Fireman Apprentice Dennis O'Brien, who was named by his command as an outstanding sailor, died Oct. 18, 1995, just days after receiving his coveted Dolphin pin.

Officially, a Naval Criminal Investigation Service investigation concluded that O'Brien, who had celebrated his 21st birthday on Aug. 1, 1995, shot himself with his .45-caliber service handgun while standing watch atop the USS Los Angeles at Pearl Harbor.

The Navy acknowledges that O'Brien was a victim of a brief hazing "tacking on" ceremony, in which an emblem representing a milestone in a sailor's career was "tacked on" with a punch.

But the Navy says that "tacking on" has not been allowed for several years and it began an investigation into the charges shortly after the incident occurred.

Lt. Cmdr. Betsy Bird, Pacific Fleet Submarine Forces spokesman, yesterday said "the Navy is committed to determining the circumstances surrounding his (O'Brien's) death."

"This incident represents a tragic loss to the Navy and his family."

The investigation delving into the way the Navy handled the entire incident is pending before Adm. Jay Johnson, chief of naval operations, in the Pentagon.

As yet, no one has been disciplined following O'Brien's death.

But his parents, Dennis Sr. and Mary O'Brien, believe their son was a victim of the Navy's failure to enforce its policy against hazing, and are not confident in what the military investigation will find.

"It (the investigation) is structured to protect the command," said Mary O'Brien.

The O'Briens believe their son was placed in a no-win situation by the Navy which was pressuring him to reveal names of the sailors who participated in the illegal hazing ritual.

On Oct. 13, 1995 - Friday the 13th - Dennis received his silver Dolphin pin signaling that after six months of study, he was qualified for submarine warfare.

It should have been the high point of his 18-month career.

Mary O'Brien, in a telephone interview yesterday, said on that day, crew members of the attack sub took part in the "tacking on" tradition.

In the outlawed ceremony, shipmates would punch or rap a fellow sailor's Dolphin pin that was on his chest without any protective backings. The force of the action would cause the pin to puncture the sailor's chest, causing bruising or bleeding.

The Navy says O'Brien refused medical treatment and the crew was restricted to the boat on Oct. 17 while the investigation was being conducted.

Mary O'Brien maintains the investigation placed her son "in a box" and by then, he was feeling pressure from both his shipmates and the sub's officers.

"The Navy wanted him to turn over the names of the people who participated in the hazing or be court-martialed," she said.

"That would have meant betraying his friends. ... He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't."

The O'Briens believe Dennis killed himself to protect his shipmates from getting into trouble for hazing, or was killed by someone out of fear to keep from talking.

She said the atmosphere aboard the 120-man submarine, then commanded by Cmdr. John Bouldin, was one of "coercion where physical threats were common."

The O'Briens have asked Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Curt Weldon to look into the matter.

On Sept. 12 the O'Briens joined families of other military suicide victims before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee to testify why they believed the military system has failed.

"We agree with the Navy's zero tolerance policy," Mary O'Brien said. "But the Navy doesn't have a procedure to deal with its victims. ... No one did anything to help my son."

She said her son requested a transfer but was turned down because the Navy didn't want to set a precedent.

The O'Briens also believe someone in the Navy has to be held "accountable" for their son's death and that the Navy owes them an apology.

"My son didn't die from hazing," Mary O'Brien said, "he died from the hazing investigation that boxed him in. If he violated the policy, he should have been punished and removed from danger, but not persecuted.

"We have nothing to gain. We have already lost our child. We don't want to think our child died in vain."