USS FINBACK Veteran Talks About Rescuing George H. W. Bush

In August, 1944 while on her tenth war patrol USS FINBACK SS-230 was assigned lifeguard duty in the Bonins. She rescued 5 pilots, one of whom was George H. W. Bush. Click the photo on the left for a larger view.

The video below was taken by Gil Raynor with his Blackberry aboard USS JEFFERSON CITY on a day cruise Friday, June 20, 2008 out of San Diego. He took it while FINBACK veteran Cavin Mcphie talks about the rescues.

The Dives We’ve Known

Another one by Tommy Cox. Tommy spent many a month on various boats during his 20 year career as a Navy spook. In fact, he qualified on USS LAPON in 1968. If you know what I’m talking about you’ve probably heard Tommy. If you don’t know what a spook was/is in the Navy just rest assured they would ride the boats doing special chores. He mentions damn near every submarine hang out in the world in this one. He was giving a concert in Groton last year and he let Ken Johnson video the concert. And Ken is now working on making a DVD of the event. Below this video are links to the other songs he performed that day. These links were posted on Martini’s BBS by Don Ward. Enjoy.

“Frenchie” www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ02byB4XF4

“The Dives We’ve Known” www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpR3bAI3QfE

“Dark Eyes (Ochi chyornye)” www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCIW7IoANdE

Tango Charlie www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjHHIMLkfn4

These Eyes www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xcdvKovTWM

Diesel Boats Forever www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzevwOg4ESg

Bring The Nautilus Home www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qWCrL5L3AM

Blind Mans Bluff www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OKYQQM5ns

Seawolf www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMGWu_LKy54

Torpedo In The Water www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGnmB8PvfzI

Navy SEALs www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftlLgE8cHyM

Still On Patrol www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dIr5dWes9E

Scorpion www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj3Iey0cmhw

Mamas Dont Let Your Babies Grow Up To Ride Boomers www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP6DmIyAetQ

Big Black Submarine www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91lUQIhEYw

Run Silent Run Deep www.youtube.com/watch?v=64gO6kRKMus

Kursk www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdsjDR-6IF0

Ballad Of Whitey Mack www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaKexkrzBNk

Paybacks Are Hell www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tL6PsMoqh8

TC Commercial www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6EmY52TM9A

How Fast Can Things Go To Hell In A Handbasket?

Pretty damned fast, as witness these drawings of the attitude of USS CHOPPER SS-342 during what started out as a routine dive to 150 feet one October day in 1969. She went through these angles in approximately 2 minutes. 2 minutes that probably seemed like an eternity to her crew. If you’re interested, visit Jim O’Brien’s page for the details.

While every submarine that ever ventured beneath the sea experienced things that were never intended, not many have survived something like this. And in fact, CHOPPER, although getting her crew to the surface and back to port, did not survive this. Having exceeded test depth, fought fires in the engine room, bounced off the ocean floor, and experienced a few other non-standard operations I can’t begin to imagine how harrowing this must have been.

There Are Smokers, and Then There Are SMOKERS!

This should make all boat sailors who do a little barbecue very, very jealous. It does me. I wish I knew the proud owner but I got these in an email from an old shipmate, John Tregoning. And I want one soooo bad!

For I Am a Submariner

By John Chaffey
SSN639, SSN687, SSBN619

I served on the Holland over a century ago.

I still serve to this day on the Trident, Los Angeles & Seawolf class boats

and look forward to shipping on the Virginia, Texas and Hawaii.

Places like Fremantle, Rota, LaMadd, Chinhae, Pattaya, Sasebo and Subic stir my soul.

For I am a Submariner.

I rest in peace beneath many seas across this earth.

I was on the Barbel off Palawan, the Scorpion off the Azores and the Bonefish in the Sea of Japan.

We gave them hell in the harbors at Wewak and Namkwan.

I am a Shellback, a Bluenose, a Plank Owner, a MCPO of the Navy, a CNO and a President.

For I am a Submariner.

I heard Howard Gilmore’s final order, “Take Her Down.”

I heard the word passed, “Underway on Nuclear Power.”

I have done every job asked of me, from Messcook to Torpedoman to Motormac to COB to Skipper.

I know “Snorkel Patty” and Admiral Rickover.

For I am a Submariner.

I have twin Dolphins tattooed on my chest and twin screws tattooed on my ass.

I know the difference between a Lady and a Hooker but treat both with equal respect.

I know Georgia Street and Magsaysay drive.

And although the Horse & Cow keeps moving I will always find her.

I know the meaning of “Hot, Straight and Normal.”

For I am a Submariner.

I have stood tall and received the Medal of Honor and been thrown in the Brig for being Drunk and Disorderly.

I know the reverent tone of “Diesel Boats Forever” and the Gudgeon’s “Find em, Chase em, Sink em.”

I was on the Spearfish evacuating nurses from Corregidor and the Skate when she surfaced at the North Pole.

I have spent time in the Royal Hawaiian.

For I am a Submariner.

I have gone by names like Spritz, Cromwell, O’Kane, Ramage, Breault, “Mush” and Lockwood.

I have served on boats like the Nautilus, Thresher, Parche, Squalus, Wahoo and Halibut.

On December 7th I was onboard the Tautog at Pearl Harbor.

I was also on the Tusk in 49 and sacrificed myself for my shipmates on the Cochino.

For I am a Submariner.

I have stood watches in the cold of Holy Loch and the heat of the South Pacific.

I know what the “41 For Freedom” accomplished.

I was on the Sealion at Cavite in 41 and the Archerfish in Tokyo Bay in 45.

