From the AP.

USS Razorback Returns to Arkansas

Published: 8/29/04

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Thousands of people gathered Sunday on the banks of the Arkansas River to welcome home a historic U.S. submarine as it returned to American waters for the first time in more than three decades.

The USS Razorback served 31 years with the Turkish navy after the Pentagon decommissioned and sold the vessel in 1970. City officials in North Little Rock bought the submarine from Turkey for $1 plus shipping costs to make it the centerpiece of a planned maritime museum.

About 7,500 cheering well-wishers welcomed the vessel to its new home, waving flags and listening to bands and speeches.

As the submarine approached a barge where dozens of dignitaries waited, her top deck was lined with Navy veterans. Mayor Patrick Hays rode atop the submarine's "sail," or conning tower, along with U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and his four children.

"For years to come, the people of central Arkansas, and, indeed, of the country, will be able to share a portion of the unbelievable history that's woven into the hull of this vessel," said Maj. Gen. Don Morrow, adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard.

Capt. Alaettin Sevim of the Turkish navy, the last commander of the vessel under that nation's flag, received a hearty round of applause, as did the submarine's last two U.S. Navy commanders - retired Capt. Joseph T. Talbert Jr. and retired Capt. Ken Brown.

But the biggest applause by far went to Lawrence B. Crann, who served aboard the Razorback as a lieutenant commander in the closing days of World War II, stepping down in 1946 as her executive officer, or second in command. He saluted the American flag at the ship's stern before stepping slowly down the gangway.

The Razorback was in Tokyo Harbor in August 1945 when Japan surrendered in a ceremony aboard the battleship USS Missouri, ending World War II.

The submarine's name is unrelated to the Razorback mascot of the University of Arkansas. The vessel was named for a species of fish, as are many U.S. Navy submarines.