[seagulls squawking]
At the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc,
a tour of its World War II submarine
is a peak experience.
- Kevin Cullen: An engineering marvel, diesel and electric.
- Painstakingly restored,
the sub looks and feels
much as it would have when on patrol
in the war-torn waters of the Pacific.
For the museum's executive director,
the ship represents many things.
- Kevin Cullen: Behind me here is USS Cobia,
a national landmark from World War II.
It's a testament to the service and sacrifice
that the submariners endured.
And, of course, the legacy of building submarines
in Manitowoc.
Twenty-eight subs launched here
and Cobia kind of has a sentinel of that heritage.
- For Manitowoc native and Navy veteran, Jeff Tess,
boarding the Cobia means something else.
- Jeff Tess: This is home.
This is where I felt comfortable.
Life on a submarine is the most peaceful existence
you've ever had in your life.
American submarines are the best,
so you don't worry about much.
Do your job, and you don't worry about anything else.
- The Cobia was already a museum piece
by the time Jeff joined the US Navy's submarine service.
But for him, it's not so different
from the advanced nuclear submarine he called home.
- Oh, yeah, not much different.
I was a cook; that was my job.
We have our coffee machine here.
We have a flat-top griddle.
We have an oven.
- The job was a vital one.
- If you can't cook or you're not good,
you don't last very long.
And that's a true statement.
I believe that the cooks
are the most important person on the boat
because there's nothing else to take your mind off of life
except the food.
[food sizzling, utensils clinking]
[conversations in background]
- Jeff Tess: Food is something that brings the world together.
So, on a submarine, that's the same thing.
It's the one time where the crew gets together,
shares a meal, talks, laughs, has fun.
You made cookies or sticky buns.
You've made those, you had a lot of friends.
- Jeff is still making friends
and bringing people together around food.
- Jeff: What can I do to you? [laughing]
- In Two Rivers,
just up the road from the USS Cobia,
overlooking the open waters of Lake Michigan,
Jeff opened Submariner's Pub in 2022.
- Jeff: My job is to serve good food and nice cold beers
so that everybody can enjoy themselves.
- Just like his job in the Navy,
Jeff's work serves a higher purpose.
Here, he honors the service of others.
- Jeff: This is my homage to the veterans that
provide the safety and security and the freedom we have.
- Like the cramped confines of a submarine,
every nook and cranny of the pub serves its purpose.
- Jeff: There's hats, there's a bunch of memorabilia around,
and there's pictures on the wall.
I have 12 pictures of my family up there that all served.
I have an Uncle Gordy who jumped in on D-Day,
his Purple Heart and his Bronze Star are over there.
And anybody can bring a family member, themselves,
whatever in.
I call it my Hero Wall.
It's a tribute to the people that made us great.
- Those tributes are not just for the distant past.
Submariner's Pub has quickly become
a second home for area veterans.
One vet with her picture on the wall is Ashley Smits,
head of the organization Manitowoc County Vets.
- Ashley Smits: A lot of veterans, when they get out of the military,
they feel isolated, they feel alone.
To have Submariner's Pub is a place that you can connect
that just brings that camaraderie together,
and a place where you can
feel understood and seen and heard again.
- One of the things that I was missing as a veteran
was a place to come talk to people
that are like-minded and get through it.
- Where Jeff cooks today
is laid out almost exactly like the submarine's galley,
and the satisfaction he takes is the same.
- Jeff: It's a part of my heart.
When I cook your meal, and you eat it,
and I see the smile on your face,
and you're telling me how good it was,
it's what I need for my feedback.
Your smile makes me happy.
Feeding the world is a cool thing,
and making people happy, there's nothing better.
There's really nothing better.
[conversations in background]