War beneath the waves

de Don Keith

In November 1943, a young officer named Charlie Rush drew duty on the USS Billfish, a submarine in the Pacific. While the Billfish was on war patrol in the Makassar Strait off Borneo, a Japanese task force spotted the sub and launched such a vicious depth-charge attack that no vessel could possibly survive. Rush, as diving officer, ordered the ship to dive, despite the confusion and hesitation of his captain. As he oversaw damage control, thundering depth-charge explosions racked the submarine during fifteen hours of hell under the sea. When he was finally able to seek out the captain, Rush found no one at the helm. The skipper and two senior officers were all incapacitated -- either from fear or lack of breathable air. Billfish was dead in the water. Boldly assuming command of the submarine -- and summarily relieving his commanding officer -- Rush led key members of the crew in an impossible effort to keep their boat intact as they tried to escape. Through his extraordinary heroism and coolheaded judgment, the young officer saved the crew of the Billfish from certain death. - Jacket flap.