The Silent Service’s First Hero: The First Submariner to Receive the Medal of Honor

by Ryan C Walker

A comprehensive microhistorical exploration of Henry Breault's life, celebrating his legacy as the first submariner to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Celebrating 100 years since the first submariner received the Congressional Medal of Honor, dive into pre-World War II submarine history through the first comprehensive, analytical, investigation into the life and times of Henry Breault. From 1900-41, Breault's life is reconstructed as lived through his Official Military Personnel File, census records, newspaper clippings, and connecting previous research. Breault's childhood, his enlistments in the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve and the United States Navy are carefully reconstructed. From there, the conditions aboard the submarines he served on, his relationship with friends and family, his relationship to the women in his life, and his concept of masculinity and material identity allow us to better understand his life in the context he likely understood them. This book provides a new template for microhistorical observations into subjects whose primary sources are official military documentation to help better understand enlisted submariners.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2024

Reviews

[Wayne Abrahamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impactful read. Ryan C. Walker’s book, The Silent Service’s First Hero. The First Submariner to receive the Medal of Honor, is influential in several ways starting with Walker’s successful efforts at understanding an historic individual who, by all regards, was not an historic person. “This book provides a new template for micro-historical observations into subjects whose primary sources are official military documentation to better understand enlisted submariners” (Walker 2024). Unlike famous, or infamous admirals, generals, or high-profile WWII submarine commanders, whose attention-seizing exploits and lives are put out for public display, Henry Brenault’s life would have gone unnoticed except for one, split-second, decision made on his part. Therefore, Walker had little periphery, tertiary, secondary, or even primary evidence on which to reconstruct the life of a man who seemed to want to remain in the shadows of greater men. Yet, through diligence and forethought, Walker was able to build and present new methodology in understanding and interpreting official military records and documentation concerning the lives and intimacies of an individual’s life and service.
As a career-long ‘WESPAC” sailor myself, I appreciated Walker’s efforts at reconstructing the adventures and intimacies of men who served in the Asiatic Fleet, or on “The China Station.” While reading of Brenault’s service in the western Pacific, and in Asia, I knew I walked in the same footsteps as Petty Officer Brenault as we both enjoyed our liberty, and spent our dollars while visiting exotic port calls such as Manila, Olongapo, Hong Kong, and the Dutch East Indies, or modern-day Indonesia. Although decades of time separated our time in the Orent, Walker successfully brought to life the sights, smells, and memories which I enjoyed and knew that Brenault did as well.
For a person who grew up an avid reader and now writes fiction adventure which often include pre-nuclear-powered submarines, I found Walker’s book to be a treasure trove of primary-source information. As a veteran submariner himself, Walker presents a histology of submarine development in a time before the arrival of the modern, fleet-class submarine on the eve of World War Two. Therefore, his discussions of the O- and S-class submarines are an intriguing basis from which I can draw, and build, credible plots of action and maneuvering.
Ryan C. Walker’s book, The Silent Service’s First Hero, is must-have for any reader, researcher, or person interested in conducting historical research and in the early decades of submarines, and the sailors who served aboard them.
Wayne Abrahamson, retired US Navy, and author of Black Silver, Sergeant Dooley and the Submarine Raiders, and The Martian Sentence.

[Aly Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan is an incredible storyteller and this book is a truly beautiful read about Henry Brenault and his sacrifices to receive the medal of honor. This was a story I, at first, had never heard of but reading Ryan's work made me feel like I knew Henry myself. Henry's remarkable life deserved to be told and Ryan truly put his heart and soul into the book with extensive research, as well as diving into the importance of Mr. Brenault and why he deserved this honor. I enjoyed this book and can't wait for Ryan's next publication!