The Silent Service held a special fascination for many, and Hollywood was not remiss during the 1940’s and 50’s in portraying American submarines in death-defying missions against the Japanese in the Pacific. Two hundred and fifty U.S. Navy submarines went on at least one patrol during World War II. Fifty-two never returned. Their epitaph: “Overdue, presumed lost.” More than 3,500 submariners lost their lives, a fifth of all who went on patrol. Their rules of engagement were simple: “Find ’em. Chase ’em. Sink ’em.” And the submariners did just that, sending more than 1,100 Japanese merchant ships and 214 Japanese naval vessels to the bottom.

The submariner who sank the most Japanese ships was Richard “Dick” O’Kane. He performed best under the greatest pressure in the most dangerous circumstances. Before he went into action, he was described by a fellow officer as talkative and boastful and something of a loose cannon. The same officer said that, once a battle commenced, O’Kane

was calm, terse and utterly cool. My opinion of him underwent a permanent change. It was the most dramatic example I was ever to see of a man transformed under pressure from what seemed almost adolescent petulance to a prime fighting machine.

The prime fighting machine, first as the executive officer of Wahoo and then as the commander of Tang, sank 31 Japanese ships. Once, while on the surface and surrounded by Japanese ships, O’Kane sent Tang headlong into a Japanese destroyer that was racing directly at her. O’Kane miraculously put his last torpedo into the bow of the enemy ship, and down she went, allowing Tang to escape. If sinking the most Japanese ships and a surface duel with a Japanese destroyer were not enough, O’Kane also set the record for rescuing downed American pilots. During April 1944, he guided Tang dangerously close to reefs at Truk to rescue pilots by the ones, twos, and threes until he had 22 smiling aviators aboard his sub.

Although the Japanese had many chances to sink the daredevil O’Kane, they never succeeded. O’Kane sank himself. In October 1944, after sinking five Japanese ships in a series of spectacular encounters in the narrow waters of the Formosa Strait, O’Kane was gunning for a sixth Japanese ship when one of Tang’s own torpedoes malfunctioned, turned about, and hit the sub. The explosion rocked the [...]]]> Now that the youngest of our World War II veterans, with but a few exceptions, are in their 80’s, I fear that, as they die, memory of them will die also. While teaching history in college for more than 30 years—15 of those at UCLA, where a single class could have more than 400 students—I was the target of book representatives from a dozen or more publishers. Nearly every year, I was presented with sample copies of new U.S. history textbooks. Each new textbook devoted more space to obscure figures of modest significance who were black or American Indian or female. I searched the same books in vain for mention of the most prominent of our World War II heroes. Where was the most decorated American, Audie Murphy? The hero of the Battle of Midway, Wade McClusky? The first recipient of the Medal of Honor, Butch O’Hare? The top ace, Dick Bong? The top naval ace, Dave McCampbell? The top Marine ace, Pappy Boyington? The commander of the 101st Airborne who replied “Nuts” to the Germans and held fast at Bastogne, Anthony McAuliffe? Or the submarine ace of aces, Dick O’Kane? Nowhere to be found. These were the heroes I learned about as a child. They were written about in books, depicted in movies, and, most importantly, were the topic of conversations in the homes and neighborhoods of America.

The Silent Service held a special fascination for many, and Hollywood was not remiss during the 1940’s and 50’s in portraying American submarines in death-defying missions against the Japanese in the Pacific. Two hundred and fifty U.S. Navy submarines went on at least one patrol during World War II. Fifty-two never returned. Their epitaph: “Overdue, presumed lost.” More than 3,500 submariners lost their lives, a fifth of all who went on patrol. Their rules of engagement were simple: “Find ’em. Chase ’em. Sink ’em.” And the submariners did just that, sending more than 1,100 Japanese merchant ships and 214 Japanese naval vessels to the bottom.

The submariner who sank the most Japanese ships was Richard “Dick” O’Kane. He performed best under the greatest pressure in the most dangerous circumstances. Before he went into action, he was described by a fellow officer as talkative and boastful and something of a loose cannon. The same officer said that, once a battle commenced, O’Kane

was calm, terse and utterly cool. My opinion of him underwent a permanent change. It was the most dramatic example I was ever to see of a man transformed under pressure from what seemed almost adolescent petulance to a prime fighting machine.

