NEWBURYPORT — A passion for history along with a talent for writing have gotten a Newburyport High School sophomore a permanent place aboard the soon-to-be commissioned nuclear powered attack submarine, USS Massachusetts.
Having been named one of only a dozen statewide essay contest winners celebrating the upcoming launch of the new vessel, Thomas Rich will have his writing entered into the ship’s log, where a plaque bearing his name will also be installed.
“It’s amazing that something I wrote here in Newburyport is going to travel all around the world for I don’t even know how long,” Rich said.
This year, the new USS Massachusetts is scheduled to be commissioned in New Bedford. It’s the U.S. Navy’s ninth vessel named Massachusetts but the first submarine to carry the name.
To help celebrate its launch, the USS Massachusetts Commissioning Committee last year put the call out to middle and high school students to write an essay on one event in history, or the role the many Massachusetts have had in the development of the navy.
A freshman at the time, Rich decided to write about the legacy of the Massachusetts’ name on a trio of vessels.
“The history of the name dates back to 1790,” he said. “The first Massachusetts was a cutter that was posted in the Northeast and regulated trade. Then I wrote about the fifth iteration in 1863. That was an ironclad that never launched but showed a very big leap in technological advancement in ship building.”
Rich concluded his essay by focusing on probably the most famous USS Massachusetts, the battleship (BB-59) that served in World War II.
“That fought for two consecutive years,” he said.
District literacy coordinator Thomas Abrams worked with the 16-year-old to craft his roughly 1,300 word essay.
“Tommy would bring it to me for a little feedback, then he would use it and get the essay into a nice place,” Abrams said.
Rich was required to use at least three primary as well as two secondary sources. To make sure he met that criteria, Rich visited the Massachusetts Historical Society Archives in June.
“He really showed his ambition in going down there,” Abrams said, of the Boston repository. “Some of the sources he cited went back to the 1700s.”
Rich said he felt honored to write the essay and was very excited that his name will be cruising through the ocean onboard the new submarine.
Abrams was also thrilled.
“As a teacher, we just hope the kids do better than us and accomplish more than we do,” he said. “Tommy really is shining with this. When you go into this newly commissioned submarine, it will say ‘Thomas Rich, Newburyport High School, Newburyport.’ I think that’s pretty cool.”
Rich will be invited to October’s USS Massachusetts commissioning ceremony at the State House.
Abrams said Rich is also in line for the essay contest’s grand prize which would see him attending the Massachusetts’ launch in New Bedford as well.
“History always been his favorite subject,” he said. “It really is any kind of history too — not just naval or military history. But when he saw this, he just jumped on it.”
Rich said he hopes to go into engineering when he graduates NHS and is thinking of applying to the U.S. Naval Academy.
“They have really good programs for engineering,” he said.
Rich also said working with Abrams help them to develop his writing abilities.
“Mr. Abrams does a lot of writing workshops in school and I have been pursuing becoming a better writer,” he said.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.