The heritage we share as members of the US Navy’s Silent Service: The New Year’s submariner story of leadership, teamwork, audaciousness, intelligence, and innovation right before Wahoo’s 3rd War Patrol. Raw nerves required.
USS Wahoo (SS-238) with the “Clean Sweep” broom atop the periscope returns triumphantly to Pearl Harbor in early 1943 after a history making 3rd war patrol, the story in this article is a small but critical part of the legend that came to be…(image source alchetron.com)
Late in the morning on the last day of 1942, without ceremony, Dudley W. Morton took command of Wahoo. Back at the apartment my new captain told of the PCO school he had attended just before coming to Pearl.
“Commander Patterson and Hensel were our underway instructors, and while I was on the scope calling angles on the bow, reading the telemeter scale for the range, giving orders to the steersman for rudder and speed, whirling the ISWAS, and checking plot for the new course, the instructors would be making entries in their notebooks. After the approach, they’d compare my actions that were recorded in the Quartermaster’s Notebook with their recommendations. Because they could concentrate solely on conning, they almost always arrived at better submarine maneuvers and more quickly.”
Captain Morton paused, but only long enough to bring over a bottle of ale, and then continued.
“Now you’re going to be my new co-approach officer, not my assistant. You’ll make all of the approach and attack periscope observations, or on the TBT if we’re on the surface. I’ll conn Wahoo to the best attack position, and then you’ll fire the torpedoes.”
He paused again, and his serious countenance changed to the usual engaging smile as he added, “This way I’ll never get scared.”
This opportunity and sharing of responsibility was new within our submarine forces. I answered with a simple, “I appreciate your confidence, Captain,” and told him I was off to the Sperry to make a lazy susan for our ship models. I would need them to sharpen the ability to call angles on the bow quickly and accurately.
There’d be no fired oysters or tuna delight this evening, for we had all been invited to a New Year’s Eve party….
Under the command of Dudley “Mush” Morton (right) with his executive/co-approach officer, Richard “Dick” O’Kane, the the crew of the Wahoo embarked on their 3rd war patrol. They proceeded to engrave in the annals of submarine warfare an unprecedented and astonishing series of successful attacks against the enemy including the intrepid “down the throat” sinking of a destroyer and the destruction, within one day, of a four ship convoy. These actions set the precedent for other aggressive U.S. Navy submarine skippers to emulate. The tenacious and dominating offensive provided by the United States Navy’s submarine force deprived the Imperial Japanese war machine of essential naval and maritime assets, natural resources, supplies, equipment and personnel. The result: Allied victory and an earlier end to World War II. (image source: google).
Regarding the “down the throat” shot, Dick O’Kane writes of the moments surrounding the firing of the final torpedo in Wewak Harbor:
…The destroyer continued her turn, completing three-quarters of a circle, and then headed down the still visible fan that had been left by our torpedo wakes. Their apex marked our firing position, and the enemy would know that a submarine could not have traveled far.
“That’s all right,” said the captain, “Keep your scope up and we’ll shoot that SOB down the throat.”
(a few edge-of-your-seat paragraphs later O’Kane writes)
… the wire was steady on. “Fire!” and we headed for the bottom, rigging for depth charge.
The range on firing had been 750, which was the best, especially since the time for our first torpedo hit had now gone by. The props of our last torpedo had been blanked out by those of the destroyer, which were now roaring through our hull. There was no other noise, only her screws now menacingly close. We were passing 80 feet, and men commenced bracing themselves for the coming depth charges; though still confident, I chose the spot between the scope and the TDC.
The first depth charge was severe, but only to our nerves, and we braced ourselves in earnest for the pattern that would follow. A mighty roar and cracking, as if we were in the very middle of a lightening storm, shook Wahoo. The great cracking became crackling, and every old salt aboard knew the sound – that of steam heating a bucket of water, but here amplified a million times. The destroyer’s boilers were belching steam into the sea.
