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Fatal Dive
No radio distress call ever crackled from the submarine USS Grunion . In 1942, under the fog of World War II, the vessel simply vanished without a trace. For nearly sixty-five years, only a dead silence lingered regarding the fate of the sub and its seventy-man crew-until now. Here author Peter F. Stevens reveals the incredible true story of the search for and discovery of the Grunion -as well as the navy's shocking and willful cover-up of the submarine's baffling disappearance. The Grunion was discovered in 2006 after a decades-long search by the Abele brothers, whose father commanded the submarine and met his untimely death aboard it, but one question what sank the USS Grunion ? Now, for the first time ever, Fatal Dive reveals the one of the Grunion 's own missiles. The navy knowingly sent the Grunion out with faulty torpedoes, and Fatal Dive reveals damning and never-before-published government documents that provide irrefutable evidence of its shameful cover-up. Intriguing and explosive, Fatal Dive finally lays to rest one of World War II's greatest mysteries.
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First published July 7, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
July 27, 2012
Three stories in one: A biography, a mystery and an adventure
Published in 2012 by Regnery History
The USS Grunion was a top of the line submarine for the U.S. Navy in 1942. Literally, the fastest submarine in the fleet and outfitted with the latest in torpedo technology (magnet activated designed to go off near ships) and led by the highly-respected Lieutenant Commander Jim Abele, the USS Grunion was sent to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to harass Japanese supply ships (for those who did not know, Japanese forces held parts of the Aleutian Islands for a little more than in a year from 1942 to 1943).
The USS Grunion performed well, sinking two Japanese submarines and damaging a freighter despite problems with the torpedoes. What the crew of the USS Grunion did not know was that these advanced torpedoes did not work like they were supposed to. They did not track well towards their targets (although the magnetic trigger, called a magnetic pistol, was supposed to go off if it got near a ship, they often did not) and some of the torpedoes simply bounced off their targets when they hit (the freighter it attacked was damaged by two torpedoes that simply slammed into the hull with no explosions). In my mind, the fact that the USS Grunion did so well with an inferior torpedo is a testament to the ship and its crew.
But, the worst feature of these torpedoes was that some of them would miss their targets and go around in a broad circle back to the submarine that fired them, like a boomerang. It is one thing to use weapons that may misfire or miss. It is another to use weapons that have a tendency to miss and then circle back on the submarine that fired them!
No one is quite sure how the USS Grunion was sunk, but it went down while in a fight with a Japanese freighter. The U.S. Navy has been silent about possible causes, but it seems likely that...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/...
Published in 2012 by Regnery History
The USS Grunion was a top of the line submarine for the U.S. Navy in 1942. Literally, the fastest submarine in the fleet and outfitted with the latest in torpedo technology (magnet activated designed to go off near ships) and led by the highly-respected Lieutenant Commander Jim Abele, the USS Grunion was sent to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to harass Japanese supply ships (for those who did not know, Japanese forces held parts of the Aleutian Islands for a little more than in a year from 1942 to 1943).
The USS Grunion performed well, sinking two Japanese submarines and damaging a freighter despite problems with the torpedoes. What the crew of the USS Grunion did not know was that these advanced torpedoes did not work like they were supposed to. They did not track well towards their targets (although the magnetic trigger, called a magnetic pistol, was supposed to go off if it got near a ship, they often did not) and some of the torpedoes simply bounced off their targets when they hit (the freighter it attacked was damaged by two torpedoes that simply slammed into the hull with no explosions). In my mind, the fact that the USS Grunion did so well with an inferior torpedo is a testament to the ship and its crew.
But, the worst feature of these torpedoes was that some of them would miss their targets and go around in a broad circle back to the submarine that fired them, like a boomerang. It is one thing to use weapons that may misfire or miss. It is another to use weapons that have a tendency to miss and then circle back on the submarine that fired them!
No one is quite sure how the USS Grunion was sunk, but it went down while in a fight with a Japanese freighter. The U.S. Navy has been silent about possible causes, but it seems likely that...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/...
