Todd:
Well, welcome back to the podcast we are. We have a great podcast today. We have Tanya Wheeless, who is the CEO of the USS Arizona Legacy Foundation. Tanya, welcome.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yeah, thank you.
Todd:
We're so excited to have you here.
Tanya Wheeless:
Thank you. It's great to be here, Todd. And we go way back.
Todd:
We do, we do.
Tanya Wheeless:
So it's fun to be here in this new iteration as CEO of the USS Arizona Legacy Foundation, and I'm just really grateful to be on the show.
Todd:
Well, thank you for doing it. For those people who don't know you, maybe just introduce yourself a little bit and also tell us something about yourself that maybe people wouldn't know.
Tanya Wheeless:
Okay. Well, I'm an Arizona native. I grew up in the West Valley and went to ASU, go Devils, although it's a tough football season. Went there for undergrad and law school and so I've been in the Valley my whole career, as you know, mostly in public policy the whole time, just in different areas. So I started out practicing law, did government relations for a bit. I was CEO of the Arizona Bankers Association.
Todd:
I think that's where we started our relationship.
Tanya Wheeless:
It is. That's right.
Todd:
You were one of the most effective people down at the Capitol.
Tanya Wheeless:
Thank you.
Todd:
Did a good job there.
Tanya Wheeless:
Thank you. There's a marker to my career, which is I often find myself at the times of great crisis, so I always say, when I was with the bankers, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But I mean, it was great work and it was fun to do. I spent some time with the Phoenix Suns, as you also know. I'm a big sports fan, so that was great. Went to the Madhouse on McDowell as a kid.
Todd:
Metro Center, was that a thing for you?
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh, big time.
Todd:
Yeah?
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh yeah. We would go hang out at Metro Center when they still had the ice skating rink.
Todd:
Oh yeah, I remember that.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yeah, it was a pretty big deal. Had my own business for a while, worked for Senator McSally and so again, always public policy, always in the realm of what's going on in Arizona. So it's a real privilege to be associated now with the USS Arizona and the project we've got going.
Todd:
Well, and I think a true Renaissance woman. You've done it all. You weren't just pigeonholed in one part of policy and you mentioned working for the Suns and doing all of these other things I think is really exciting. Now, something that maybe we wouldn't know about you from all of your resume or your bio that's out on the web.
Tanya Wheeless:
So I'm an avid traveler. We love to travel as a family. I've been to six continents and six of the natural wonders of the world. It's actually a point of shame for me because my husband and son have been to all seven continents and all seven natural wonders, but I was part of a little campaign in 2022, so I missed the trip to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef.
Todd:
But you've done Antarctica.
Tanya Wheeless:
I have done Antarctica, which was big time. And the Northern Lights. A lot of people don't know, it's a natural wonder. We did those up in the northern most settlement in the world, a place called Svalbard. And so that's something not everyone knows. I mean, we just love it. I joke as a kid, we didn't go anywhere that we couldn't drive to in the back of the car, and so as an adult, we've tried to make up for lost time.
Todd:
Well, you're definitely my travel mentor.
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh, thank you.
Todd:
And what book are you reading right now? I'm always curious.
Tanya Wheeless:
So a fiction book I'm reading right now is Demon Copperhead, which had been recommended to me. It's a modern take on a David Copperfield, but set in Appalachia.
Todd:
I've heard about that, yes.
Tanya Wheeless:
So that's really good. I'm about halfway through that. Nonfiction, I actually just finished up Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks.
Todd:
Recommend it?
Tanya Wheeless:
I do recommend it. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I find myself at that mid-part of life where you start thinking about the backside. And as he says, there's this funny bit where he asks people, "How long do you expect to live?" Or, "what do you think the average length is?" And people will often say, "I am going to live to 90 or a 100," and he says, which is really interesting, because the average lifespan is like 85. So then you do that and you think half and you're like, "Oh man, I'm there." So it was really interesting, I think for those of us who have been very involved and had great careers up to this point, but you do start thinking about, "Okay, I'm going to be an empty nester. What do you want that last half to look like, so that it's still really meaningful and you still feel productive?"
