Susan Mack remembers her only son as a talented actor who could light up a room with his smile.
Through tears, the 60-year-old mother of three recalled her decision to move to the small town of South Pittsburg, Tenn., to raise her son, William Gerald Mack, 21, who died unexpectedly Monday while serving aboard the U.S. Navy Submarine USS Nebraska.
“I wanted to come to a small town to raise Will,” Mrs. Mack said. “I didn’t know exactly why. It just seemed like something I really wanted.”
Machinist Mate Fireman Mack was a weapons specialist in the Navy, on his second deployment on a strategic deterrence patrol aboard the nuclear ship with a classified location, she said. His death is still under investigation, but Mrs. Mack said she was told she may never know where her son was when he died.
He was due home in June and was working toward a degree in history, which he planned to use to teach, she said.