The story of a legendary submarine and her courageous crew
“Today we have devalued terms like ‘hero’ and ‘courage,’ applying them loosely to athletes with multi-million dollar contracts and movie stars whose feats are no more than celluloid fantastic. The destroyer we launch today [celebrates] a genuine hero from an age when heroism truly meant something.” Congressmen Tom Allen honoring Captain O’Kane at the dedication of a ship in his honor.
I just complete listening/reading to this book that chronicles the extraordinary WWII heroism of the crew of the USS Tang, the deadliest submarine operating in the Pacific. It is the story of their accomplishments, of the sinking of their sub, of the escape of some them from 180 feet below the surface, and their survival of torture in a Japanese concentration camp (I confess I skipped the section covering their time in the concentration camp).
The book left me with a greater understanding of the price paid by many for the freedom we have and therefore a greater appreciation of it. The book challenges me to live a life that honors their sacrifice, using the freedom they paid for to live well. I hope I will complain less as well, as my trials here are small compared to what they enduring with honor.
I wonder why this tale has this never been made into a movie?
In contrast, last night Cathy and I watched the movie “The A-Team”, a fictional story of a group of four Special Forces type-men who do special assignments to protect U.S. interests. While amusing, it is also predictable. The men come out of impossible situation after situation without significant injury and succeed in their impossible mission. There is little suspense as you know the end, except for some of the particulars, in this case, who is the bag guy(s). While amused, that was the extent of the gain for the watching.
Real life is another thing. Not a fun read but there is gain as mentioned above. The book did not win a Pulitzer Prize but it is written well enough and a compelling story.
Recommended to check out the library for a real or listen.
Reviews From Amazon
From Publishers Weekly – Popular historian Kershaw (The Bedford Boys) chronicles the extraordinary WWII heroism of the crew of the USS Tang, the deadliest submarine operating in the Pacific, in this spellbinding saga. The Tang’s captain, Cmdr. Richard O’Kane, was a celebrated maverick whose contempt for the enemy was absolute. He was offered the opportunity to operate alone in the dangerous Formosa Strait, and the boat’s crew sank 13 ships on one of the most destructive patrols of the war. But the last torpedo malfunctioned and boomeranged on the Tang, killing half the crew instantly and sinking the sub. The explosion threw O’Kane and several others into the ocean, but most of the rest were trapped below; only nine of 87 survived. They were picked up by a Japanese patrol boat and taken to a POW camp, tortured and starved. O’Kane, who earned the Medal of Honor, weighed only 88 pounds when liberated. Relying on interviews with survivors and oral histories, and writing with his customary verve, Kershaw delivers another memorable tale of uncommon courage.
Kershaw strikes again! True heroic human story. There is an old adage that states: ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’. Sage advice for author/historian Alex Kershaw who has again turned out another ‘page-turner’ with his recent DaCapo Press release, “Escape From the Deep: The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew”. While a great many artists struggle to find their muse Kershaw has certainly found his. One could even say that Kershaw’s books have a certain ‘formula’. For instance, compare his previous Longest Winter and his current book “Escape From the Deep”: First, both books have at their heart a story about a small group of soldiers who achieved something remarkable in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Second, units at the heart of both books received considerable after action accolade in terms of individual and unit citations (although in the former case this took many years). Lastly, the overall story in both books can be broken roughly into three parts: 1) combat action; 2) captivity; and 3) after war life. In these, as well as Kershaw’s other books (e.g., The Bedford Boys and The Few), what makes these works popular and enjoyable reads is the human story that Kershaw so expertly captures.
“Escape From the Deep” is a book that anyone can read quickly because the reader will not want to put it down. The basic story revolves around the USS Tang, one of the most celebrated submarines to operate in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, and her crew. During her fifth and final combat tour the Tang sank a large tonnage of Japanese shipping (>100,000 tons) in just 14 days (10 Oct-24 Oct 1944) before she was sunk in the Formosa Strait by one of her own torpedoes, an errant final shot of her illustrious career. What makes her story compelling is not simply what she accomplished in battle, but how nine of her crew managed to escape the near certain death of downed submariners, their capture and ultimate survival in captivity on the notorious POW camp, the ‘Torture Farm’. As he has done in his previous books, but even more so here, Kershaw presents the coldness and brutality of mechanized warfare while capturing the humanity that is essential to appreciate the impact the Second World War had on shaping our modern world. Kershaw is a master of conveying the human element of war; few authors come close to his abilities to engage the reader to empathize with the combatants. Readers will not only get to know each of the nine men (and a few of the unfortunates who did not survive the war) central to the story, but feel personally connected to each. “Escape From the Deep” is an engaging story that anyone with even a passing interest in WWII will enjoy. Five stars!!