“We hit the son of a bitch!” rang out in unison from the whole fire control party, and doubtless throughout the boat. Never could apprehension and despair have changed to elation more abruptly. Already, George had an up angle on the boat in anticipation of the captain’s order, and with speed to help, had Wahoo back at periscope depth.
-from “Christmas Retreat” from the Book “Dive!” by Deborah Hopkinson
The story is from Mel Eckberg who served as a radio and soundman in Seawolf (SS-197) as the United States entered World War II
image source: wikipedia
“There wasn’t much we could do about celebrating Christmas,” said Mel Eckberg. The Seawolf had been on patrol since December 8 with no end in sight; the men would spend their first wartime holiday at sea.
Eck felt depressed about being so far away from Marjorie and baby Spike. He would miss his son’s first Christmas. Yet thanks to some of his inventive crewmates, there turned out to be some surprises. “The first inkling I had was when I strolled into the mess hall after my afternoon watch on December 24.”
As Eck and a few others were leafing through magazines, John Edward Sullivan burst in, beaming and red-faced. “Sully” was the chief yeoman, serving as the clerk for the Seawolf, handling files and supply orders, and maintaining official records.
“’ ‘Well boys, she’s finished. Want to take a look at her?’ ” Sully asked.
“ ‘What’s finished?’ ” Eck and the others wanted to know.
“ ‘Why, my Christmas Tree.’ “
Sully led the way into the yeoman’s office. There, Eck laid eyes on a Christmas tree – or at least what passed as a Christmas tree on a submarine at sea. A broom handle served as the tree trunk, with tongue depressors as branches.
“He’d made tinsel by gluing tinfoil from cigarette packages to strips of paper, and decorated the branches with that. He’d painted half a dozen flashlight bulbs green and red and silver and strung them about on a dry-battery circuit, and so his Christmas tree gleamed green, red, and silver a work of art two feet high….
“We liked that little Christmas tree,” Eck recalled, “ The men would look at it, and someone would say, ‘Jeez, isn’t that a pretty little thing,’ and then you’d hear someone else’s voice ‘Sure wish I was home tonight.’ “
That wasn’t the only surprise. A while later, someone hung up some stockings bulging with with what Eck considered “the wildest collection of junk I’d ever seen in my life. A bunch of garlic; a twelve-inch Stilsen wrench; a can of oil.”
Eck lingered in the small messroom, unable to sleep. Just before midnight, crewmates wandered in to wish one another a merry Christmas.
“There was a lump in my throat,” he said. “I had to swallow a few times, sitting there, thinking. Here it is Christmas, and Marjorie and Spike alone at home, not knowing if I’m dead or alive, and we’re off Corregidor, and men are dying in Bataan, and we don’t know if we’re going to be dead or alive ourselves twenty-four hours from now.”
–
On Christmas Day, the Seawolf’s crew got one more unexpected gift – courtesy of the cook. “Gus Wright came into the mess hall [or mess room, the area where enlisted men eat and relax] and announced what we’d have for dinner that night – mince pies. He’d been up all night baking them, twenty of them. Gus was the hero of the boat that day.
“He was a thin fellow, about twenty-eight, with buck teeth and a pleasant way about him; and the fuss the crew made over his surprise made him so happy that his eyes got watery, and he went back into the galley and banged his pans around until he got it out of him.
“A Christmas tree, mince pies – well, it was a better Christmas than the boys had on Bataan and Corregidor, we thought.”
(End excerpt)
We’re grateful for Mel and his personal story and honor the sacrifices made by the submariners of the Silent Service.
Aloha from USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park – soon to be the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum!
Construction on site is wrapping up and we are transitioning to exhibit installation. Pacific Studio, our exhibit installer arrived on island. They are very well organized and have hit the ground running. Their first container has been delivered and we expect five additional containers over the next two weeks. Four to five additional containers will follow. Pacific Studio plans to complete the exhibit installation prior to Christmas. The museum’s audio-visual (A-V) systems will be installed between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The A-V system will be tested and content will be loaded in early January 2021. We are on track for a soft opening of our museum in mid to late January and a grand reopening in February – March. As soon as we can set a date with confidence, we will do so and will let you know.