So anyhow, Strength to Strength. It was a good thought provoker, I would think. It now has me thinking, "All right, what's the next book I have to read?"
Todd:
Excellent. Well, and it is, it's very timely. And someone who gets... Well, you two get confused a lot. Steve Wheeler is one person who I think had done that very well. It really went from this career to something really meaningful afterwards, so excellent recommendation.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yes, thank you.
Todd:
Well, we want to get into the foundation. How did this happen? First of all, maybe tell us a little bit about the foundation and how you came to be involved.
Tanya Wheeless:
Absolutely. So the USS Arizona Legacy Foundation is a 501C3, nonprofit. It was started back in 2021, but let me back up a little before that.
Todd:
Sure.
Tanya Wheeless:
A lot of people don't know how new ships come to be and how they enter into the naval fleet, and so I should say at the outset, we're the USS Arizona, and I think most people associate that with, of course. The battleship.
Todd:
Absolutely.
Tanya Wheeless:
Which was sunk on December 7th and is still there in Pearl Harbor, and our foundation is very much about honoring that past and keeping the memory alive. But really the impetus for the foundation was in 2019, the then acting Secretary of the Navy decided that one of the new Virginia-class fast attack submarines would bear the name Arizona. And so it's the first one since the battleship to bear the name Arizona. And so once that's done, there are a series of events that then happen.
So we know it's going to be the Arizona, then they choose a ship sponsor. So this is sort of an honorary position. Every new vessel will have a ship sponsor. And in our case it's a woman named Nikki Stratton. She actually lives in Colorado, but her grandfather, Donald, was one of the survivors of the battleship.
Todd:
So that direct connection to World War II.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yes, exactly. And maybe we'll have time to talk more about his story later, but really an important connection there to have the past linked with the future. So once you have your ship sponsor, then what will traditionally happen is you'll get a commissioning committee will come together, because a lot of people don't know, even though the Navy obviously builds and staffs new submarines, there's a lot of private support that goes into these boats.
So at that point, Nikki and a small group of volunteers in 2021 started the foundation to really serve as that commissioning committee to raise funds for the boat, for the christening and commissioning. But I give them a lot of credit, because they really had a broader view of that. So what will often happen is you'll have a commissioning committee, once the boat is commissioned, it disbands, and then you might have another group come in that will really take on the crew support role.
Todd:
So sort of two separate entities.
Tanya Wheeless:
Two separate entities. We are all in one. So our foundation is being built to last for the life of the boat, which these days is 30, 40 years. So that's really what we are building now is this foundation. We have a three-part mission, celebrate, educate and support. So celebrate, again, that's the reason we're here, is to help raise funds to celebrate the milestones in any boat's life. So December 7th of last year, we did what's called the keel laying, which is like laying the cornerstone. We did that in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The next major-
Todd:
That must have been quite an experience.
Tanya Wheeless:
It was incredible, Todd. I'm telling you.
Todd:
Especially on that day.
Tanya Wheeless:
On that day, which was by design. Again, Nikki, our ship sponsor, really fought for that to happen. There, we had World War II veterans with us. We had messages from two USS Arizona survivors. They couldn't be there with us, but they had messages in. We had a blessing from the Salt River Pima Indian community. It was incredible. And to also see all of the men and women who are working to build this three and a half billion dollar piece of equipment that is, it's a key part of our deterrence, our nuclear deterrence, a key part of our national security, so it was neat to meet those folks as well-
Todd:
Absolutely.
Tanya Wheeless:
... and really understand skill, skill, the craftsmanship and the passion that they bring to their jobs. So celebrate, so celebrating those events.
The second piece is educating. So I talked about keeping alive the memory of BB39, the battleship, and also educating people about the future, our Navy and the submarine, and so we are doing a lot of community outreach, education within schools, things like that.
Then the last part is support, and this is the part that really gets me excited because this will be the key component for the duration, which is supporting the crew, so how do we do that? Submarines are unique in that they will often be deployed six months at a time, and when a submarine is on watch, they are incommunicado with everyone.
