Thomas F. (hardtack) -
I have a fascination with the U.S. submarine service of WWII, and even enjoy novels based on submarines during that period. Having said that, I would never have wanted to serve in one. First, the quarters are too close for comfort for me. Second, this branch of the U.S. Navy suffered the highest casualty rate of all U.S. forces during World War II.
The book is written by Richard O'Kane, who served as the executive officer of the USS Wahoo for five of its seven patrols. He only left her to become the captain of the USS Tang, another submarine, and received the Medal of Honor for his later exploits. His submarine was also sunk and he spent time as a Japanese POW. He eventually retired as a Rear Admiral.
Initially, the author writes early chapters as if he was writing official reports for the Navy, and they do not read well. Later on, his writing is much more readable.
When the Wahoo was sunk on its last patrol, the author had already been transferred to command the Tang. As such, the author writes about the Wahoo's last patrol based on his in-depth and daily experiences with the Wahoo's captain. Unfortunately, the author makes assumptions which did not entirely prove true much later after the war. I refer you to the Wahoo's Wikipedia page if you are interested.
The author also spends a lot of time discussing the faults of the U.S. torpedoes used in our submarines in the early years of the war. U.S. torpedoes were far inferior to the Japanese "Long Lance" torpedoes. It was actually a crime that the Naval Bureau defended its design of the torpedoes despite overwhelming evidence of their faults. This delayed the correction of those faults. This was so important to the early failure of the submarine service to contribute to the war effort, a movie starring John Wayne was actually made on this issue in 1951. It is titled "Operation Pacific."
However, if you read the book, the final chapter will astound you with its tally of Japanese ships sunk by the dedicated men of the U.S. Navy Submarine Service.
My mother knew some of these men. She was Australian and was a young girl when her mother held weekly open house for U.S. servicemen in Sydney, Australia during WW II. Some of the submariners would return after each patrol. However, my mother once told me, when they were shipping out on another patrol, she'd say to some, "See you when you get back." Sometimes, they'd tell her, they wouldn't be coming back. And sometimes, she'd hear from other submariners that the sub was lost.
Thinking back on this and the high casualty rate of American submariners makes the political and social controversy over the current pandemic seem petty.
The book is written by Richard O'Kane, who served as the executive officer of the USS Wahoo for five of its seven patrols. He only left her to become the captain of the USS Tang, another submarine, and received the Medal of Honor for his later exploits. His submarine was also sunk and he spent time as a Japanese POW. He eventually retired as a Rear Admiral.
Initially, the author writes early chapters as if he was writing official reports for the Navy, and they do not read well. Later on, his writing is much more readable.
When the Wahoo was sunk on its last patrol, the author had already been transferred to command the Tang. As such, the author writes about the Wahoo's last patrol based on his in-depth and daily experiences with the Wahoo's captain. Unfortunately, the author makes assumptions which did not entirely prove true much later after the war. I refer you to the Wahoo's Wikipedia page if you are interested.
The author also spends a lot of time discussing the faults of the U.S. torpedoes used in our submarines in the early years of the war. U.S. torpedoes were far inferior to the Japanese "Long Lance" torpedoes. It was actually a crime that the Naval Bureau defended its design of the torpedoes despite overwhelming evidence of their faults. This delayed the correction of those faults. This was so important to the early failure of the submarine service to contribute to the war effort, a movie starring John Wayne was actually made on this issue in 1951. It is titled "Operation Pacific."
However, if you read the book, the final chapter will astound you with its tally of Japanese ships sunk by the dedicated men of the U.S. Navy Submarine Service.
My mother knew some of these men. She was Australian and was a young girl when her mother held weekly open house for U.S. servicemen in Sydney, Australia during WW II. Some of the submariners would return after each patrol. However, my mother once told me, when they were shipping out on another patrol, she'd say to some, "See you when you get back." Sometimes, they'd tell her, they wouldn't be coming back. And sometimes, she'd hear from other submariners that the sub was lost.
Thinking back on this and the high casualty rate of American submariners makes the political and social controversy over the current pandemic seem petty.
