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U.S.N Lieutenant Jimmy Carter, 1948-51

James Earl Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 with distinction. When the nuclear-powered submarines came on-line, Carter was anxious to join the program and served duty with the Naval Reactors Branch. On 12 Dec. 1952, an accident with the NRX reactor at Canada’s Chalk River Laboratories caused a partial meltdown, ruining the reactor’s core. Carter was ordered to lead a U.S. maintenance crew to assist in the reactor’s shutdown. To limit exposure to radioactivity each team member donned protective gear and was lowered individually into the reactor for 90 seconds at a time until shutdown was complete. The Seawolf-class submarine Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is named for the 39th president.