Todd:
That's it. No one hears.
Tanya Wheeless:
That's it. And so they're really cut off, which makes them very cohesive as a crew and as a unit, but it also means there's a lot of support that they need and there's some things we can do while they're deployed, but also their families, who are still stateside. And so that crew support is really the third pillar of our mission.
Todd:
Well, what a nice way of looking at this in such a holistic way and incorporating, obviously, not only the history, but celebrating the present and then looking after those people that are keeping the home fires burning.
Tanya Wheeless:
Exactly. Exactly. And you asked how I got connected, and it was like many things. It was a friend who knew, a friend who said, "Hey, might you be interested in this?" So that was the connection there. But for me personally, as I found everyone associated with this project, there's a personal connection. And for me, I come from a military family. My husband was a F16 pilot in the Air Force, grandfather retired Air Force. Then World War II specifically, I had a grandfather who served, and as I learned, not that long ago, it was before taking this on, but I had two great uncles who both served in World War II. Very young men when they joined and were sent off.
One of them, my Uncle Gilbert, was actually killed in the battle of Okinawa, and those stories are tragic. It was just a few months before the war ended, and he was a young man, but he's buried in the Punch Bowl, the national cemetery in Hawaii.
Then my other uncle, Louis, he was in World War II. He was actually one of the first paratroopers to land in Normandy. He was taken prisoner. Was actually liberated at the end of the war, went on to serve in Korea, Vietnam. I mean, just an incredible story. And so for me, we grew up, that was part of the fabric, of freedom isn't free. Respect and honor for the people who are willing to serve our country in peace time, but always knowing that trouble can be right around the corner, and so when this came to me, it was not only a culmination of so many things that I had done. Again, the policy, the leading organizations, community outreach and PR, was that. But it was that piece that really touches your heart where you think that the men and women that are going to serve on this submarine, they're someone else's uncles and fathers and sons and daughters, so to be part of that is just absolutely real honor.
Todd:
Well, and the fact that that's such a legacy within your family.
Tanya Wheeless:
Absolutely.
Todd:
I think makes such a significant difference.
Tanya Wheeless:
It does.
Todd:
And I think, one of the things that's interesting, and you mentioned education, probably a lot of people don't know that we actually have one of the guns from the Arizona and one from the Missouri where we signed the Armistice with Japan here at the state capitol. And certainly another learning tool in the connection to our new boat.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yeah. I mean, I would say to folks, obviously I encourage anyone who has not been to Pearl Harbor, to the USS Memorial, go. Take the time, do it. Make sure you book your tickets ahead of time because it's tricky to get out there, but it is an absolutely, I think, must do, for every American to relive that history and really get a sense for what happened there. But here at home, we have some really great places that you can visit. You mentioned Wesley Bolin Plaza where we have the guns. We also have one of the anchors of the USS Arizona, which is out there.
Also in Wesley Bolin Plaza, we have a memorial to submariners, and those Arizonans who served and perished as submariners. And then in the old state capitol, you've probably seen it I'm sure, in the museum there, there's an incredible USS Arizona exhibit including the silver service from the battleship.
And what's really interesting about that is that a lot of people have said, "ow, did they have to dive down and recover the silver service?" And the answer is no. It had actually been taken off the boat because we knew that, we were weren't in a war footing per se, but we knew that there was a lot of unease, putting it mildly in the world, and so it had actually been taken off the ship before it went out to Hawaii. So it was not on the boat when it sunk, and so we have that.
Todd:
What a treasure, right?
Tanya Wheeless:
A absolute treasure. And another just fun fact is that, I talked about how there's a lot of private support for the boats as they're being built. And that silver service is a great example. So actually the Navy came to then governor and said, "Will you provide the silver service?" And the governor, and I believe one of the senators said, "We don't think public funds should be used for this." Good, fiscal planning. But so some private citizens said, we're going to do it, and the copper companies and others, they actually raised the, I think it was about, $9,000 that they needed for this silver service. And for anyone who hasn't seen it's not forks and knives, it's punch bowls and candelabras. It's all very grand. But that it was I think $9,000, close to $10,000, which in today's dollars would be, it's like $160, $170,000. So no small feat. But that money was raised privately by Arizonans who wanted to gift something to the men that we're going to serve on the boat that carried our state's name, so go check it out.