I have attached some pictures of the current work in progress.
Thank you very much for your interest and support of our renovation.
Sincerely,
Chuck Merkel
Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired)
Executive Director, Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association
DELIVERY OF FIRST CONTAINER
CONTAINERS ON LANAI
CONTAINER OFFLOAD
EMPTY CONTAINER
TOOLS
TYPICAL PACKAGING
OUTDOOR SIGN STANDS
OUTDOOR PLAY AREA
INTERPRETIVE SIGN STANDS
OUTDOOR PLAY AREA
COLD WAR GALLERY
698 LOOKING FORWARD
USS Bremerton, the most senior not yet de-commissioned submarine in the United States Navy, is currently at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard preparing for her date with destiny. Decom ceremony and reunion in Bremerton are tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2021, that puts BadFish on course for a 40 year run.
Cheers – from RMCS(SS) Don Jones, Plankowner, SSN698
SAVE THE 698
Join the Movement. Are you passionate about preserving the USS Bremerton in any way shape or form? Do you wish to be involved before, during and after her decommissioning in whatever works are needed to establish the memory of 698 for the benefit of the public and of naval history? You are invited to a new closed group forum on Facebook “SaveThe698” to be involved in public discussion related to Saving 698. You can see the group site by clicking HERE.
Article by Challen Yee and Sherman Smith, without whom this article would not be written.
Some of you, well probably a lot of you (given my audience) went to see the feature film “Midway” (2019), the action packed “historically accurate” movie that covered a breathtaking amount of epic events in a cinematic whirlwind lasting nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes.
The movie hits you with history that would be best served in a mini-series, though those who are interested may be inspired to go more deeply into a number of subjects as a result of watching the movie. The storyline includes the pre-war relations between Japan and the U.S., the development of the intelligence services, Pearl Harbor with an up-close and personal connection to the USS Arizona, the Marshalls-Gilberts Island raids, daring Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo and its China connection, an education in the intricate nature of dive bombing, of course, the Battle of Midway, and the interpersonal dramas on both sides that goes along with each chapter…. (okay, I’m catching my breath now….).
Computer generated images have come a long way in recent years and the grand fleet actions could not be reproduced with any historical accuracy without the impressive CGI used by Hollywood with their legions of artists and the latest high performance computers. However, there are some things, that are still better when you have the real McCoy, as we will see later.
The movie portrays these transformative world events in fast paced Hollywood star-studded style taking on several characters from Admiral Chester Nimitz to LCDR William Brockman, Jr.. Who is William Brockman? You need to brush up on the submarine history. Keep on reading.
A submariner, Admiral Chester William Nimitz, Sr served as Command in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in World War II. Source: en.wikipedia.orgWoody Harrelson as Chester Nimitz. Source: Fandango
Admiral Chester Nimitz is portrayed by Woody Harrelson. Harrelson brings enough looks, gravity and charisma to the key role to make a powerful and believable impression. A much better match, may I say, than Matt Damon playing Carroll Shelby in Ford v Ferrari, a movie that also came out in late 2019.
As much as I admire Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, there’s no comparison. Chester Nimitz and the servicemen and women of the armed forces fighting for the survival of the United States and the free world is a course defining crisis that must be remembered and honored as part of our critical past.
USS Nautilus SS-168
USS Nautilus SS-168. After her “modernization” was equipped with advanced radio, new engines, air conditioning, “topside” torpedo tubes. Her huge deck 6 inch guns were used well in her many shore bombardments Source en.wikipedia.org/NHHC.
