Ship Progressman Machinist
 
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD
 
Paul Chevalier Currier was born on October 10, 1922, in Manchester, N.H., the son of John G. Currier and the late Helen Donovan Currier.
 
He attended school in Exeter, N.H., and was graduated from Exeter High School in 1940.  During his school years he was active in sports.  After graduating, he became an apprentice machinist at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
 
Paul enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and served from March 1943 to September 1945, as an air armorer sergeant with the 451st Heavy Bombardment Group.
 
Completing his military service, Paul entered the University of New Hampshire where he majored in engineering, before returning to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  He was subsequently promoted to the position of ship progressman machinist. It was in this capacity that he was acting when lost with Thresher.
 
Paul was active in community affairs and for 9 years served as a member of the Exeter Fire Department.  He attended Saint Michael's Church where he was a member of the Holy Name Society.  Just two weeks prior to the sailing of Thresher, Paul had received the third degree in the Knights of Columbus.  He served as a coach of the Exeter Little League which he helped establish in 1952.
 
Baseball was his favorite sport, and he devoted most of his free time to teaching the game to the Little Leaguers.  On Memorial Day 1963, the Little League Baseball Park was renamed in his honor.  Also the trophy, which is presented annually to the winning team, now bears his name.
 
Paul is survived by his wife, the former Barbara Kingdom and five children; Peter, 13; Ellen, 9; John, 8; Beverly, 6, and Paul, Jr., 2 1/2.  He also leaves his father, John Currier of Sebago Lake, Maine; and two sisters, Mrs. Stephen Zarnowski of Manchester, and Mrs. Daniel O'Shea of East Milton, Mass.