October 31, 2012
Fatal Dive is the astonishing, true life recounting of triumph over incredibly long odds. In late July 1942, the submarine U.S.S. Grunion (SS-216) was engaged in action against enemy ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the perilous waters near the extreme western Aleutian Island of Kiska in the Bering Sea. Kay Abele’s husband Jim was the Grunion’s Commanding Officer. His loss left her with three small sons – Brad, Bruce, and John – to raise by herself. Not long after she receives official notification that her husband’s ship was missing and presumed lost, Kay Abele began a life-long quest, with essentially no help from the Navy, to find out what happened. She initiated communication with each of the families of the other 69 members of the Jim Abele’s crew and continued that correspondence in answering and carefully cataloging every letter she received though the remaining of her life. This was the beginning of The Grunion Family.
When they reach adulthood, the three Abele boys not only continue the hunt to find out what happened to the Grunion, they begin an amazing quest to locate their father’s lost submarine. John Abele has achieved a very high level of success in his career and is in a position to finance the extremely expensive venture of assembling the crucial components: a vessel capable of operating under the exceedingly perilous conditions of the western Aleutian Islands, the exceptionally expensive sonar and ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) to first locate and then film the sub if it is located, and a highly experienced crew. A significant measure of good luck begins with paring their initial task of searching between 20 and 200 square miles of dangerous ocean down to a much more manageable 4 square miles, when they receive from a Japanese military historian a translation to the first-hand account by the commanding officer of the Japanese ship with whom the Grunion was engaged in battle. Their luck continues with acceptable weather conditions for the most part during the exceeding short weather window they have in part of the world. Other factors work in their favor to bring about triumph in this astonishing story.
An equally daunting pursuit parallel to Jim’s boys seeking to locate his ship was undertaken by three remarkable members of The Grunion Family, who were later dubbed the “Sub Ladies” – Mary Bentz, Rhonda Raye, and Vickie Rodgers – to locate the survivors of all 69 members of Jim Abele’s lost crew. These tenacious “Sub Ladies” used every means they could think – marriage and probate records, Social Security death files, newspaper obituaries, genealogical trees, telephone books, newspaper and radio ads – to successfully accomplish their extremely difficult goal.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fatal Dive and most highly recommend it to all readers.
[Book 80 of revised 2012 target 80
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9;
Sep-6; Oct-5)]
When they reach adulthood, the three Abele boys not only continue the hunt to find out what happened to the Grunion, they begin an amazing quest to locate their father’s lost submarine. John Abele has achieved a very high level of success in his career and is in a position to finance the extremely expensive venture of assembling the crucial components: a vessel capable of operating under the exceedingly perilous conditions of the western Aleutian Islands, the exceptionally expensive sonar and ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) to first locate and then film the sub if it is located, and a highly experienced crew. A significant measure of good luck begins with paring their initial task of searching between 20 and 200 square miles of dangerous ocean down to a much more manageable 4 square miles, when they receive from a Japanese military historian a translation to the first-hand account by the commanding officer of the Japanese ship with whom the Grunion was engaged in battle. Their luck continues with acceptable weather conditions for the most part during the exceeding short weather window they have in part of the world. Other factors work in their favor to bring about triumph in this astonishing story.
An equally daunting pursuit parallel to Jim’s boys seeking to locate his ship was undertaken by three remarkable members of The Grunion Family, who were later dubbed the “Sub Ladies” – Mary Bentz, Rhonda Raye, and Vickie Rodgers – to locate the survivors of all 69 members of Jim Abele’s lost crew. These tenacious “Sub Ladies” used every means they could think – marriage and probate records, Social Security death files, newspaper obituaries, genealogical trees, telephone books, newspaper and radio ads – to successfully accomplish their extremely difficult goal.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fatal Dive and most highly recommend it to all readers.