The prime fighting machine, first as the executive officer of Wahoo and then as the commander of Tang, sank 31 Japanese ships. Once, while on the surface and surrounded by Japanese ships, O’Kane sent Tang headlong into a Japanese destroyer that was racing directly at her. O’Kane miraculously put his last torpedo into the bow of the enemy ship, and down she went, allowing Tang to escape. If sinking the most Japanese ships and a surface duel with a Japanese destroyer were not enough, O’Kane also set the record for rescuing downed American pilots. During April 1944, he guided Tang dangerously close to reefs at Truk to rescue pilots by the ones, twos, and threes until he had 22 smiling aviators aboard his sub.

Although the Japanese had many chances to sink the daredevil O’Kane, they never succeeded. O’Kane sank himself. In October 1944, after sinking five Japanese ships in a series of spectacular encounters in the narrow waters of the Formosa Strait, O’Kane was gunning for a sixth Japanese ship when one of Tang’s own torpedoes malfunctioned, turned about, and hit the sub. The explosion rocked the boat from stem to stern. O’Kane and eight others on the bridge were hurled into the sea. Hanging on to debris, they watched as Tang’s stern suddenly sank, pulling the rest of the sub to the bottom, 180 feet below.

About two-dozen sailors remained alive inside Tang, her stern resting on the ocean floor and her sleek hull pointed toward the surface at a steep angle. An officer alone in the conning tower took a deep breath, opened a hatch, and made a free ascent to the surface. A dozen others, some with the Momsen lung, were able to get out of the sub also. Eight made it to the surface alive. Only five survived to be captured by the Japanese. The officer in the conning tower and the others were the only American sailors in the entire war to escape from a sunken submarine.

Meanwhile, O’Kane and the eight men with him swam, treaded water, and clung to wreckage. By the next morning, only O’Kane and four others remained alive. Picked up by a Japanese destroyer, they were beaten and interrogated. Taken first to Formosa, they were eventually confined in a prison camp near Tokyo. The Japanese failed to notify the Red Cross, as required by conventions, of their capture. O’Kane and the others would remain missing in action for the duration of the war. The Japanese tortured and interrogated O’Kane almost daily. He was near death when liberated, weighing only 88 pounds and wracked with scurvy and beriberi. He slowly recovered from the inhuman ordeal and testified at the Tokyo war-crimes trials. His gallantry during the war earned him the Medal of Honor, three Navy Crosses, three Silver Stars, and, for wounds sustained, the Purple Heart. The Annapolis graduate remained in the Navy until 1957, serving for two years as the CO of the Submarine School and retiring as a rear admiral.

Jack Kennedy, the commander of a PT boat who also served as President of the United States, said, “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” Yet, America’s most decorated sailor of World War II who put nearly a quarter-million tons of Japanese shipping on the bottom, hastening the end of the war and saving countless Marine lives on Pacific islands, is left unmentioned in today’s textbooks.

Roger D. McGrath is the author of Gunfighters, Highwaymen, and Vigilantes.

This article first appeared in the October 2007 issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.

Unknown to many today, whites dominated the sprints and accounted for nearly all of the world records until the 1960’s. During all those years of white-sprinting prowess, blacks were competing also, even winning American championships and gold medals in the Olympics. It was not as if blacks were prohibited from competing. Nearly everyone knows that Jesse Owens captured the 100 and 200 at Berlin in 1936, and Owens was only one of many black sprinters America produced. But America also produced white sprinters. So, too, did the nations of Europe. Whites scorched the tracks of both hemispheres. There was even an Australian, Hec Hogan, who tied the world record in the 100-yard dash in 1954 and put the Southern Hemisphere on the sprinting map. If blacks had once dominated a sport and had since nearly disappeared, every black child in America would be made aware of that fact in school, and there would be a heavily funded national effort to bring blacks back to predominance.

Jeremy Wariner stands out today, not only because he won the 400 meters at the tender age of 19 in the 2004 Olympics, but because he is white. Since then, he has been unbeatable in the 400 and is poised to break the world record. After Wariner destroyed a stellar field in the 400 at a meet in Southern California in May, a black coach said that the sport needed more like him. When questioned further, the coach said, “More white sprinters would really help track.”

When I was growing up, I never saw a track meet without fast white sprinters—and California had the finest track meets in the world: The Coliseum Relays, the Modesto Relays, the Compton Relays, and the West Coast Relays were legendary. For nearly a half-century, the world record in the 100-yard dash was owned by Southern Californians: Charley Paddock, Frank Wykoff, and Mel Patton. Pad­dock ran a 9.5 (seconds) in the early 1920’s; Wykoff, a 9.4 in 1930; and Patton, a 9.3 in 1948. Patton’s record stood until 1962. Patton and the others ran on dirt tracks and without the aid of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. I suspect they would have run at least two-tenths faster on the springy, rubberized-asphalt tracks of today.
“Pell-Mel” Patton led the University High Warriors to the Los Angeles city prep-track championship in 1943. After World War II, he attended Southern Cal (or simply SC—nobody called the school USC in those days). As a Trojan, the splendid sprinter—six-feet tall and 150 pounds—was smoking tracks and opponents in dash after dash. He tied Frank Wykoff’s record of 9.4 twice in 1947 and won the NCAA championship, then broke the 100 record with a 9.3 in 1948 and won both sprints in the NCAA championship.

