[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E2386] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] IN RECOGNITION OF THE U.S.S. COD'S 50 YEARS IN CLEVELAND ______ HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH of ohio in the house of representatives Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the U.S.S. Cod's 50 Years in Cleveland celebration on August 14th, 2009. The celebration featured a special free admission day for the public and ceremony to mark the golden anniversary and restoration of the Cod's Cleveland-built diesel engines. The ceremony concluded with a salute to the people of Cleveland with the firing of the Cod's deck gun. On March 21, 1943 the U.S.S. Cod was launched and its engines, built in a General Motors plant on Cleveland's west side, powered the submarine around the globe. According to Dr. John Fakan, president of the non-profit U.S.S. Cod Submarine Memorial, ``GM built Cod's five diesels right here in Cleveland, but it didn't end there. Much of the steel plate that forms her hull was made in Cleveland and Youngstown steel mills from Great Lakes ore.'' Through her heroic missions in World War II, Cleveland-based training programs during the Cold War, and place as a historic site and submarine memorial in Cleveland, the U.S.S. Cod has become a national symbol. After her successful WW II service in the Pacific Ocean, the Cod continued to protect America in the Cold War by training NATO anti- submarine forces in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1959 the Cod was brought to Cleveland to serve as a dockside trainer for reservists, and instantly became popular with the public. Citizens were allowed to tour the sub when the Navy wasn't conducting training aboard, and these civilian tours continued even after the Navy declared the Cod obsolete in 1971 and began the scrap process. Despite the Navy's decision, the people of Cleveland saved the Cod from being scrapped. School children, veterans groups, Scouts and ``Save the Cod,'' a group formed by local business leaders in 1972, all banded together to raise money and save the historic and symbolic submarine. In 1976 the Navy turned the Cod over to her civilian caretakers, who immediately began restoring the Cod to the original beauty that she was while defending America. In 1986 these efforts were recognized by the Federal Government which declared the Cod a National Historic Landmark. The Cod's world-class restoration continues today, focusing on her Cleveland-built engines. The Cod's caretakers estimate that more than a million people have toured the Cod in the 50 years she has called Cleveland home. In addition to being a popular attraction on Cleveland's lakefront, the Cod has also helped bring revenue into downtown by hosting television and film documentaries as well as military reunions and other special projects. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognizing the celebration of the U.S.S. Cod's 50 Years in Cleveland. The U.S.S. Cod (SS 214) is both a floating memorial to U.S. submariners who gave their lives defending freedom as well as a unique piece of Cleveland's industrial history. ____________________