Dust on the Sea (67 page)

The body drifted nearer, passed within the inner circle of periscope view. He gave Dugan orders to vent the air from the tanks, return
Eel
to her normal submerged condition. Swiftly he spun the periscope around, saw Moonface floating aft.

It was all Richardson could do for him. The corpse might float for a few hours, but it would soon disintegrate and disappear, one at last with the sea. At least, Moonface would have a sailor's grave. The Japanese Navy, far better served by officers of the stripe of Tateo Nakame, need never know of the disgrace Moonface had brought upon it.

Nor, for that matter (and the unbidden thought almost brought a smile to Richardson's face), was there any longer a chance that another Japanese patrol boat, coming upon the raft, might cause embarassing questions to be asked of Moonface's crew, wherever they might now be.

Extract from A. H. Small, Vice Admiral, USN, Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, Third Endorsement to
Eel
Report of Second War Patrol

1.
  
The second war patrol of the EEL was conducted as a member of a coordinated submarine attack group in the Yellow and East China seas under the overall command of Captain Joseph K. Blunt, until Captain Blunt's death in action during the final engagement of the patrol. The commanding officer of the EEL during this patrol, as for her first patrol, was Commander Edward G. Richardson, USN.

2.
  
This is, without question, one of the outstanding patrols of the war, marked by cool calculation, daring, and skill. It was marred only by materiel troubles and the unfortunate loss of life from enemy gunfire. The force commander joins the officers and crew of EEL in deep personal regret at the loss of their shipmates. Particularly noteworthy was the manner in which EEL, though out of torpedoes, cooperated with the remaining submarine in the group to bring the enemy ships to action. The commanding officer is congratulated for his persistence in repeatedly forcing the extremely valuable troop transports contacted off Tsingtao to reverse course, thus subjecting themselves to further attack. To this inspired and aggressive performance in carrying out the operational orders of the wolfpack commander is due the sinking of two of three heavily loaded troop transports headed for the home islands of Japan. The loss of these prime troops must have been a severe blow to the enemy war effort, and it is only regretted that one of the ships made good her escape.

3.
  
The death of Captain Blunt has been made the subject of a special medical report. While the injury suffered during a heavy depth charge attack and the subsequent strain of a viciously fought surface gun action were contributory causes, the primary cause of his death has been established as a deep, fast-growing right parietal tumor of the brain which was not detected prior to departure. Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, wishes publicly to express his personal sorrow that the services of so outstanding a submarine officer should thus have been lost to the navy, and to extend his offical condolences to Captain Blunt's shipmates and the commanding officer of the EEL.

4.
  
EEL's commanding officer, officers, and crew are deserving of the highest praise upon the completion of a second most aggressive, smartly conducted, and outstandingly successful patrol, and for extensive damage to the enemy in confined waters close to a hostile shoreline.

A. H. Small

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edward Beach was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1939. He saw duty aboard three submarines during World War II, and from 1953 to 1957 he served as Naval Aide to President Eisenhower. In 1960 he commanded the nuclear-powered USS
Triton
in her underwater circumnavigation of the earth, and from this voyage came his book
Around the World Submerged
. Prior to that he wrote two books,
Submarine!
and the novel
Run Silent, Run Deep
, the latter a best-seller and major book-club selection that was made into a popular motion picture. He retired from active service in the Navy in 1966 and is currently employed by the United States Senate.

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