“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Nathan Hale

Writing about the USS Nathan Hale has been a bit of a challenge for a number of reasons. The story of the ship itself is not that difficult even though there is not a lot of information available on the life of the boat. The difficult part about this story has been separating fact from fiction.

Nathan Hale is arguable one of the earliest American heroes and I have spent the past four weeks going through many historical documents to try and piece together the real story of this great man.

Admiral Rickover introduced his story in his book about “Eminent Americans” with these words:

USS NATHAN HALE (SSBN 623)

NAMED FOR Nathan Hale (1755—76), a young schoolmaster who, by the manner of his dying in the cause of liberty, taught Americans the true…