US Barb and Capn Lucky Flucky

[Rockin Robbins]

Fluckey's book ends with a roll call of all the awards given to boat and crew members, ending with the statement that there is one medal that he's proudest of because no crew member ever received it and that was the purple heart. No injuries among any of his crew for any of the five cruises.

Fluckey, in my book, stands head and shoulders above all other sub skippers of the war. He knew enough to copy success and avoid others' failures. He had the imagination and drive to find targets when no one else could. And he had the sense to prosecute his unconventional war in relative safety and with the wholehearted support of his crew. He was no Captain Bligh. And he was no Mush Morton on a suicide mission to hell. His was a carefully considered war on the terms most favorable to his boat and crew.

Note the amount of time he took and the consideration he gave to my wife's grandfather in his autograph in Thunder Below. This was no prima donna, contemptuous of normal men and better than everyone else. This was a leader who yes, loved to lead, but did not do it out of a sense of puffed up privilege but out of a sense of duty.