Todd:
Little did they know.
Tanya Wheeless:
Little did they know.
Todd:
And the importance.
Tanya Wheeless:
Absolutely. Two others just quickly down in U of A, they have a great memorial to the USS Arizona at the U of A campus, encourage people to check that out. And of course, here in Scottsdale, Salt River Pima, Indian community, they have an incredible memorial. It's actually a light display. It's great to see in the evening, but it's the exact size and length of the USS Arizona with an actual piece of the boathouse there.
So if you can't make to Pearl Harbor, there are still some really cool things that you can see here in Arizona that, again, will connect you with the past well
Todd:
And well worth the time.
Tanya Wheeless:
Absolutely.
Todd:
So you mentioned this to us, and I think it's a great segue into that next piece. Clearly, we're going to have a role in this, will we also have the opportunity to do special things like this for the new boat?
Tanya Wheeless:
Absolutely. So one of the main things that we'll be doing, particularly for the next few years leading up to the christening and commissioning, and I'll stop there just for a minute because not everyone knows the distinction. So the christening is the first time that a vessel will touch water. This is when you see the champagne that gets hit and it's a big celebration. In fact, when the battleship was christened in the Brooklyn shipyards, they reported 70,000 people were there to watch it. Also interesting at the time, the battleship was red and people were like, "What is going on?" It was red. Well, it was primer. They hadn't painted it the battleship gray yet.
So that's the christening is when you first touch water, and then the commissioning, which happens maybe a year to two years after, is actually when the vessel will enter into commission with the US Navy.
Todd:
After sea trials-
Tanya Wheeless:
Exactly.
Todd:
Okay.
Tanya Wheeless:
Exactly. So when we talk about that, those are the things that we'll do, and so there will absolutely be an opportunity for Arizona to get involved. In fact, we think this is one of those once in a lifetime, once in a generation, opportunities for a state to really come together. This is a bipartisan, nonpartisan, every corner of the state point of pride for us. We haven't had a ship with our name on it. The battleship was commissioned in 1916, and so it's been a while. And so this is our-
Todd:
We're due.
Tanya Wheeless:
We are due. We are due. And so there are all sorts of things that you can do and we'll be talking about. I mean, next year we'll be launching a competition to help design the crest for the boat, and that will be a statewide initiative that we'll be reaching out on. On the boat itself, you may have seen, there was, I think, a 60-minute video talking about one of the submarines where they actually showed the ways that you can put the state's mark on the boat. And so you can do really neat things in the mess hall, customizing tables. I've told you my vision, my goal is that those will be copper, right?
Todd:
It's got to be.
Tanya Wheeless:
Because it's iconic. It's iconic. It's one of the five Cs. So we can do things to really add an Arizona flavor. I heard, I have not verified, but for the USS New Mexico, they made sure that every time they deployed they had habanero, because that's the New Mexico thing, right?
Todd:
The chilies, yeah.
Tanya Wheeless:
The chilies, and so we'll be thinking about things like that. And this really will be an all hands on deck opportunity. So there's going to be a way, we hope, for everyone to get involved in some way. A lot of it will be fundraising. Fundraising to do the tables that we talked about, to do different things.
Todd:
Everybody can participate, right? I'm assuming there's not a number small enough.
Tanya Wheeless:
No, no, exactly. And we've got, I mean, not to make the pitch too early, but on our website, we have a donate now and it can be $5. We'll obviously be working with our businesses and large corporations to hopefully get large gifts that will really help for some of these larger ticket items and to support the crew and the education and other initiatives, so there's no amount that's too small.
In fact, one of the things that was really inspiring to me, again as I was learning about the battleship is, you had kids, different youth groups that would take up collections and they'd go to door to door getting change, and then with that, they would buy something that then became a gift to the ship. So we'll be doing our best to get those options out and look to really engage everyone because there isn't anything too small.