[Book 80 of revised 2012 target 80
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9;
Sep-6; Oct-5)]
May 9, 2018
Overall, the book made an effort to explain exactly what happened to cause the loss of USS Grunion. In addition the author described the valiant and costly effort organized by the sons of Grunion's skipper to locate the boat and memorialize the crew. It is certainly a touching story. The young captain and crew, many in their teens and early twenties, lost very early in WWII with little information provided by the Navy regarding the incident. The story also describes the work of the skipper's wife to establish contact with the families of the officers and crew and maintain that contact over the years since 1942. Finally, after describing the effort to locate and film the sunken submarine the book ends with a series of short bios with photos of each and every member of the crew. Very touching.
Question: One photo of the sunken boat is of the open access hatch to the After Battery Compartment just aft of the sail. According to the story, at the time of the action the Grunion was described to be operating at periscope depth, that hatch would have been dogged down. Did they accidentally leave the hatch open?
Question: One photo of the sunken boat is of the open access hatch to the After Battery Compartment just aft of the sail. According to the story, at the time of the action the Grunion was described to be operating at periscope depth, that hatch would have been dogged down. Did they accidentally leave the hatch open?
January 25, 2013
Non-fiction version of a Clive Cussler story. Sub lost at sea during war. Heroic search through dusty archives for clues to its location. Harrowing exploration with deep sea remote sensing devices. Series of fortunate circumstances one would only expect as plot-driven contrivances. Emotional discovery and vindication for the driven explorers.
But also, prosaic storytelling drained of almost all suspense. Straightforward chronological narrative flow. Patience-straining sections of biography after biography. Repetitive re-telling of the catastrophic events.
This has the feel of a book written by a competent but uninspired writer-for-hire. (Hey, I've been one of those!) Almost like a piece of corporate PR by the millionaire brother who financed the work to lay to rest the memory of his idolized father. That's OK, but it yields an OK read, rather than a thrilling or inspiring read. It's like the sponsor handed the writer a filing cabinet and an address list and told him to make a book about it that he could publish.
But also, prosaic storytelling drained of almost all suspense. Straightforward chronological narrative flow. Patience-straining sections of biography after biography. Repetitive re-telling of the catastrophic events.
This has the feel of a book written by a competent but uninspired writer-for-hire. (Hey, I've been one of those!) Almost like a piece of corporate PR by the millionaire brother who financed the work to lay to rest the memory of his idolized father. That's OK, but it yields an OK read, rather than a thrilling or inspiring read. It's like the sponsor handed the writer a filing cabinet and an address list and told him to make a book about it that he could publish.
October 20, 2019
This book has many stories all wrapped within one. It is the story of unraveling the mystery of the USS Grunion, and what happened to this submarine in the early days of WW II. It is the story of three brothers who went in search of their father. It is also the story of all the people who came together to look for the Grunion, as well as bringing closure for the relatives of the survivors.
You can learn a lot about US history in this story, as well as achieve a renewed respect for the brave men and women from the greatest generation who took on so much with what resources were available.
You can learn a lot about US history in this story, as well as achieve a renewed respect for the brave men and women from the greatest generation who took on so much with what resources were available.
November 7, 2023
A rather unusual choice for me. It called out to me at the annual Friends of the Pendleton Library Book Sale in Oregon this past month.
I enjoyed it far more than I even expected, it was a true mystery wrapped in a family story of love and loss.
The author, Peter F. Stevens did a remarkable of research, writing and truly showing empathy and sensitivity.
Knowing the truth regarding loss and tragedy sometimes seems like too much to bear, but often the reality and knowledge bring closure and a miraculous peace. As I read the appendix that basic, raw human need was fulfilled for, me, the reader as well as the victim’s families.
I enjoyed it far more than I even expected, it was a true mystery wrapped in a family story of love and loss.
The author, Peter F. Stevens did a remarkable of research, writing and truly showing empathy and sensitivity.
Knowing the truth regarding loss and tragedy sometimes seems like too much to bear, but often the reality and knowledge bring closure and a miraculous peace. As I read the appendix that basic, raw human need was fulfilled for, me, the reader as well as the victim’s families.
