Synopses & Reviews
Revised and fully updated, the stirring and
authoritative account of one of World War IIs
most highly decorated submarines
On April 7, 1944, the battle-hardened USS Gudgeon (SS-211) slowly pulled away from tiny Johnston Island, slipping beneath the waves in one of the most treacherous patrol areas in the most dangerous military service during World War II. The seventy-nine men of the Gudgeon crew were never seen again. This is their story. Author Mike Ostlunds uncle, Lieutenant Junior Grade William C. Ostlund,
was aboard that ship. Through extensive research of patrol reports in U.S. and Japanese naval archives, interviews with veterans who had served aboard the Gudgeon before its final patrol, and the personal effects of the lost mens relatives, Ostlund has assembled the most accurate
account yet of this remarkably successful submarines exploits, of the men aboard—from steward to captain—and of what we now know about her demise.Find Em, Chase Em, Sink Em also details the memories and life lessons of the young men who went to sea aboard Gudgeon before its last patrol, who knew hardly anything, and who came home having seen too much.
Review
“While there have been many fine books written about the missions . . . of the U.S. submarine fleet in WWII, few if any will be able to compete with the sheer detail and personal accounts presented by Mike Ostlund." —Naval History
Synopsis
Now in paperback, revised and updated, the stirring and authoritative account of one of World War II's most highly decorated submarines Find 'Em, Chase 'Em, Sink 'Em is the first book to recount the tragic and mysterious loss of the World War II submarine USS Gudgeon. In April 1944, the highly decorated submarine USS Gudgeon slipped beneath the waves in one of the most treacherous patrol areas in the most dangerous military service during World War II. Neither the Gudgeon nor the crew was ever seen again.Author Mike Ostlund's "Uncle Bill," the operator of a farm implements business, was aboard that ship as a lieutenant junior grade. Through extensive research of patrol reports in U.S. and Japanese naval archives, interviews with veterans who had served aboard the Gudgeon before its final patrol, and the personal effects of the lost men's relatives, Ostlund has assembled the most accurate account yet of this remarkably successful submarine's exploits, of the men aboard from steward to captain, and of what we now know about her demise. Find 'Em, Chase 'Em, Sink 'Em details the memories and life lessons of the young men who went to sea aboard Gudgeon before its last patrol knowing hardly anything, and came home having seen too much.
Synopsis
Revised and fully updated, the stirring and authoritative account of one of World War IIs most highly decorated submarines.
About the Author
Mike Ostlund holds an MA from the University of Iowa. He is a member of the Naval Submarine League, an associate member of the United States Submarine Veterans, and an honorary research affiliate of NUMA Australia.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword by George Seiler, Torpedoman, USS Gudgeon
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One: Lone Wolf-First War Patrol
Chapter Two: Escape from the East China Sea-Second War Patrol
Chapter Three: The Tide Turns-Third War Patrol
Chapter Four: Fortress Truk-Fourth War Patrol
Chapter Five: Butchery in the Bismarck Sea-Fifth War Patrol
Chapter Six: Commando Operations-Sixth War Patrol
Chapter Seven: Wild Bill, Wild Patrol-Seventh War Patrol
Chapter Eight: Lieutenant Penland and the Kamakura Maru-Eighth War Patrol
Chapter Nine: The Irisher-Ninth War Patrol
Chapter Ten: Reporting for Duty-Tenth War Patrol
Chapter Eleven: Down the Throat-Eleventh War Patrol
Chapter Twelve: Missing, Presumed Lost-Twelfth War Patrol
Chapter Thirteen: The Mysterious Yuoh Island-Twelfth War Patrol, the Theory
Chapter Fourteen: After the Gudgeon
Afterword
Appendix One: Muster Roll of the USS Gudgeon, Patrols 1-12
Appendix Two: Combat Results of the USS Gudgeon
Bibliography
Index