And some people, it is time, talent, treasure. You may have the treasure, but we're also going to need volunteers. There's going to be a number of ways that we'll look to engage people, but mostly, we want everyone to feel like this is their boat. This is their crew. We talk a lot about supporting the troops, and here in Arizona, we have a great legacy of doing that with our bases, with Luke, with DM, Fort Huachuca and others. And so I always think of those men and women, they're like ours, right? They're here in Arizona. That's what the crew of the Arizona is. We're going to have 130 men and women serving on the submarine that have our state on their back. It's their jersey.
Todd:
Absolutely.
Tanya Wheeless:
And so they're ours and I want everyone to feel bought into that and feel a sense of pride.
Todd:
Well, in case we missed the opportunity later, what's the website? Just so people can go to it, check it out, donate, but be a part of it.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yes, ussazlegacy.org. You can go there, again, you can donate, you can also sign up for our newsletter, so I would encourage everyone to do that because we will have updates over the course of the months and years about what's happening, and that's the best way to really start to get to know our crew, the boat, the history of the battleship.
But the other thing that I'm spending a lot of time doing, Todd, is community outreach. So I'm out there talking to chambers, to business groups, to veterans groups, at retirement communities, Kiwanis Rotary, you name it, and so if anyone listening to this, if you are part of one of those groups, I'd love to come talk with you. Again, there's no fee, it's not a big pitch. It's really about me sharing the history of the battleship and getting people excited about the submarine. And so on our website, we've got a contact form, so you can send me a line, let me know what you're doing, and that's honestly my favorite thing to do, when I get to do it.
Todd:
Awesome. That is fantastic. I think you're going to get a lot of people taking you up on that.
Tanya Wheeless:
I hope so.
Todd:
You mentioned the crew. When will we have a crew selected or at least the start of a crew for this boat?
Tanya Wheeless:
Really good question, and timely. So we have our first increment, has already reported to Groton.
Todd:
Already?
Tanya Wheeless:
Already. So Groton, Connecticut is where our boat will be assembled, so they build the submarines now in modules. And so it's like if you imagine a hot dog and you slice it up, they get sent to Groton, is where they will be assembled and finished. So earlier this summer, I believe it was June, July, our commanding officer, Thomas Diggin reported, our executive officer has also reported for duty, and we have about 27, 28 sailors who have been assigned to the Arizona who are in Groton. Many of them, this is their first assignment out of bootcamp, which is really cool. So they are there now, and a lot of people say, "Well, what are they doing?" A lot of it is education. So they will get to know...
One of the things in submariner culture that is a major milestone point of pride is earning your dolphins. So that's something. So submariners have their dolphins and you have to earn them, and you have a certain amount of time after being assigned to a sub to earn those dolphins. And it really means, you know how, and you can be trusted to operate all of the major functions of the boat. This is important. I talked about how close that crew is. When you are down and you were submerged hundreds, thousands of feet, incommunicado, you need to be able to rely on the brother or sister next to you. And so you go through a very rigorous training and you have to test, and if you don't test and pass within a certain amount of time, you will get moved on. So this isn't something where you can just lag around and take 10 years to do it. I think it's about a year, maybe two years, that you have to get your dolphins.
So they're going to start that training process now, even though we don't have a submarine. Some of them may go aboard other Virginia-class subs who are going in and out to get that training, so that's a big part of what they're doing now.
I know the commanding officer, he's setting their command style expectations, so that is already happening, which is exciting. I think everyone in Arizona should be excited. On August 3rd of this year, they celebrated the Arizona Day, so our boat number is SSN803. So August 3rd. They had a party, they had a big cake, they had a big state of Arizona flag there. We had this in our last newsletter, so they are already embracing that legacy of the battleship, of our state, and so they're there. And we will get, I think the plan is to get, another 15 or so before the end of the year, and that will then be your core group for at least a couple of years.