ENTER THE SILENT SERVICE
Lovingly mixed in with the entire aircraft carrier, fly-boy mega-drama is the story of the USS Nautilus SS-168, a Narwhal/V-Class boat stationed out of Pearl Harbor under the command of LCDR William H. Brockman Jr.
LCDR William Herman Brockman, Jr. Commanding Officer, USS Nautilus, who was awarded the Navy Cross with two gold stars, a Silver Star, and a Presidential Unit Citation for the Nautilus. Source: en.wikipedia.org
At the time of the Doolittle Raid, April 18, 1942, the developing story suggests there is a submarine aspect of the Battle of Midway as the audience is introduced to characters serving onboard the Nautilus, moored along a pier at subbase Pearl Harbor. In real life, the Nautilus was being modernized at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California and was not in Pearl. The timeline is reasonable close as Nautilus departs Mare Island for Pearl in late April. Hey, we’re within a few weeks, close enough for government work. The producers sought to give the Silent Service its due beginning by portraying life on a sub and we are grateful.
The first scenes are well crafted beginning with a nest of the submarines at Pearl Harbor. We enter crews mess with a close up of the antique radio as crew members are tensely focused on a radio broadcast from Tokyo. we get some close ups of our star submariners including the skipper (portrayed by James Carpinello).
As the story develops and the warring battle groups position themselves, we follow Nautilus and her crew into harm’s way, the intensity of the action with depth charges and torpedoes is worth the price of admission. It could be the first movie ever to realisticly detail the skipper doing a face plant into a raised periscope during a depth charge attack. The torpedo room scenes of readying a torpedo tube for firing are a beautiful site. I believe the post theater version has a few more torpedo room scenes.
Through the portrayal of Nautilus’ story, we further record the crucial role the submarine played in the success of the Battle of Midway as the key flight of dive bombers under the command of Wade McCluskey and Richard “Dick” Best, flying without any idea where the Japanese carriers are, sight the destroyer returning to its task force at flank speed after laying down depth charges around Nautilus. On McCluskey’s hunch, the bombers follow the ship back to the Japanese fleet and the rest is history.
How authentic were the submarine scenes in the movie Midway? According to Capt. Chuck Merkel (ret), the Executive Director at The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum and USS Bowfin Memorial, the producers used the USS Bowfin for all interior scenes. Bowfin is in outstandingly restored condition, giving all the authenticity needed for WWII era scenes and providing all the actors a good taste of what it was like to fight in the tightly enclosed and complex spaces of a WWII submarine.
So how does the Bremerton connect to this incredible World War II flick?
The BADFISH via SANTA FE connection to MIDWAY
What you may not know is the producers sought some real live Navy men to fill some of the roles in the film, and it is a pleasure to report that our shipmate Sherman Smith’s son, MMN1/SS Sampsun James Smith, plays a speaking part of one of the dungaree wearing submariners.
A super-cool still shot from the MIDWAY movie set aboard the USS Nautilus (actually USS Bowfin). Sampsun Smith is looking quite comfortable as he finally gets to wear dungarees in an official Navy role. Captain Brockman is standing at left, portrayed by James Carpinello. The XO is sitting at right. The guy seated is, not sure, but looks a helluva lot like past CNO Admiral John Richardson masquerading as a enlisted man,who portrays a phone talker in the combat scenes. OK who left the darned cell phone and a plastic bottle of water on the table? Don’t they know this is 1942? “PROPS: Replace those two items with four packs of cigarettes!” (Image courtesy of Sherman Smith).
Sherman, who served as a QM/SS aboard Bremerton in the 1980s quipped, “[Sampsun] always wanted to wear dungarees,” since dungarees are currently not part of the official seabag for Navy enlisted personnel.
Petty Officer Smith, the younger, was attached to his first submarine, the USS Santa Fe (SSN-763), stationed at Pearl Harbor when he got the opportunity to audition for the movie. He certainly made an impression on the movie staff since he was awarded a speaking part portraying one of the WWII enlisted submarine sailors.