In 1948, he was the favorite for the Olympic dashes in London, but on a cold, blustery, wet day, the half-frozen Patton, who appeared to have minus body fat, tied up badly in the 100. The World’s Fastest Human finished a shocking fifth. Devastated, he stood in front of his blocks for the 200 final two days later thinking that he would be lucky to place. More than 100,000 Wembley Stadium spectators were [...]]]> For several years now, professional baseball has been pouring millions of dollars into developing black players. Evidently, the number of black players, at least American blacks, has been in decline. NASCAR is funding programs to develop black drivers after fielding complaints that the sport is too white. Similarly, the NHL now has a “Diversity Program” designed to put more blacks on the ice. I can only imagine the outcry if the 75-percent-black NBA funded development programs for white players. Since I ran the 100 and 220, though, I’m rooting for the “White Sprinter Project.”

Unknown to many today, whites dominated the sprints and accounted for nearly all of the world records until the 1960’s. During all those years of white-sprinting prowess, blacks were competing also, even winning American championships and gold medals in the Olympics. It was not as if blacks were prohibited from competing. Nearly everyone knows that Jesse Owens captured the 100 and 200 at Berlin in 1936, and Owens was only one of many black sprinters America produced. But America also produced white sprinters. So, too, did the nations of Europe. Whites scorched the tracks of both hemispheres. There was even an Australian, Hec Hogan, who tied the world record in the 100-yard dash in 1954 and put the Southern Hemisphere on the sprinting map. If blacks had once dominated a sport and had since nearly disappeared, every black child in America would be made aware of that fact in school, and there would be a heavily funded national effort to bring blacks back to predominance.

Jeremy Wariner stands out today, not only because he won the 400 meters at the tender age of 19 in the 2004 Olympics, but because he is white. Since then, he has been unbeatable in the 400 and is poised to break the world record. After Wariner destroyed a stellar field in the 400 at a meet in Southern California in May, a black coach said that the sport needed more like him. When questioned further, the coach said, “More white sprinters would really help track.”

When I was growing up, I never saw a track meet without fast white sprinters—and California had the finest track meets in the world: The Coliseum Relays, the Modesto Relays, the Compton Relays, and the West Coast Relays were legendary. For nearly a half-century, the world record in the 100-yard dash was owned by Southern Californians: Charley Paddock, Frank Wykoff, and Mel Patton. Pad­dock ran a 9.5 (seconds) in the early 1920’s; Wykoff, a 9.4 in 1930; and Patton, a 9.3 in 1948. Patton’s record stood until 1962. Patton and the others ran on dirt tracks and without the aid of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. I suspect they would have run at least two-tenths faster on the springy, rubberized-asphalt tracks of today.
“Pell-Mel” Patton led the University High Warriors to the Los Angeles city prep-track championship in 1943. After World War II, he attended Southern Cal (or simply SC—nobody called the school USC in those days). As a Trojan, the splendid sprinter—six-feet tall and 150 pounds—was smoking tracks and opponents in dash after dash. He tied Frank Wykoff’s record of 9.4 twice in 1947 and won the NCAA championship, then broke the 100 record with a 9.3 in 1948 and won both sprints in the NCAA championship.

In 1948, he was the favorite for the Olympic dashes in London, but on a cold, blustery, wet day, the half-frozen Patton, who appeared to have minus body fat, tied up badly in the 100. The World’s Fastest Human finished a shocking fifth. Devastated, he stood in front of his blocks for the 200 final two days later thinking that he would be lucky to place. More than 100,000 Wembley Stadium spectators were silent as the runners took their marks. Suddenly, someone in the crowd yelled, “Go Uni! Uni High Warriors!” Patton felt a rush of adrenaline course through his body like never before. At the report of the starter’s pistol, he exploded from the blocks and led from start to finish. He later anchored the U.S. 4x100 relay team to victory.

As a senior at SC in 1949, Patton ran a mind-boggling 9.0—some watches read 8.9—but a tailwind was fractionally above the limit. Most observers, including my older brother, who was then running the sprints as a sophomore at Uni, thought the wind was of only small advantage. Patton later broke the world record in the 220 with a blazing 20.2. He finished his collegiate career by wining both dashes at the NCAA championship and anchoring the SC 4x220 relay team to a world record.

