Highest Honour Award for AUV UXO Team Discovering WWII Submarine

Tim Taylor of Tiburon Subsea and Christine Dennison of OceanOutreach.org have been awarded the Brazilian Navy League Medal of Honour, ‘Grande Benemérito do Parimõnio Marítimo’, for their exploration, discovery and dedication to preserving the legacy of the lost WWII Submarine R-12 and her 42 entombed sailors. They were presented with the leagues highest honour at a private reception at the Explorers Club in New York City on 14 October 2016.

The explorers discovered the WWII United States Submarine R-12 and her crew of 42 entombed sailors in 200m (600 feet) of water in the Florida straits. Two of the entombed are Brazilian officers who are recognised as heroes in Brazil. The story of the two Brazilian officers serving on the submarine USS R-12, remains one of the mysteries that the team has been working to uncover.  The history, discovery and investigation is chronicled in the-yet-to-be released short documentary film ‘Expedition R-12 Discovering Americas Forgotten Submarine’.

The discovery and award reception were featured on Brazilian TV, Globo and Record News channels.  Those attending the NYC reception included: the Grandson of one of the entombed officers who also serves as the current President of the International Navy League based in Madrid, Marcos Roberto de Paula Rosauro de Almeida,  Contra-Almirante Josã Roberto Bueno Junior (representing the Admiral of the Fleet and current commander of the Brazil Navy, his Excellence Admiral Bacellar Eduardo Leal Ferreir) and the Deputy Consul General Brazil Minister Lúcia Maria Maierá on behalf of the United Nations.

The NYC event was the first time the Brazilian Military and the families have seen the underwater grave site of their country’s lost heroes.

Tim and Christine have dedicated years of research, meeting and interviewing families and made multiple filming expeditions with their team to the USS R-12 grave site. They organized a private expedition for family members to the site and a memorial reception on the 70th anniversary of her sinking in Key West, Florida and continue their work on the project.

The team is working through non-profit Ocean Outreach to share their historic findings and accomplishments. They are currently developing inner city high school STREAM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) outreach programs showing what a small dedicated group of explorers can accomplish using the latest technologies and how important it is to never forget our past and those who served and fought for freedom