So they're there, so when we talk about crew support, that's already happening. In fact, a couple of things that we have coming up at the end of this month, which is October when we're recording this, I will be back in Groton because we will have, what's called, an establishment of command ceremony. First time, the only time, this will ever happen in the life of a vessel is when you establish that first command. And so I'll be there with our captain, with all of the crew, it's going to be an incredible ceremony aboard the Nautilus.
Todd:
Oh, wow.
Tanya Wheeless:
Just incredible. I mean, that's-
Todd:
You could tell your husband and your son, "Yeah, I didn't get Australia, but I got this."
Tanya Wheeless:
Exactly. I got this. That's right.
Todd:
Awesome.
Tanya Wheeless:
Eat your heart out. So that is happening now, and one of the things that we'll do, again, going back to getting our communities involved is we will host crew visits here throughout the year, where we will bring members of the crew to Arizona. We'll be doing a lot of community outreach, wanting to get them... Throw out a pitch at a Diamondbacks game, meet with our veterans at a American Legion, all sorts of things. So when we bring the crew out, we'll be talking about that in our newsletter, and that'll be a great opportunity for people to get to meet them. These, right now, all young men, but we hope to have some young women, who'll serve as well.
Todd:
Absolutely. What a cool opportunity, and I think you're going to get a lot of people wanting to participate in that process with these folks.
Tanya Wheeless:
I think so. And whenever I talk about it, people are like, "When are they coming?" It's like soon. Soon. So I think our current plan is to have them here, first quarter of next year, will be the first opportunity to do that. It'll be fun, we'll learn a lot. But again, that's something that will happen, somewhat regularly, between now and the commissioning of the ship and then beyond that, but of course, once the ship is commissioned... Excuse me, the boat. The boat, once the boat is commissioned, it will happen a little less frequently, but that's- [inaudible 00:26:48].
Todd:
Excellent. Well, for those maybe who they read a Tom Clancy novel or two, but don't necessarily have a good understanding of what this is all about, maybe some facts about the boat.
Tanya Wheeless:
Sure, so I mentioned that this is a Virginia-class fast attack submarine. So this is for people who want to get really wonky, the Virginia-class is replacing the old Los Angeles-class, so it is being phased out. The Virginia-class is really the future.
Todd:
Is the next- [inaudible 00:27:16].
Tanya Wheeless:
Next gen. Exactly. Now, the USS Arizona will be the absolute first of its kind because, unlike previous Virginia-class submarines, we will have what's called the VPM, the Virginia payload module, which actually extends the length of our submarine by about 84 feet. What that does is that allows us to carry additional payload, namely tomahawk missiles, so we will have the ability to carry about another 28 tomahawk missiles. Now, something I did not know before taking this position and that others may not know, is that those tomahawks can be fired, fully submerged, to hit a target 1500 miles away.
Todd:
So underwater, they're-
Tanya Wheeless:
Underwater.
Todd:
Really?
Tanya Wheeless:
Yeah, it's incredible. Well, I'm glad you're surprised too, because-
Todd:
Yeah, I did... It's astounding.
Tanya Wheeless:
... I was talking to the engineers, and I thought, "Well, isn't that dangerous?" Because part of what makes submarine so effective and lethal is that, we call it the silent service for a reason, unseen on scene. You'll hear them talk about that. No one knows where they are. That's part of what makes them so lethal. You never know where they are. A submarine is most vulnerable when it actually has to come up to the surface.
Todd:
Sure. All the noise and everything.
Tanya Wheeless:
Exactly. And periscope, even Periscopes can be seen.
Todd:
Oh sure.
Tanya Wheeless:
Even if that little periscope pokes up, and so you want to stay submerged as much as possible, so I said, "Well, gosh. It's great to have these tomahawks, but they're going to have to come up out of the water and..." A little figurative pat on the head. "Oh, no. No, no, dear. They can fire them underwater." So that will make this the meanest, baddest submarine in the ocean. It will also have the ability to deploy Navy SEALs who are doing some covert operations underwater, get them where they need to go. Because it's nuclear-powered, it doesn't need to be refueled for 40 years.
Todd:
So they can stand in perpetuity-
Tanya Wheeless:
They could.
Todd:
Probably just food would be the issue at some point, I guess.
