This was the first "Military-themed" episode of a current running program to be broadcast after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City. After this episode, the storyline was changed somewhat to incorporate what had happened.
The recovery of Harm would have been something of a miracle. On 1 Dec 69 a sailor went overboard from the USS Ranger (CVA-61). Despite calm seas, hearing him call for help and occasionally getting him in search lights, he was not recovered. There were 3 helos, 2 whaleboats and a destroyer that were active in the search. The Ranger was dead in the water during the search. A 2nd destroyer took over the search after two hours and continued an active search throughout the night.