The following is reported to me from shipmate Sherman Smith:
Sampsun was stationed on the Santa Fe when the call for extras went out. He walked up to Squadron and got picked. Because he got a line to speak he got his own trailer. The support staff called him ‘Mr. Smith’.
It’s kind of funny how his 7-word line kept on getting shortened, but a line is a line.
He is in 2 or 3 shots, two in control and one on the mess deck.
In the Movie
We are introduced to Sampsun with the best closeup of a crew member in crews’ mess during the Nautilus at Pearl Harbor scene.
In the battle, Nautilus audaciously weaves her way into the Japanese battle group, as the enemy warships are swarming all around her. This high density threat combat condition was perhaps unprecedented in US Navy submarine history, as Brockman is determined to sink a carrier and not just any of the heavy escorts. Count on a submariner to go for the gusto.
The scene in the conning tower seems rigged for red for effect, there’s the skipper and the XO working the periscope, and our man Sampsun is in a key role manning the TDC (Torpedo Data Computer) where as the spinning dials are set he calls out the confirmation that the periscope observation and the TDC solution “MATCH”.
Are there more roles for Mr. Smith?
Impressed with the young Mr. Smith, the studio has sought him for additional roles with a part in the next Kong movie, according to Sherman. Seems like Join the Navy see the World has a new meaning.
Now we know where he gets his good looks. 🙂
Sampsun Smith is currently serving aboard the moored training ship MTS-626, formerly the USS Daniel Webster SSBN-626, in Goose Creek, South Carolina.
Our Submariner Stars onboard a 688
Sherman Smith (SSN-698) and his son Sampsun (SSN-763) having some fun in the athwartship passageway during a cruise aboard the Santa Fe. Photos courtesy of Sherman Smith.
So what did you think of the movie MIDWAY?
698 News
USS BREMERTON’S COMMANDING OFFICER
CMDR. CHRISTOPHER C. LINDBERG
Staying with the Pearl Harbor theme, this is a photo of Cmdr Lindberg during a 2017 change of command ceremony held onboard USS Missouri. (U.S. Navy photo).
698 LOOKING FORWARD
USS Bremerton, the most senior not yet de-commissioned submarine in the United States Navy, is currently at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard preparing for her date with destiny. Decom ceremony and reunion in Bremerton are tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2021, that puts BadFish on course for a 40 year run.
Cheers – from RMCS(SS) Don Jones, Plankowner, SSN698
SAVE THE 698
Join the Movement. Are you passionate about preserving the USS Bremerton in any way shape or form after her decommissioning for the benefit of the public and of naval history? You are invited to a new closed group forum on Facebook “SaveThe698” to be involved in public discussion related to Saving 698. You can see the group site by clicking HERE.
A collection of articles from the 698 group PFSM capital-campaign
Here are the links to the “Moments in Submarine History” type posts published on this website’s pages through the campaign. It was a fairly short campaign so there were only a few stories, having barely scratched the surface in regards to the treasure of legendary U.S. Navy submarine accounts. Selections were from the beginning of World War II and correspondingly those in the month of December which happened to coincide with our 698-PFSM campaign. The other aspect of the articles were helpful to illustrate how every U.S. Navy submariner is connected to the whole of the Silent Service.
USS Bremerton, the most senior not yet de-commissioned submarine in the United States Navy, is currently at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard preparing for her date with destiny. Decom ceremony and reunion in Bremerton are tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2021, that puts BadFish on course for a 40 year run.
Cheers – from RMCS(SS) Don Jones, Plankowner, SSN698
SAVE THE 698
Join the Movement. Are you passionate about preserving the USS Bremerton in any way shape or form? Do you wish to be involved before, during and after her decommissioning in whatever works are needed to establish the memory of 698 for the benefit of the public and of naval history? You are invited to a new closed group forum on Facebook “SaveThe698” to be involved in public discussion related to Saving 698. You can see the group site by clicking HERE.
