Uncle John’s legacy lives on with the Wiley name, a name that you so admirably bear. I love you, big guy.
From Your Daddy