MOBILE, Ala. — As Rosamond Rice recited the words so dear to her father’s heart and those of the men and women gathered around her, the noise of the busy hangar fell away.

“Though acquainted with the depths of the ocean, deliver from the depths of despair and the dark hours of the absence of friendliness and grant them a good ship’s spirit,” she read solemnly from “The Submariner’s Prayer.”

Rice’s father, Robert Rice, was the first commanding officer of the USS Drum, SS-228, now housed on the grounds of USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. The June 18 ceremony commemorated the lives and deaths of all the vessel’s crewmembers, totaling 293.

Robert Williamson, whose father Phillip “Willy” Williamson was one of only five crewmembers to make the trek for the 41st annual reunion, choked up several times as he read two poems, one mentioning the Drum by name and the other invoking its spirit.

“A time of remembering of a long time ago. When the lives on this ship were put on the line. A time to reflect on past deeds done. A time to honor the crew and the Drum,” he read. “So toll the bell, and let the roses drop. And let their story of dedication to God and country never stop.”

“This is a solemn occasion for me, mainly because my dad made it back. There were too many that haven’t, and we need to honor them,” the younger Williamson told the crowd, while curious onlookers snapped photos of the surrounding wartime aircraft and memorabilia in the Alabama Pavilion.

As is custom with the surviving crewmembers and their families who make the annual trek to Spanish Fort for the ceremony, the names of shipmates and their wives who have passed away were read and a bell tolled in their memory. Shipmates then walked to the water’s edge outside the hangar — their underwater home sitting within sight — and tossed roses in in memory of fallen friends.

“We used to go up on the (deck) of the (Drum) and line up to throw our roses in, but there are so few of us now this just works better,” said crewmember David Schmidt, 86.

Shipmates Bill Lister, Gerald DeRosa and Robert “Bob” White were also in attendance for the ceremony.

Robert Williamson explained the Drum’s significance as the first submarine of its classification constructed and the only one still in existence.

The vessel made a total of 13 patrols during its time in action.

White was present for 11 of those missions, and Willy Williamson made 10.

Robert Williamson said the submarine was decommissioned in 1946 after earning 12 battle stars for World War II service and then re-commissioned as a U.S. Navy training vessel in Washington, D.C. from 1947 to 1962. The Drum has resided at Battleship Memorial Park since 1969, and was at one point the eighth-largest submarine in total tonnage nationally. It is 311 feet long.

Tom Bowser, a California native, moved to Mobile five-and-a-half years ago to work on the Drum’s restoration and said she received a real baptism by fire being the first of a new class to be completed before the United States entered the war. And despite entering the fray with damaged torpedoes, Bowser said the Drum sunk 18 vessels.

“They were made to be a fleet support sub, but when they got to Pearl Harbor, there was no fleet, so they were sent out on their own and told to be aggressive instead of defensive,” Bowser said, noting the sub’s first action was seen at the mouth of Tokyo Bay where it sank four ships.

“There’s no question these men are my heroes, and it’s so important to me and so many other family members that we continue to honor year after year those men who served so valiantly in World War II,” Robert Williamson said.

Schmidt said this was the first time he’s made the trip without his wife of 65 years, Doris, who’s been with him every step of the way and considers the shipmates’ families her own as well.

“There’s no question these people are family. They depend on one another to unction and survive as though (they’re) one person,” Robert Williamson said.

(Staff videos by Kelli M. Dugan)