White-sprinting dominance continued throughout the 50’s. Larry Remigino won the 100 in the 1952 Olympics, and Dave Sime and Bobby Morrow ruled the rest of the decade. After breaking Patton’s record in the 220 with a 20.0 and twice tying Patton’s 9.3 in the 100, Sime, a Duke sophomore, was expected to star in the 1956 Olympics. An injury put him on the sideline, though, and, at Melbourne, Abilene Christian sophomore Bobby Morrow won both dashes and anchored the U.S. 4x100 relay team to victory and a world record. By the time Morrow finished running, he had won 80 of 88 races, tied world records in both sprints, and anchored two world-record relays.
Recovered from injury, Dave Sime ran a 9.3 again in 1957. He graduated from Duke a year later, leaving behind nine school records—two still stand—and entered medical school. Despite little time for training, he made the Olympic team in 1960 in the 100. At Rome, a terrible start left him dead last, but he closed dramatically and hit the tape in a photo finish with Armin Hary of Germany. Hary got the nod, but both runners broke the Olympic record. With Peter Radford of Britain finishing third, white sprinters had swept the 100 again as they had at Melbourne when American Thane Baker and Aussie Hec Hogan followed Bobby Morrow to the finish line.

World records. Olympic sweeps. The World’s Fastest Human. Where is the White Sprinter Project?

Roger D. McGrath is the author of Gunfighters, Highwaymen, and Vigilantes.

This article first appeared in the August 2007 issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.

The Japanese have taken a different tack. They have sanitized their history, especially their actions during World War II, and only in response to pressure from the outside world have they acknowledged any wrongdoing at all. Even then, their grudging admissions are euphemistically phrased and conspicuous for what they do not include. Most recently, the ugly topic of sex slaves used by Hirohito’s army during World War II has caused the Japanese to squirm, omit, equivocate, euphemize, and deny.

The Japanese kidnapped more than 200,000 girls (some researchers argue the number is as high as 300,000), mostly from Korea and China but also from countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, and transported them to “comfort stations” to service Japanese troops. Many of the girls were as young as 11 or 12, and few had reached 18, yet the Japanese, to this day, call them “comfort women.” Moreover, the Japanese claimed that the girls were not kidnapped but willingly participated as professional prostitutes. In 1993, after several international protests, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono issued a qualified apology, still calling the sex slaves “comfort women” and the military brothels “comfort stations.” No government program of compensation to the few remaining survivors accompanied the apology.

In March 2007, some 120 members of Japan’s parliament demanded that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rescind the apology, arguing that Japan was engaging in a “masochistic view of history” to please foreigners. Nariaki Nakayama, chairman of the group of parliamentarians making the demand, claimed,

Some say it is useful to compare the brothels to college cafeterias run by private companies, who recruit their own staff, procure foodstuffs, and set prices. Where there’s demand, businesses crop up . . . but to say women were forced by the Japanese military into service is off the mark. This issue must be reconsidered, based on truth . . . for the sake of Japanese honor.

Deputy Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said, “I believe some parents may have sold their daughters. But it does not mean the Japanese army was involved.” Before he became prime minister, Abe said the same things. Now, in an attempt to improve relations with China and South Korea, Abe says the apology will stand, but, “The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion.” Proof of coercion, Abe insists, is “complete fabrication.”

There is a kernel of truth in what Abe and the others say. Some parents did sell their daughters into slavery, and, initially, many of the comfort women were Japanese prostitutes who received bonuses for working overseas servicing Japanese troops. Nonetheless, the prostitutes could meet only a fraction of the demand, and the Japanese government thought that they were tarnishing the image of the Japanese as the Oriental super race. By the early 1940’s, Japanese prostitutes had been mostly replaced by kidnapped girls from conquered territory. Documents found during 1992 in the archives of the Japanese Defense Ministry provide proof that the Japanese military was responsible for the program.

Then, too, there is the testimony of hundreds of surviving comfort women. Lee Yong-soo, 78, says she was 14 when Japanese soldiers dragged her from her home in Korea and forced her into sexual slavery in Formosa. “The Japanese government must not run from its responsibilities,” she insists. “I want them to apologize, to admit that they took me away when I was a little girl to be a sex slave, to admit that history.” Lee is typical of the survivors.

Not typical is Jan Ruff-O’Hearn, now an Australian from Adelaide, who, in testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives, called the procurement and [...]]]> By the 1950’s, professors at our universities were teaching American history, “warts and all.” By the late 60’s, it was mostly warts. Now, it is all warts, all the time.

