In May of 1968, the USS Scorpion nuclear-powered attack submarine was conducting a last mission near the Mediterranean when she suddenly disappeared.
The ship was surveilling Soviet activity in the area and was expected to return to port at Norfolk, Virginia, within days, but after a final message indicating that they were closing in on a Soviet vessel, the crew was never heard of again.
A massive search operation was then launched, but subsequent investigations revealed a series of mishandlings from the Navy, including a potential cover-up and a rushed overhaul procedure that could have cost the lives of almost a hundred sailors.
Dan Rogers, an electrician’s mate on the submarine, requested a transfer and tried to warn them: (QUOTE) “I didn’t know it was going to sink, but I was absolutely uptight after having been on there and seeing the things I had seen. I was just unable to deal with going to sea again on the Scorpion.“
This resolution would ultimately save his life, but his comrades weren’t so lucky...