Tanya Wheeless:
It is. So I was listening to a former submariner, they asked him, "How long can it stay submerged?" And he said, "Probably about 120 days," he said, "Or five days after the coffee runs out."
Todd:
That makes complete sense.
Tanya Wheeless:
Now this I understand, and I think the longest acknowledged, because there's a lot about submarines that is classified, but being submerged was 140 days, I believe. And that was actually a boomer, so it was a larger submarine. So yeah, they can be down there. And food and morale are really the biggest regulators on that. When they first go off, I've heard submarines talk about how there will be cans of food everywhere in the submarine because you have to put it all in there and then you basically eat your way out of it. So you might be walking on cans at first and you eat your way out of it, but it's really, they're just the most advanced weaponry that we have because of their capability, because of their stealth ability, because of their... They can go anywhere.
I think as we think about the threats that are most likely, we think about Taiwan, we think about the Pacific, this is really where our submarines are incredibly valuable to our national security. So it's exciting. I mentioned that the price tag's about three and a half billion dollars. In contrast, the USS Arizona battleship, back when it was commissioned, it was about 16 million. 16 million.
Todd:
Little inflation in between.
Tanya Wheeless:
Now in today's dollars-
Todd:
Almost 100 years.
Tanya Wheeless:
... it would be about 450 ish million, which kind of sounds like a bargain.
Todd:
It kind of does.
Tanya Wheeless:
But they're fast. Again, I think it's 25 knots a submarine can go. It can go to a depth of 800. Now, nobody believes it. That's the maximum depth, but they also won't tell us what it really is, so just really an incredible piece of machinery. And again, with that VPM, we will be a first of its kind, which is really special, and we'll make the commissioning even more exciting.
Todd:
Well, and as someone who gets claustrophobic in an elevator, I have so much respect for these people. It's just incredible what they're able to accomplish.
Tanya Wheeless:
Isn't that true? When you look at the births where they sleep, it is incredibly small, little space and so you'll get this one bunk, and it might be two three high. You get one little box where you get to put your personal effects. Yeah, this is not for the faint of heart.
Todd:
And for 120 days.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yeah. Can you imagine?
Todd:
Well, I do want to come back to Donald Stratton. You mentioned him and maybe tell us a little bit about him.
Tanya Wheeless:
Yes. So when the Navy decided to name this boat the Arizona, there was a little bit of controversy. There were some people that felt like there should never be another vessel to bear the name Arizona, and so they talked to some of the survivors and survivors families, and it was the survivors who really said, "No, this will keep our memory and the men, our brothers, who we lost, it will keep them alive."
But it's also this rising from the ashes story down, but not out, like defeat to destiny.
Todd:
Absolutely.
Tanya Wheeless:
Right, and so there was some real pride in that. But since that inception, and certainly in our foundation, we want to keep the memory of those men alive. Remember the Arizona was a battle cry after December 7th, and so when I'm out talking to groups, I'll often say there are all these stories of heroism on that day and throughout the war. I mean countless. But one of them that I think is so special with the USS Arizona actually focuses on a gentleman named Joe George, who was not on the Arizona. He was a sailor on the Vestal.
The Vestal was not a battleship. It was a smaller ship that was tied next to the Arizona in Pearl Harbor. So when the Arizona was hit and it was clear that it was going down, which it did sink in less than 10 minutes, the captain of the Vestal said, pull up the lines. He wanted to move away, wanted to make sure that they didn't go down with it.
So there was a sailor out there on the Vestal, who was pulling up the lines, and as he looked across, he saw, I believe it was six men, on the deck of the Arizona figuring out how they were going to escape. So imagine this, the Arizona is sinking, the water is boiling and full of oil and fuel. The men who were there, most, if not all of them, were already extremely burned up to 80% of their bodies. And he sees them and he looks over and he knows in that moment that he can keep pulling up the lines or he can throw them a lifeline. Incredible heady decision for a young sibling to make.
Todd:
Probably a young kid.
