The Lost Sub Is Found, And Israelis Can Grieve Essay, Research Paper

Summary: One January night in 1968, the Dakar, a British submarine newly refurbished for the Israeli navy, disappeared in the midst of its maiden voyage, from England to Haifa. A 69-man crew vanished with it, lost without a trace in a maritime enigma that became a legendary part of Israeli history. On Friday, the wreck of the Dakar was found 9,500 feet beneath the Mediterranean Sea, between Crete and Cyprus. On Saturday night, the Israeli navy confirmed the findings of a joint Israeli-American search team. Underwater photographs taken by an aquatic robot proved that the hull belonged to the Dakar. And on Sunday, 31 years after the ship was lost at sea, Israel officially went into mourning. Newspapers printed pictures of each downed naval crewman and officer, pictures frozen in time. Israel Radio played somber music, and, repeatedly, a recording of the final transmission from the ship — a musical tribute to the ship sung by its new crew. Its mysterious disappearance inevitably spawned any number of theories, and the mystery will not be resolved for some time, if ever. An initial examination of the submarine suggested that it did not sink because of an enemy attack, but more likely because of a technical malfunction, human error or a collision. Analysis: For three decades a missing submarine had haunted Israel. It had completely vanished, disappeared from existence. The friends and families of the naval crewman and officers lost their loved ones. For 31 years they were left with the anguish of not even knowing where the deceased lay. But now they were given hope with their discovery. Israel went into mourning on Sunday for the memory of the deceased. It is a wonderful thing that this has occurred. With the help of the Americas Nauticus Corps, which discovered the remains of the Titanic, we see how our advances in technology have helped the memory of those lost live on.

Even though it is 31 years after the sinking of the Dakar, it is commendable what the Israeli government has done. It was a necessary gesture for the mourning of the missing officers and crew to have taken place. The next stop for the government is to retrieve what remains of the bodies of those men and have a proper burial and memorial for them. This would be the only way to truly honor and bless the officer and crew of the Dakar. But what I find a bit out of place is the fact that it took this long of a time to discover the submarine. Only but a few months ago was the Americas Nauticus Corp. hired to sweep the ocean floor. I had stated that the government did a fine thing with the discovery and the mourning, but why did it take this long? It had been stated that the initial two-week search attempt was tried and pronounced futile to the dismay of the crew s relatives. Their grieving reaction turned to pandemonium after the announcement of the cease of the search. The heartbreak and anguish had suffered through these relatives for years and years. It was horrible to let the family of those men carry the burden and the inner festering of not knowing what truly happened and more importantly their loved ones now rested. But more importantly, their day is here. Through the years of pain and suffering they will finally know the truth, as they rightfully should.