Synopses & Reviews
In April 1944, the highly decorated submarine USS
Gudgeon slipped beneath the waves in one of the most dangerous patrol areas in the most dangerous military service during World War II. Neither the
Gudgeon nor the crew were ever seen again.
Author Mike Ostlund's "Uncle Bill" was aboard the 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 know about her demise.
Through these stories we experience the excitement of first sighting, then closing in on an enemy ship, and the seconds ticking away as the crew awaits the detonation of torpedoes. We hear the groans of collapsing bulkheads through the hull of the submarine, then the eerie cry of inch-thick steel as it is rent apart. The swish-swish-swish of a Japanese destroyer's attack approach. The thundercrack of exploding depth charges between muttered prayers and anguished, flinching anticipation where the crew, all equal in peril now, must sit absolutely still and take the punishment as they suppress the urge to do something, anything.
We also share the anguish of the girls they left behind when they learned the ship was lost; and of the memories and life lessons of the young men who went to sea abord Gudgeon before its last patrol knowing hardly anything, and coming home having seen too much.
Synopsis
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 Ostlunds 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 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 details the memories and life lessons of the young men who went to sea aboard Gudgeon before its last patrol knowing hardly anything, and coming home having seen too much.
About the Author
Mike Ostlund holds a masters degree 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. He lives with his family in Iowa.
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