February 20, 2021
A moving story about three sons who searched for their father's missing submarine near Kiska (a VERY nasty place to search for subs!) and the story of their father's service.
September 23, 2021
Audible.com 6 hours and 8 min. Narrated by Robertson Dean (A)
I listened to this book last night until I finally had to sleep for a few hours. When I woke at dawn, I resumed listening...something I have never done My husband is gone for the day and I had to hear the conclusion of the finding of the sub, what caused its loss, but especially the brief bios of the other 69 sailors who lost their lives on the Grunion. The first third of the tells about remarkable boats captain, his family and how they are are able to fund the search for the sub. This book pulled at my heart and imagination like few of the WW 2 books I have read or listened before. My dad was a native of Michigan's UP but lived with his mother's two maiden aunts who lived in Flint to attend high school and enlisted in the Marines after graduation and served in the Pacific during the war. Had he enlisted in the Navy, his could have been one of those sixty-nine. The majority of the men who found themselves on that submarine were from the landlocked states of the upper and mid-west and about half were just boys, a few needing parent's consent to join the service. And such are the flukes of war.
My dad returned to meet my mother at a USO dance in Washington, D.C., where they married, settled and started our small family including me and my younger sister. We lost dad to leukemia when I was only sixteen. Perhaps that how I can identify with loss of the mothers, fathers,and wives because I saw how dad's death affected his parents and siblings. He was the youngest of seven. My mother was devasted and like many of the Grunion widows never remarried and mourned him until her own death at age 84.
After reading some of reviews of this book, I wiil hazard a guess that the Audible narrator had a great deal to do with my appreciation for this well-researched book. I will probably spend some hours today researching the Grunion's website and Google for photos. (the downside of recorded books) BUT first my tablet needs charging, and I need a another cup of coffee.
Added after on-line research "So long as we live, they too shall live for they are now a part of us as remember them." A Hebrew prayer
I listened to this book last night until I finally had to sleep for a few hours. When I woke at dawn, I resumed listening...something I have never done My husband is gone for the day and I had to hear the conclusion of the finding of the sub, what caused its loss, but especially the brief bios of the other 69 sailors who lost their lives on the Grunion. The first third of the tells about remarkable boats captain, his family and how they are are able to fund the search for the sub. This book pulled at my heart and imagination like few of the WW 2 books I have read or listened before. My dad was a native of Michigan's UP but lived with his mother's two maiden aunts who lived in Flint to attend high school and enlisted in the Marines after graduation and served in the Pacific during the war. Had he enlisted in the Navy, his could have been one of those sixty-nine. The majority of the men who found themselves on that submarine were from the landlocked states of the upper and mid-west and about half were just boys, a few needing parent's consent to join the service. And such are the flukes of war.
My dad returned to meet my mother at a USO dance in Washington, D.C., where they married, settled and started our small family including me and my younger sister. We lost dad to leukemia when I was only sixteen. Perhaps that how I can identify with loss of the mothers, fathers,and wives because I saw how dad's death affected his parents and siblings. He was the youngest of seven. My mother was devasted and like many of the Grunion widows never remarried and mourned him until her own death at age 84.
After reading some of reviews of this book, I wiil hazard a guess that the Audible narrator had a great deal to do with my appreciation for this well-researched book. I will probably spend some hours today researching the Grunion's website and Google for photos. (the downside of recorded books) BUT first my tablet needs charging, and I need a another cup of coffee.
Added after on-line research "So long as we live, they too shall live for they are now a part of us as remember them." A Hebrew prayer
June 19, 2023
Probably the best thing in the book is the Appendix with detailed information on the Crew members who went down with Grunion. Also, interesting was the ending analysis as to why the Grunion was sunk. I wish the book had focused solely on the Grunion's crew, various patrols, and loss. I skimmed through the 21st century stuff. I hate this trend in history books where we start with so-and-so who's curious about some historical event and follow him as he discovers the facts.
