All of us on Topeka are proud to represent the United States Navy during this unique opportunity. USS Topeka was the first U.S. ship to witness this. Mark Patton of Cheyenne, Wyo. The ship celebrated the event by taking small water samples, which each crewmember will get to keep as a small memento of where they were at the fateful moment. This is awesome.
Words can t describe the feeling.
It s better than Times Square. Only 140 other guys can say they brought in the millennium 2000 on the dateline at the equator, said Lt. Michael Bratton, a native of Little Rock, Ark., and Topeka s navigator. Bratton was a key figure in positioning the boat precisely over the intersection at midnight. The submarine actually arrived on scene earlier in the day and prepared for the event.