I have endured depth charges and POW camps.

I was on the Seafox when we lost 5 sailors to a Japanese ambush on Guam.

For I am a Submariner.

I tip beers over sea-stories with my shipmates at yearly conventions.

We toll the bell and shed a tear for our buddies who are on eternal patrol.

Many pilots have been glad to see me, including a future president.

I have completed numerous highly classified missions during the Cold War.

Because “Freedom Is Not Free,” be assured that I am out there at this very moment.

For I am a Submariner.

Happy Birthday to U.S. Submarine Force

On this day in 1900, the U.S. Navy purchased the submarine to be commissioned as USS HOLLAND SS-1. She was named after her builder and the father of our submarine force, John Holland. Here, she is in Annapolis to show the Naval Academy cadets what a submarine torpedo boat was all about. Below this photo is a close up of her crew.

Dr. Joyce Brothers Wrote The Following About Submariners

Shortly after the loss of THRESHER Dr Brothers wrote the following.

RISK IS AN INSPIRATION IN SUBMARINE SERVICE

The tragic loss of the submarine Thresher and 129 men had a special kind of impact on the nation…..a special kind of sadness, mixed with universal admiration for the men who chose this kind of work.

One could not mention the Thresher without observing, in the same breath how utterly final and alone the end is when a ship dies at the bottom of the sea…..and what a remarkable specimen of man it must be who accepts such a risk.

Most of us might be moved to conclude, too, that a tragedy of this kind would have a damaging effect on the moral of the other men in the submarine service and tend to discourage future enlistments. Actually, there is no evidence that this is so.

What is it, then, that lures men to careers in which they spend so much of their time in cramped quarters, under great psychological stress, with danger lurking all about them?

Bond Among Them

Togetherness is an overworked term, but in no other branch of our military service is it given such full meaning as in the so-called “silent service.”

In an under sea craft, each man is totally dependent upon the skill of every other man in the crew, not only for top performance but for actual survival. Each knows that his very life depends on the others and because this is so, there is a bond among them that both challenges and comforts them.

All of this gives the submariner a special feeling of pride, because he is indeed a member of an elite corps. The risks, then, are an inspiration, rather than a deterrent.

The challenge of masculinity is another factor, which attracts men to serve on submarines. It certainly is a test of man’s prowess and power to know he can qualify for this highly selective service. However, it should be emphasized that this desire to prove masculinity is not pathological, as it might be in certain daredevil pursuits, such as driving a motorcycle through a flaming hoop.

Emotionally Healthy

There is nothing daredevelish about the motivations of the man who decides to dedicate his life to the submarine service. He does, indeed, take pride in demonstrating that he is quite a man, but he does not do so to practice a form of foolhardy brinkmanship, to see how close he can get to failure and still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the contrary, the aim in the submarine service is to battle the danger, to minimize the risk, to take every measure to make certain that safety rather than danger, is maintained at all times.

Are the men in submarines braver than those in other pursuits where the possibility of sudden tragedy is not constant? The glib answer would be that they are. It is much more accurate, from a psychological point of view, to say they are not necessarily braver, but that they have a little more insight into themselves and their capabilities.

They know themselves a little better than the next man. This has to be so with men who have a healthy reason to volunteer for a risk. They are generally a cut healthier emotionally than others of similar age and background because of their willingness to push themselves a little bit farther and not settle for an easier kind of existence.

We all have tremendous capabilities but are rarely straining at the upper level of what we can do; these men are.

The country can be proud and grateful that so many of its sound, young, eager men care enough about their own status in life–and the welfare of their country–to pool their skills and match them collectively against the power of the sea.

April 10, 1963

The day we lost USS THRESHER SSN593 and 129 shipmates. This is a very moving tribute to those sailors and yard workers.

50 Years Ago Today

Today’s my 50th Submarine Qualification anniversary. En route for Pearl from WesPac I told the qual officer, Lt Durbin, on the 7th that I was ready. He had me meet him on the bridge that night on the 2000 X 2400. He kept me up there answering questions for nearly 4 hours. The The waves were just bad enough to come up through the bridge deck. I was soaking wet from the waist down. He then told me to meet him in the FTR at 0800 the next morning. By 1130 I was a live an’ kickin’ ginuwine qualified submariner. Damn it felt good.

What felt better was getting to give a non-qual Ltjg that reported aboard the week I did a bad time. But that’s another story. The photo below was taken at an inspection shortly after we returned and just before entering PHNSY. The skipper is just kinda pretending to pin ‘em on. I know Jim Duke qualified on that trip back to Pearl also. And I’ve seen a photo of him taken on the same day as this one.

Fireballs – Damned Electricians

I believe most old diesel boat enginemen have experienced a fireball flying into the After Engine Room from the cubicle in Maneuvering. It would certainly scare the shit out of you. And I had one chase me up out of the lower flats one time on SPRINGER when I was down there lighting off the auxiliary engine to check it out. The auxiliary was between #3 and #4 main engines. And not a hell of a lot of room to run from a fireball flying out of the generator. Below is a photo of the lower flats looking aft between #3 on the left and the auxiliary on the right. With about 5 feet to stand up in. This photo is from the USS PAMPANITO web site. Go there and take a virtual tour. They have a choice of regular old photos or a Quicktime tour that lets you turn in a 360 in the compartment.

 The video below was made on the museum boat USS SILVERSIDES. There is a lot of repetition and slow motion of the fire balls but you’ll get the idea. And turn the volume all the way up and it still won’t be as loud as the engines are really. 120+ dBs. Conversation was impossible. And I guess that may be a major factor in my tinitus.