BTW, the US Navy High Command did a poor job fighting the Submarine war in 1942-43, not only were they slow to correct the torpedo problem, the subs were wasted in patrolling the Aleutians and trying to sink IJN warships in the Solomons. The Grunion should have been sent to the coast of Japan or the Formosa sttraits where plenty of merchants ships and half-way decent weather would've resulted in more success. Blundering around in the Fog and stormy seas was a waste of the sub and partly resulted in her loss.
BTW, the US Navy High Command did a poor job fighting the Submarine war in 1942-43, not only were they slow to correct the torpedo problem, the subs were wasted in patrolling the Aleutians and trying to sink IJN warships in the Solomons. The Grunion should have been sent to the coast of Japan or the Formosa sttraits where plenty of merchants ships and half-way decent weather would've resulted in more success. Blundering around in the Fog and stormy seas was a waste of the sub and partly resulted in her loss.
February 9, 2022
What an amazing story. I really think the sons of the submarine captain were raised right and would have made him proud. The lengths that they went to are incredible and are worthy of praise and recognition, even more so because they don’t seek that
I have a personal connection to this story that I didn’t realized until I was in the 3rd or 4th chapter. My father served in Vietnam with a fellow PJ (pararescueman). when he friend left the military is eventually started a business making medical stints. He was so successful that he and his company were acquired by Boston Scientific, founded by one of the sons of the Sub captain. So I heard of the results of the search long before heard this book and it was amazing to see how it all came together. One of my favorite parts of the book is the last chapter, which is a short bio of every sailor on the USS Grunion.
Have to read this if you love military history.
I have a personal connection to this story that I didn’t realized until I was in the 3rd or 4th chapter. My father served in Vietnam with a fellow PJ (pararescueman). when he friend left the military is eventually started a business making medical stints. He was so successful that he and his company were acquired by Boston Scientific, founded by one of the sons of the Sub captain. So I heard of the results of the search long before heard this book and it was amazing to see how it all came together. One of my favorite parts of the book is the last chapter, which is a short bio of every sailor on the USS Grunion.
Have to read this if you love military history.
September 5, 2022
My father was a submariner in World War 2 (U.S.S. Hammerhead). He would talk of his time in the Navy and the men he served with. Many of them stayed in touch over the years. I remember him getting Christmas cards from his fellow submariners (including actor Joe Maross who took the time to stay in touch).
I bought this book for my dad a few years ago. He would always talk about the U.S.S. Grunion and the U.S.S. Growler, both lost during the war. (My dad was supposed to have transferred to the Growler but he said "Dave, I had the strangest feeling when I saw that boat. I knew I was going to die if I got on that. A friend told me that the Hammerhead was looking for an electrician and I got transferred.")
He really enjoyed this book.
I finally got around to reading it and I understand why he liked it. Someone on here described it better than I could as part biography, part war adventure, and part salvage adventure.
An enjoyable read.
I bought this book for my dad a few years ago. He would always talk about the U.S.S. Grunion and the U.S.S. Growler, both lost during the war. (My dad was supposed to have transferred to the Growler but he said "Dave, I had the strangest feeling when I saw that boat. I knew I was going to die if I got on that. A friend told me that the Hammerhead was looking for an electrician and I got transferred.")
He really enjoyed this book.
I finally got around to reading it and I understand why he liked it. Someone on here described it better than I could as part biography, part war adventure, and part salvage adventure.
An enjoyable read.
November 5, 2022
An interesting piece of American history, a short listen, and something I want to see a documentary of. There's only so much you can do with the history of a boat that vanished mysteriously and nobody knows where it is or why, so getting lots of the crew biography and background was expected. What came up later though was just how much info was available through the Japanese side and either was misplaced or just not connected. I would have liked a bit more on that side, more than the account of the Japanese sailor that happens in the first third but then doesn't really come back until the very end, but I also understand why that would have been hard to get. There was a lot at the beginning about how the Navy did a coverup and so I was expecting more political elements or intrigue or some resolution there, but this did not play out at all. I didn't listen to the full appendix with bios of each sailor.
