Days of Torpedoes and Thunder

When USS Narwhal SS-167 slipped away on her fourth war patrol, the crew didn’t expect the weeks ahead to feel so long, cold, and cloaked in mist. They were headed for Midway first, a routine leg with training dives and gunnery drills to keep everyone sharp. By July 13, they made it to Midway Lagoon, tied up next to the tender Fulton, and took on over 29,000 gallons of fuel. The crew from Squadron Eight and Fulton gave them everything they needed and more. Spirits were high. Repairs were done quickly. At 1641 local time, they steamed out again, escorted by a friendly bird overhead.

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Paramushiro to Portland: The Story of Captain Robert F. Sellars, USN

 

On July 29, 1946, Portland’s Sunday Oregonian ran a proud headline: “Portland Submarine Officer Home from Pacific”. The article spotlighted Commander Robert F. Sellars, fresh from his command of USS Blackfish, returning to Oregon on a brief leave. He had completed four Pacific patrols after earlier duty in the Aleutians and the Atlantic. The piece offered readers a clean, clipped summary of Sellars’ wartime service. What it could not capture was the depth of experience behind his quiet return.

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Getting Tight

At a quiet submarine base in the Pacific in July 1945, the war still raged, but the mood had shifted. The end was near, and with it came time for reflection. Two veteran submariners sat nursing beers, their bodies young but their eyes older than they had any right to be. One of them was Chief Machinist Ray E. Cain, better known throughout the Silent Service as “Stinky.” His grin told half the story. His words, printed in the Winchester Sun that summer, told the rest.

“We’re not an ice cream navy,” he said, raising his glass. “We want a drink when we can get it.”

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