The Japanese have taken a different tack. They have sanitized their history, especially their actions during World War II, and only in response to pressure from the outside world have they acknowledged any wrongdoing at all. Even then, their grudging admissions are euphemistically phrased and conspicuous for what they do not include. Most recently, the ugly topic of sex slaves used by Hirohito’s army during World War II has caused the Japanese to squirm, omit, equivocate, euphemize, and deny.

The Japanese kidnapped more than 200,000 girls (some researchers argue the number is as high as 300,000), mostly from Korea and China but also from countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, and transported them to “comfort stations” to service Japanese troops. Many of the girls were as young as 11 or 12, and few had reached 18, yet the Japanese, to this day, call them “comfort women.” Moreover, the Japanese claimed that the girls were not kidnapped but willingly participated as professional prostitutes. In 1993, after several international protests, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono issued a qualified apology, still calling the sex slaves “comfort women” and the military brothels “comfort stations.” No government program of compensation to the few remaining survivors accompanied the apology.

In March 2007, some 120 members of Japan’s parliament demanded that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rescind the apology, arguing that Japan was engaging in a “masochistic view of history” to please foreigners. Nariaki Nakayama, chairman of the group of parliamentarians making the demand, claimed,

Some say it is useful to compare the brothels to college cafeterias run by private companies, who recruit their own staff, procure foodstuffs, and set prices. Where there’s demand, businesses crop up . . . but to say women were forced by the Japanese military into service is off the mark. This issue must be reconsidered, based on truth . . . for the sake of Japanese honor.

Deputy Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said, “I believe some parents may have sold their daughters. But it does not mean the Japanese army was involved.” Before he became prime minister, Abe said the same things. Now, in an attempt to improve relations with China and South Korea, Abe says the apology will stand, but, “The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion.” Proof of coercion, Abe insists, is “complete fabrication.”

There is a kernel of truth in what Abe and the others say. Some parents did sell their daughters into slavery, and, initially, many of the comfort women were Japanese prostitutes who received bonuses for working overseas servicing Japanese troops. Nonetheless, the prostitutes could meet only a fraction of the demand, and the Japanese government thought that they were tarnishing the image of the Japanese as the Oriental super race. By the early 1940’s, Japanese prostitutes had been mostly replaced by kidnapped girls from conquered territory. Documents found during 1992 in the archives of the Japanese Defense Ministry provide proof that the Japanese military was responsible for the program.

Then, too, there is the testimony of hundreds of surviving comfort women. Lee Yong-soo, 78, says she was 14 when Japanese soldiers dragged her from her home in Korea and forced her into sexual slavery in Formosa. “The Japanese government must not run from its responsibilities,” she insists. “I want them to apologize, to admit that they took me away when I was a little girl to be a sex slave, to admit that history.” Lee is typical of the survivors.

Not typical is Jan Ruff-O’Hearn, now an Australian from Adelaide, who, in testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives, called the procurement and use of “comfort women” “the most shameful story of the worst human rights abuse committed by the Japanese during World War II . . . ” She also revealed that “In the so-called ‘Comfort Station’ I was systematically beaten and raped day and night. Even the Japanese doctor raped me each time he visited the brothel to examine us for venereal disease.”

There is also testimony from Japanese soldiers. Yasuji Kaneko, 87, an in­fantry­man in China during World War II and now living in Tokyo, recalls, “The women cried out, but it didn’t matter to us whether the women lived or died. We were the Emperor’s soldiers. Whether in military brothels or in the villages, we raped without reluctance.” Other soldiers have admitted that, under orders, they kidnapped girls for the brothels.

Some sex slaves served in traveling brothels—boxcars on trains stopping intermittently to the delight of Japanese troops. Not infrequently, the girls serviced up to a hundred soldiers during a 48-hour stopover. One such stretch of rail line was made famous by The Bridge on the River Kwai. While 60,000 British, Dutch, and Australian POWs—and some 700 Americans—worked to built roadbed and trestles and lay ties and track from Thailand into Burma, sex slaves were often worked to death by the Japanese soldiers guarding the Allied POWs. The POWs did not prosper, either. More than 12,000 of them died.

Perhaps most disturbing about the latest controversy is the endorsement of Prime Minister Abe’s remarks by the Japanese media and by the general populace. His approval ratings plunged during March—not because he denied sex slavery, but because he refused to rescind Japan’s 1993 apology.

If you want to find a truly “masochistic view of history,” don’t seek it in Japan—try American universities.

Roger D. McGrath is the author of Gunfighters, Highwaymen, and Vigilantes.

This article first appeared in the June 2007 issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.