February 13, 2021
I really enjoyed this book that details the fate of 70 remarkable US Sailors whose stories were a mystery until recently. I especially took delight that about a third of the way through the book I realized I was reading a book about my friends grandfather and he never shared with me the story! Chris Abele was county executive of Milwaukee County and his grandfather was the the Captain of the USS Grunion. His sons, who were very successful in business, in particular Chris' father who founded Boston Scientific, financed the research and exploration that resulted in the USS Grunion finally being located.
The story on its' own is remarkable, but the personal connection in this book made it especially memorable.
The story on its' own is remarkable, but the personal connection in this book made it especially memorable.
April 14, 2018
I don't think this book did what was intended. It started out as a family story with U.S. Naval history, then attempted to become a maritime procedural, but it never really hit it's stride with any of it.
There were bits hinting at a real discovery for history buffs, but ultimately it jumped around a bit much.
There were bits hinting at a real discovery for history buffs, but ultimately it jumped around a bit much.
June 14, 2022
Very good account of the search for and eventual discovery of the USS Grunion, a US submarine lost in WWII. The sons of the commanding officer embarked on the search using their own money after being told it would be useless to try. Lots of determination, lucky coincidences and strokes of luck, led to the successful results, providing closure for many families of the crew.
August 3, 2024
Fantastic story of the sinking and later finding of the US Grunion. I loved listening to this. It would be cool to know exactly how it sunk but the book gives a pretty good educated guess. Great book, I highly recommend it if you enjoy war history and ocean exploration.
August 21, 2018
The first half of the book is interesting. I stopped when they started the search for the wreck.
March 30, 2021
Really interesting! I enthralled the whole book.
August 12, 2021
Great story but I wasn’t a fan of the writing style
March 29, 2022
They finally found it! So happy for all the families. I liked the end part with the little bios of all the men lost on board the Grunion. The narrator was excellent. Written well.
August 14, 2022
Audiobook format
I liked this but it had a lot of peripheral material and docudrama elaborations that could have been condensed.
I liked this but it had a lot of peripheral material and docudrama elaborations that could have been condensed.
June 15, 2023
Very interesting. Well covered and well researched
May 19, 2025
This seemed a little longer than it really needed to be, and it could have been more suspensefully written. As is, it pretty much spoilered the solution to the mystery very early on.
March 20, 2017
Excellent slice of WWII history well documented to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the USS Grunion in the dangerous waters of the Aleutian Islands. Compelling and inspirational.
January 8, 2013
This was a good read, though kind of a weird book. It's the story of three sons who sponsor a big search and find the sunken WWII sub of their father off the Aleutian Islands in very treacherous waters.
The story starts by chronicling the life of the dad and some other sailors on his sub, reconstructs his last fighting, goes over the inspired clues that lead to his sons and other relatives of men who disappeared with the boat to be able to track down the location of the sub, explains the best theory of what happened -- that the Grunion was brought down by its own malfunctioning torpedo that the Navy was stubbornly using, explains what was done for the families and to remember the sub, and then gives very brief,moving mini-bios of the 60 sailors who died on the sub. And the Navy is criticized repeatedly for not telling the families more back during WWII and its lack of cooperation with the Abele family during their modern search.
This guy, Jim Abele, the submarine captain who disappeared along with his sub full of men in WWII seems like a great person. However, he's not a public figure and this isn't an academic biography. It's hero worship with the writer extolling the virtues of this captain as detailed by his sons. I'm not saying it's inappropriate, but it reads more like a family work than a nationally published work. The drama of "no one believes in us" as the sons search is also played up and repeated dozens and dozens of times, and each chapter begins and ends with previews or reviews of the possible dangers in the cold Arctic waters. It kind of read like a TV special with the teasers in and out of commercials. (This would make a nice 1-hr TV profile actually.)
So it was good and actually very touching in places. The stuff the 3 ladies who were nieces of other crew members did to find out about all 60 men and find their living relatives was touching to read about. They would randomly put ads in local papers, call radio stations, call every single Stephens in a small PA town...just neat dedication. The little biographies of each man were happy, sad, touching, and heart breaking. War was hell on the families of the soldiers.
