United States Submarine Veterans of World War II

[max-peck]

And as if to emphasise my point about him being a natural leader - what do I read in the next chapter?

He is in between his first and second patrols, choosing a new COB, and he picks Swish.

He calls in Swish - who doesn't seem to feel that he is up to the job.

Swish - 'Captain, all the men are my friends. As COB I'd have to tell them off and discipline them? How could I do that?'

Fluckey - 'Swish, I don't want a b-------, I want a leader. We don't drive men on board the Barb. We lead them. From my experience with b-------, they achieve about equal results. But there's one big difference. When you lead men, they want to ship over and stay with you. Anything else?'

Swish - 'Sir, there's all that responsibility. What if I goof?'

Fluckey - 'On responsibility, you'll grow with it and enjoy it as you shape things and people. On goofing - so you goof. Don't hide it or cover up. Do your best to correct your mistakes and don't be afraid to ask for help from anyone from top to bottom. You'll find people are complimented when you ask for help. . . . . . In submarines we hang our rates on the gangway when we come aboard. It's what you can do that counts with me'

Oh man - I read this on the train on the way into work and found it truly inspirational, and also quite moving. I knew I was going to have to post it on SUBSIM this evening

That is the kind of boss you want
That is the kind of boss you need
That is the boss who you know has your back every time
That is the boss who you will do your utmost best for, and always go the extra mile

I honestly cannot put into words how impressed I am with this man - a true natural born leader

Any SUBSIM members who have not read Thunder Below, please please please do yourself a favour and buy it now

[Subnuts]

Found a couple used copies of the four(!) volume set available on Amazon.com. Wish I had $150 just laying around...

[Rockin Robbins]

I'll continue to post more. I only have the first two volumes. They really are priceless and just about irreplaceable. I can't imagine any submariner parting with his copy willingly.

[Rockin Robbins]

Speaker's Address
Northwest Regional Conference
United States Submarine Veterans of World War II
6 May, 1973
Speaker unknown

In his invitation to be a part of this ceremony and to bring the address, President Corner said he wanted a "short address on our purpose." I thnk he had a single emphasis on the word purpose and a double emphasis on the word short. I believe he is familiar with preachers!

One thing his invitation did was make me look up the purpose of our organization. It is a noble one. In reading it, two words stuck in my mind. The first word was unity. The purpose says "you are assembled to promote and keep alive the spirit and unity that existed among submarine crewmen during WWII!" Yet the individuals you refer to are a most uncommon group. They came from the fabric mills of New England and the cotton mills of the South. From the mountains of Tennessee and the desert of Arizona. From the rain-drenched forests of the Northwest and the arid wasteland of the Southwest. There were rich and poor, schooled and unschooled, professionals and beginners in their midst. They were named Kelly and O'Malley, Jones and Smith, Pulaski and Oshinski, Bernstein and Cohen. In peaceful times there is little likelihood that they would have ever met or known each other. Before 1941 they seemed to have little in common. But then it happened, and that uncommon group suddenly found a common bond. That bond was freedom. They all loved freedom enough to fight and die for it.

The were not the first, nor were they the last to discover this common bond. I think it is important that we realize that you don't buy freedom like you buy a loaf of bread. Instead, you buy it like you do a home. There must be the initial down payment. For freedom, that was made at Concord and Lexington. Then there must be continual payments. These are made by each succeeding generation. Those whom we honor here made the payment for their generation--which is also yours and mine. And there are hallowed graves in our country today of individuals who have already made the payment for this generation. Pearl Harbor and Inchon were unknown to them. But Vietnam they knew all too well.

So the payment for freedom goes on year after year, generation after generation. I wish this morning that I could say that this house of freedom is paid for and that freedom is now a reality for everyone. But I can't. Unfortunately, man has not yet learned to live with his fellow man on terms that make such living possible. We pray that day may soon come.

Then the second word that stood out was patriotism. When I was a young man, consciously or unconsciously, strong home patterns, strong patriotic feelings, and strong religious belies provided a sort of conscience and care for our total society. Our belief in God and country was adequate to provide the cement that held together our American way of life. There wasn't a question of what to do then the national anthem was played or the flag passed by.

I don't mean that we all agreed. We didn't. But there is a great deal of difference between discrediting something or someone on one hand and offering honest criticism on the other. Dissent and debate, including public assembly and protest, have always been a part of the American way of life. They are characteristic of an alert and vigorous people. We teach our citizens to have convictions. We urge them to voice these convictions.

But all too often we forget a very important point. That point is—there is no quick, easy, and absolute solution to many of the world's problems. We have to remember that we live in a real world and not a dream world. Dreams have no limits; the real world has practical limits—or at least limitations. And we must continually distinguish in our own minds the world of our dreams and aspirations and the tough, cruel demanding world of reality, where advantage, gain and privilege are accomplished by work, sweat, tears and accountability.

Therefore, this morning, I have two suggestions that I would like to offer as a fitting memorial to those whom we honor here. The first is that you and I continue to dream the seemingly impossible dream. That dream in which we see man living in harmony in a world dominated by peace and freedom, by equality and opportunity, by friendship and brotherhood. And the second is that we resolve to do all in our power to make that dream come true. Not forgetting that it will take hard work, that we will face setbacks, and that we will even become discouraged at times. But remembering always that the achievement of that dream is worth every effort we put onto it. And if, by the grace of God, we only manage to take a few short strides toward that goal in our lifetime, we shall still know that we have offered up the best gift of all to a departed comrade.

May we all work and continue to create that dream of peace and freedom, equality and opportunity. It humbles me to know that this man was one my generation would have cast aside and discarded, "You want to retire, get out of the way" as Steppenwolf not very kindly put it. This guy said a lot of challenging things and overpaid for the right to say it. Salute, sir, whoever you are!

[propbeanie]

Amen, brother.

[Rockin Robbins]

One thing that was special to our World War II submariners was their sub tender. These guys were pretty ugly looking ships to our eyes but everything good in a submariner's life came from one of these, so they were cherished. A whole chapter of the United States Submrine Veterans of World War II, volume 2 is devoted to them.

The first tender used in World War II was the Holland. Named after the genius/madman who was the main competitor of the basic design that became the S-boat and the Fleet Boat, Holland had some pretty weird ideas. But he succeeded in getting a submarine in the water first for the US Navy, the USS Holland. I guess you'd have to call Holland the father of American submarines in much the same way as the Wright brothers were the father of airplanes. No, airplanes don't look anything like what the Wright brothers flew, and they work entirely differently, but the Wrights were first. Holland is like that. Here is AS-3 Holland:


Here is AS5, USS Beaver, the second submarine tender used in the Pacific War.


USS Sperry, AS-12 got around more than most, serving at Pearl Harbor, Midway, Majuro, Guam and Brisbane, Australia.


AS-13, USS Griffin took a shellacking at Subic Bay during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.






One of the more famous Sub Tender photos of the war made it into this "yearbook."


And here's why the men looked forward to the Sub Tender so much, as a sub enters the harbor after a long and dangerous cruise to join up with its tender once more. Leave, supplies, repairs, entertainment, exchange between crews of different boats, swapping stories, news and lies all awaited them on arrival back to their submarine tender.


Scanned from my copy of the United States Submarine Veterans of World War II, courtesy of my wife's grandfather, Warren Watkins from the USS Kraken. He never talked about what he did. But he cherished his books from the USSVWWII conventions. Those books weren't meant for us. They were meant for the brotherhood. I'm privileged to pass on some of the treasures found there.