Phillip Norris

Family Gram: Memoirs of an American Cold War Submariner Phillip Norris

Phil Norris chronicles his service aboard 5 nuclear submarines during the Cold War in this candid autobiography. Phil focuses on his personal challenges and triumphs during his storied career in the highly-selective nuclear submarine service. Never before has there been such an up-close and personal account of what life was like on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War. Phil talks about life onboard nuclear attack submarines and their challenges as they navigated treacherous waters all across the globe. His description of the Ballistic Missile Submarine lifestyle leaves us asking the questions, "What would America have done without the Missile Submarine during the Cold War and where did we find the men capable and courageous enough to take them to sea?" In a quote by Gary Walker, we see part of the answer to that question: "Again I ask, who really are our Hero's? They are the men who have, since the first day of our great country, left their families and friends and gone to war asking for nothing and giving all." General Colin Powell paid tribute to the American Missile Submariners in this fashion: "No one has done more to prevent conflict - no one has made a greater sacrifice for the cause for Peace - than you, America's proud missile submarine family. You stand tall among our heroes of the Cold War." Another part of the answer comes from Retired Capt. Charles W. Rush Jr., a Navy Cross recipient when he states, "Without courage, you might as well not be in it. You've got to have courage--moral courage, physical courage--and honor. Honor means telling the truth even when it might not be to your advantage." In Family Gram: Memoirs of an American Cold War Submariner, you will be introduced to men of courage and honor, the men of Admiral Rickover's nuclear submarine Navy.