I also liked the details about Japanese WWII historians who provided some of the most crucial information from Japanese records and how they included some family of Japanese sailors on boats the US sub sank before it was sunk by its own torpedo.
Kay abele, Jim's surviving wife and mother of the 3 sons who headlined the search, seems like an amazing person as she wrote hundreds of letters in these pre-internet, not much long distance phone days, and comforted hundreds of grieving relatives.
The story of the Abele's expensive search (one son became a billionaire in a medical device firm) was neat too, but the hyperbolic language actually took away from it a little bit.
So I picked up this book because I had just finished a longer book on the naval side of WWII, especially the Pacific theater, and got some individual detail about some of the submarine life and fighting detailed in the other book. It is sad that these defective torpedoes endangered subs as they couldn't defend themselves and actually hit their own boats a few times. This was explained in that book as well. The book was good, even with its quirks.
The story starts by chronicling the life of the dad and some other sailors on his sub, reconstructs his last fighting, goes over the inspired clues that lead to his sons and other relatives of men who disappeared with the boat to be able to track down the location of the sub, explains the best theory of what happened -- that the Grunion was brought down by its own malfunctioning torpedo that the Navy was stubbornly using, explains what was done for the families and to remember the sub, and then gives very brief,moving mini-bios of the 60 sailors who died on the sub. And the Navy is criticized repeatedly for not telling the families more back during WWII and its lack of cooperation with the Abele family during their modern search.
This guy, Jim Abele, the submarine captain who disappeared along with his sub full of men in WWII seems like a great person. However, he's not a public figure and this isn't an academic biography. It's hero worship with the writer extolling the virtues of this captain as detailed by his sons. I'm not saying it's inappropriate, but it reads more like a family work than a nationally published work. The drama of "no one believes in us" as the sons search is also played up and repeated dozens and dozens of times, and each chapter begins and ends with previews or reviews of the possible dangers in the cold Arctic waters. It kind of read like a TV special with the teasers in and out of commercials. (This would make a nice 1-hr TV profile actually.)
So it was good and actually very touching in places. The stuff the 3 ladies who were nieces of other crew members did to find out about all 60 men and find their living relatives was touching to read about. They would randomly put ads in local papers, call radio stations, call every single Stephens in a small PA town...just neat dedication. The little biographies of each man were happy, sad, touching, and heart breaking. War was hell on the families of the soldiers.
I also liked the details about Japanese WWII historians who provided some of the most crucial information from Japanese records and how they included some family of Japanese sailors on boats the US sub sank before it was sunk by its own torpedo.
Kay abele, Jim's surviving wife and mother of the 3 sons who headlined the search, seems like an amazing person as she wrote hundreds of letters in these pre-internet, not much long distance phone days, and comforted hundreds of grieving relatives.
The story of the Abele's expensive search (one son became a billionaire in a medical device firm) was neat too, but the hyperbolic language actually took away from it a little bit.
So I picked up this book because I had just finished a longer book on the naval side of WWII, especially the Pacific theater, and got some individual detail about some of the submarine life and fighting detailed in the other book. It is sad that these defective torpedoes endangered subs as they couldn't defend themselves and actually hit their own boats a few times. This was explained in that book as well. The book was good, even with its quirks.
February 12, 2019
I didn't like this book. Most of it was just boring history of the different players; the only action was in the last two chapters; and nothing was ever revealed or decided about what actually happened to the Grunion.
January 6, 2013
The submarine USS Grunion went missing in the Bering Sea in 1942 and was presumed lost with all 70 crew members. The navy was vague about what happened in the notifications to the families, leaving them between grief and hope. The three sons of Jim Abele, the captain of the ship, eventually tracked down information on the sub's probable location, largely through Japanese records, and had the means to try to find it. They did find it in 3,000 feet of water in 2007, providing closure to many families. There was a special memorial service for surviving family members. A close viewing of the photos of the wreck and accounts of the captain of a Japanese ship the Grunion was attacking when it sank strongly suggested the Grunion was a victim of it's own torpedo. There were many complaints about the new MK 14 torpedo - it tended to run below the target, it often didn't explode on contact and worst of all sometimes after missing the target it circled back to the sub.
