The calm of a Sunday morning in paradise was shattered as Japanese planes descended upon Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Amid the cacophony of explosions, the blazing infernos consuming the battleships of Battleship Row, and the relentless hum of enemy aircraft, a less visible part of the U.S. Navy’s strength lay quietly along the southeastern edge of the harbor. There, the submarines USS Tautog (SS-199), USS Dolphin (SS-169), USS Cuttlefish (SS-171), USS Narwhal (SS-167), and USS Cachalot (SS-170) waited, unprepared for battle but braced for survival. Their actions that day and their escape from destruction would later underscore their importance to a Navy facing a long war in the Pacific. Continue reading “The Pearl Harbor Five” →