Submarine Force Master Chief (SS) Jeff Garrison presents a submarine force coin to Floyd “Skipper” Matthews during Matthews’ 105th birthday celebration Feb. 3, 2008, in Florence, Ala. Matthews qualified in submarines in 1925, having joined the Navy at the age of 16, three years younger than the age his recruiter listed on his enlistment papers. During his career, Matthews served with Lt. Cmdr. Charles “Swede” Momson, the inventor of the Momsen lung, and was a member of the crew that used the Momsen lung to rescue 30 crewmembers of the USS Squalus when their sub sank in 240 feet of water off Portsmouth, N.H. Matthews served on USS Chickasaw, a submarine that performed security patrol duties during two nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific in 1946. Matthews is one of America’s last remaining World War I veterans, a number that is believed to be less than 10.
Anyone who served with Swede Momsen, one of the true heroes of the submarine force, is a friend of mine! Happy Birthday Skipper!
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