A lot of people worked on the huge project of finding the sub, including three women who doggedly tracked down relatives of every crew member. One of the most interesting parts of the book is the appendix, which has brief biographies of all the crew members and photos of all but one. It's also the story of Jim Abele and his family and how he came to captain the Grunion. I wish the author had gone into the story of the malfunctioning torpedos but that could have a book of its own. A good read but could do with more substance.
A lot of people worked on the huge project of finding the sub, including three women who doggedly tracked down relatives of every crew member. One of the most interesting parts of the book is the appendix, which has brief biographies of all the crew members and photos of all but one. It's also the story of Jim Abele and his family and how he came to captain the Grunion. I wish the author had gone into the story of the malfunctioning torpedos but that could have a book of its own. A good read but could do with more substance.
March 5, 2014
If you are looking for a quick easy read about a narrowly reported part of World War Two you will find this book interesting but readers looking for great detail will be disappointed.
The authors attempt to tell the story of the loss and discovery of the USS Grunion, while interesting, is very limited in scope. It is a story deserving to be told but a lot is left out of the narrative. The book could benefit from a much deeper exploration of the war in the Aleutians (both from the Japanese and American perspective), the early war operations of the US submarine fleet, further study into the Mk 14 torpedo and lastly the science and complexities of a searching for a shipwreck using sonar would add greatly to the story.
Despite this criticism I am pleased that the author spent the time to research the crew and write the book. As more of Greatest Generation (and their) decedents pass away we lose a perspective that can never be recovered by archival research.
The authors attempt to tell the story of the loss and discovery of the USS Grunion, while interesting, is very limited in scope. It is a story deserving to be told but a lot is left out of the narrative. The book could benefit from a much deeper exploration of the war in the Aleutians (both from the Japanese and American perspective), the early war operations of the US submarine fleet, further study into the Mk 14 torpedo and lastly the science and complexities of a searching for a shipwreck using sonar would add greatly to the story.
Despite this criticism I am pleased that the author spent the time to research the crew and write the book. As more of Greatest Generation (and their) decedents pass away we lose a perspective that can never be recovered by archival research.
October 23, 2012
The life story of Jim Abele, Skipper of the USS Grunion and the subsequent search for his Boat off Kiska in the Aleutian Islands was very interesting. However, if it were not for the financial success that was subsequently achieved by one of the Skipper's three sons, the Boat would never have been found. The short history of the Grunion is captivating however, the book's most appealing section was the Appendix, which contained short biographies of each of the crew members. It is a look back in history and provides a picture of each of the men who made up the crew of the Grunion, their background, where they came from and the after affects of their loss when the telegrams were received by their relatives indicating they were "missing". They had gone off to war to defend their country during WWII and paid the ultimate price. They were not coming home, ever.
November 10, 2014
The story of the USS Grunion, a WW-II submarine lost on its first war patrol. This was written in two parts: (a) The story of its commanding officer, who was one of the best, and (b) The process where his three sons were able to locate the wreckage, in the Aleutians, and to identify its probable cause of loss being a defective torpedo.
The defective torpedoes were a well known problem that the upper echelons of the Navy refused to fix. The submarine commanders were basically told to "Shoot 'em and shut up." Never mind that there were many documented cases of malfunctions, and these torpedoes were capable of circling around only to target the submarine that fired them. This happened later to the USS Tang, from which part of the crew survived to tell the tale.
The defective torpedoes were a well known problem that the upper echelons of the Navy refused to fix. The submarine commanders were basically told to "Shoot 'em and shut up." Never mind that there were many documented cases of malfunctions, and these torpedoes were capable of circling around only to target the submarine that fired them. This happened later to the USS Tang, from which part of the crew survived to tell the tale.
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