« Story on Reno U.S. Attorney refusing all ATF cases | Main | Oops.... »
Sad to note
WWII submarine veteran's group disbands. Their last national convention was attended by 62 people; their youngest member is 86 years old.
"Submarines were just 2 percent of the Navy's fleet then [WWII], but subs sank more than 30 percent of the Japanese navy and nearly 5 million tons of shipping. About 16,000 men served on submarine war patrols. The submarine force lost 52 boats and more than 3,500 men."
4 Comments | Leave a comment
My dad was one of the few remaining members of the USS San Francisco (CA-38) Association when they decided to give up operation; but in their case there was a larger, non-time-specific group they merged the membership into (US Navy Cruiser Sailor's Association) though eventually that will go away too, unless the Navy reinvents the concept of the cruiser.
An era is really passing...
My dad served on the Hake (SS 256) in the south Pacific & was present in the sea of Japan when the surrender was signed. Then it was all ahead Flank back to Pearl. He was a motorman & said it was not just Flank speed but Flank Plus whatever he and his shipmates could coax out of the Fairbanks - Morse diesels. He passed 5 years ago.
Roger, it must have been tough being a submariner back in those days of (among other things) *long* surface runs.
This is one of those bits of news that I feel diminishes me like John Donne's tolling bell.
3500 is about 22% of the total, nothing compared to the German U-boat fleet, but comparable to the losses by the USAAF. Serious numbers for men who were boys before the war came.