stars commemorate both the seven battle stars that battleship earned in World War II and that the state of Maryland was the seventh state to be admitted to the Union. Seal Marylands coat of arms is emblazoned upon a white oval enclosed by a blue collar edged on the outside with gold rope and is inscribed in gold letters with the words "USS Maryland" above, and "SSBN-738" below. Blazon The shield features the arms of the state of Maryland, which historically derives from the quartered arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. Its main color is blue, highlighted with silver. Beneath the shield is a scroll in blue, displaying the motto Timete Deum Solum et Ignominiam ("Fear Only God and Dishonor") inscribed in gold letters. This is all superimposed upon a trident wreathed in laurel decorated with seven stars. The trident's bottom spike is flanked by two dolphins. In popular culture In the 1994 Tom Clancy novel, Debt of Honor, Maryland is one of several submarines sent to deal with a Japanese invasion of the Northern Mariana Islands. In the 1998 television film Ice, Maryland is sent to evacuate VIPs from the frozen West Coast of the United States after the coastline has become ice-bound, preventing surface vessels from approaching the shore. References USS Maryland SSBN-738 Commissioning Booklet (1991) External links USS Maryland (SSBN-738) command histories – Naval History & Heritage Command Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ohio-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1991 ships Submarines of the United States