The base commander’s voice carried over the assembled crew on the warm August day. “Torpedoman’s Mate First Class James H. Howard.” He stepped forward, eyes straight ahead, as the medal was pinned to his dress blues. The citation spoke of meritorious service on war patrols. The words were official, clipped, and neat, but they could never match the reality of the months spent in the torpedo room of a fighting boat. He had already been to sea before the war, qualifying on USS Pollack in 1938, but the first three patrols aboard USS Halibut had been his real test.