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh yeah, exactly. Young guy. And he was a boxer. He had actually been in a bit of trouble. I think he was of in the brig the night before. So he's thinking, "What do I do?" He choses to throw the lifeline. He throws over a rope. The guys on the Arizona tie it off. They come over, hand over hand, make their way to the Vestal. He saved six lives that day. Unfortunately, his heroism was never recognized until posthumously in 2017, through the efforts of survivors and some of the men he saved, he was awarded the Bronze star.
Todd:
That's amazing.
Tanya Wheeless:
One of the men that he saved that day was Donald Stratton, and so to now have Donald's granddaughter as our ship sponsor, serving with us on the foundation is an incredible linkage to the heroism, the sacrifice, everything that happened on December 7th with the Arizona. And so it's just been really incredible to have that and to carry on his story, but also, the other men who both perished and lived. So it's just remarkable.
Todd:
What an incredible way to end this, and I'm getting teary up here, just amazing. And I want to thank you for everything you're doing.
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh, I appreciate that, Todd.
Todd:
And thank you for being here. We aren't going to let you go without a quick lightning round. We'll bring up the mood a little bit.
Tanya Wheeless:
Okay. All right. All right.
Todd:
Since you mentioned you are an amazing traveler, I'm going to give you a really hard one. Favorite country you visited?
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh, that is a hard one.
Todd:
I know.
Tanya Wheeless:
Favorite country. Primacy and recency, right. I was just in Spain a year ago and I loved it. We'll say Spain. I also love Latin America though. Latin America. I have not been to Columbia, I'm sorry to say. Otherwise, I'm sure it would be my favorite.
Todd:
Well, we're about to have a sister city agree with [inaudible 00:36:16] in Phoenix, so we'll make that happen.
Tanya Wheeless:
Fantastic.
Todd:
First job.
Tanya Wheeless:
I worked at a German bakery in Sun City, Arizona. It was called Der Kaffe Kocken. We served a bratwurst and black forest cake and everything German you can imagine. And I started working there when I was 14. It was my uncle's business and I worked there through college.
Todd:
What'd you learn?
Tanya Wheeless:
What did I learn working there?
Todd:
Yeah.
Tanya Wheeless:
I learned a lot. I learned how to make change, which is a lost art by the way. Now kids are on, if the computer doesn't tell them how much change to make, they don't know how to do it, so I'm very proud that I learned how to make change, learned how to make a good cappuccino. On a more serious note, it was really good as a young person to work in a retirement area and to listen and learn and really value the stories of our elders, the people that came before us, and to really take time to listen.
As young people to this day, it's hard to sometimes slow down and do that, but I remember someone said to me when I was at the bakery and I would get frustrated that they were taking so long, they said, "You might be the only person they talk to all day." Coming to get their Danish and coffee, and that was a really important lesson that I've carried with me.
Todd:
Yeah, absolutely. High impact. And then the final one, since you are a sports fan, and we're going to imagine that Derek calls you up and says, "All right, we need you to come play for the Dbacks," what would be your walk-on song?
Tanya Wheeless:
Oh, walk-on song. What would my walk-on song be? This is a really hard one, and I just want your listeners to know they do not give you the lightning round questions ahead of time.
Todd:
No.
Tanya Wheeless:
What would my walk-on song be? It would be something really fun and rocking. Help me think of it now, Todd. I was thinking, We Will Rock You, is a little too lame.
Todd:
It's pretty good though.
Tanya Wheeless:
It's pretty good. I would also say Dancing Queen, although I'm not sure that that really captures what the Dbacks need right now, but I think it'd be a crowd favorite. So I'm going to stick with that.
Todd:
Well, I mean, what a perfect dancer, and just want to thank you again for taking the time, for doing what you're doing, when our crew gets into town, Phoenix Chamber is front and center, and I'm sure the rest of the community as well.
Tanya Wheeless:
Outstanding, Todd. I appreciate it. Ussazlegacy.org. Drop me a line. I would love to visit with everyone and if you have any questions, please reach out. But it's been a lot of fun. Thank you.
Todd:
And please do reach out and please do contribute. Thank you.
Tanya Wheeless:
Thanks.