'A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.'
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
On the foredeck of the USS Plunger (SS-2) is a figure very similar to that of President Theodore Roosevelt, who became the first head of any nation to submerge in a submarine—the Plunger. Unfortunately this photo is dated as c.1909 at New York Navy Yard, and the chief executive made his dive in August 1905 in Long Island Sound, off his Oyster Bay, New York, home. He wrote of his experience: ""I went down in it chiefly because I did not like to have the officers and enlisted men think I wanted them to try things I was reluctant to try myself.""
This and other photographs are available as prints through the Naval Institute Photo Archive. You may place orders or leave messages 24 hours a day at 1-800-233-8764, contact [email protected], or visit our Web site,