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The Luck of the Draw: The Memoir of a World War II Submariner: From Savo Island to the Silent Service
A coin flip likely saved the life of Kenneth C. Ruiz. It was August 1942 and he was fresh out of the U.S. Naval Academy. He and a classmate flipped a coin to see who would stand watch on the bridge of their heavy cruiser, the USS Vincennes, off Savo Island as the Marines were landing on Guadalcanal. Ruiz was on the bridge when the ship took a direct hit and sank. He ended up in the Pacific without a life jacket, but his classmate and the entire radio room crew perished in the attack. "The luck of the draw" is a recurring theme in this powerful memoir. Following the demise of the Vincennes, Ruiz volunteered to serve on submarines for the balance of the war and had numerous harrowing experiences. He spent most of his time on the USS Pollack, which was sub-standard in terms of technology, but was still deadly and made a significant impact on Japanese shipping in the far reaches of the Pacific. A worthy addition to the litany of WWII books on submariners, The Luck of the Draw is filled with heartbreaking stories of how the smallest decisions made the difference between life and death for soldiers and sailors in the war.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 27, 2025
A good book about American submarine warfare in the Pacific theatre during 1943/44 from the perspective of a junior officer that served under a few different commanders aboard USS Pollack. The book is very detailed throughout, and this makes the book longer than it should have been for me. The most interesting part for me personally, was the author's service aboard the USS Vincennes and its loss during the Battle of Savo Island. Still a good read and very recommendable.
December 16, 2025
I am always on the hunt for good first-person accounts and this one is an excellent tale of one man's multiple combat patrols in an old submarine pressed into service in the early years of the Pacific War.
Captain Ruiz gets his first taste of combat in Iron Bottom Sound, sunk on the USS Vincennes. An excellent account of the battle where the US Navy learns how proficient the Imperial Japanese Navy is in night attacks. Excellent maps of the battle. Ruiz volunteers to join the Silent Service because he doesn't want to go through another surface action.
He takes us through 5 patrols on the old USS Pollack submarine. His description of the sub as they are planning an attack:
Thirteen thousand yards away, I watched them from the bridge of the USS Pollack, one of the worst bucket of bolts ever to be called a submarine. With ancient machinery and a riveted-hull design, Pollack should have been a candidate for the razor-blade factory long before this patrol. Instead, Pearl Harbor gave her life extension, and gave us nothing but heartache.
Serving aboard Pollack sent our emotions rollercoastering from devotion to despair. One minute, she’d snatch us from the jaws of death in some endearing last minute rescue that simply demanded loyalty. The next minute, she'd throw us in the gutter and stomp on our neck, cackling all the while at our misery. Yet somewhere in her waspish heart lived just enough of a conscience to see us through. Although she gloried in our suffering and delighted in our angst, deep down she needed us as much as we needed her. She’d take us to the brink, but never beyond. And God help anyone who tried to hurt us while she stood watch. She was mean, she fought dirty, and she was proud of both.
In our worst moments of combat, she exuded raw defiance, as if to tell the Japanese that although she may kill us all someday with her street-walking ways, they would never get that chance. We were her playthings to do with as she liked. End of story.
We loved her with pathetic adoration for that, like a fat kid mooning over a cheerleader. She may have been a bitch, but she was our bitch.
The first patrol is uneventful and the sub heads back to Midway to refuel and refit. A little complacent, they are steaming home on the surface during the day when attacked by a Japanese aircraft. They dive fast but a random bolt is caught in the conning tower hatch and water comes pouring in:
The lesson may have been learned, but we were not out of the woods yet. We still had to get a grip on the crisis. To slow the leak, Captain Palmer ordered Zully to bring us up to shallow running. This reduced the water pressure on the hull and curbed the flood into the control room.
Throughout our patrols in Pollack, our harlot of a submarine seemed to pick the worst possible moments to throw us a curve ball. This was my first experience with her wretched temper—a million-to-one snafu that could well have meant our demise. Clearly she was a boat to watch. Inattention to her fussy needs could prove fatal.
Fortunately, the plane overhead, which we later identified as a Mitsubishi G3M Nell bomber, turned for home. It probably found us at the end of its patrol and didn’t have the fuel to hunt us. It departed the scene, leaving the men inside its target with frayed nerves.
Except for the captain, that is. Palmer, as unflappable as ever, considered the attack a good lesson for those in the crew who had yet to see action in submarines. In the patrol report, he noted: “I felt almost grateful to him [the Nell] as the patrol had been so dull and he gave the new men a taste of depth charging. It had seemed almost incredible that we could have steamed so far on the surface…
Great, vivid descriptions of Japanese ASW efforts to kill them and stalking and sinking ships. I would never want to serve a tour on these "sewer pipes" but they are so brave. Just great story-telling.
5 Stars
Captain Ruiz gets his first taste of combat in Iron Bottom Sound, sunk on the USS Vincennes. An excellent account of the battle where the US Navy learns how proficient the Imperial Japanese Navy is in night attacks. Excellent maps of the battle. Ruiz volunteers to join the Silent Service because he doesn't want to go through another surface action.
He takes us through 5 patrols on the old USS Pollack submarine. His description of the sub as they are planning an attack:
Thirteen thousand yards away, I watched them from the bridge of the USS Pollack, one of the worst bucket of bolts ever to be called a submarine. With ancient machinery and a riveted-hull design, Pollack should have been a candidate for the razor-blade factory long before this patrol. Instead, Pearl Harbor gave her life extension, and gave us nothing but heartache.
Serving aboard Pollack sent our emotions rollercoastering from devotion to despair. One minute, she’d snatch us from the jaws of death in some endearing last minute rescue that simply demanded loyalty. The next minute, she'd throw us in the gutter and stomp on our neck, cackling all the while at our misery. Yet somewhere in her waspish heart lived just enough of a conscience to see us through. Although she gloried in our suffering and delighted in our angst, deep down she needed us as much as we needed her. She’d take us to the brink, but never beyond. And God help anyone who tried to hurt us while she stood watch. She was mean, she fought dirty, and she was proud of both.
In our worst moments of combat, she exuded raw defiance, as if to tell the Japanese that although she may kill us all someday with her street-walking ways, they would never get that chance. We were her playthings to do with as she liked. End of story.
We loved her with pathetic adoration for that, like a fat kid mooning over a cheerleader. She may have been a bitch, but she was our bitch.
The first patrol is uneventful and the sub heads back to Midway to refuel and refit. A little complacent, they are steaming home on the surface during the day when attacked by a Japanese aircraft. They dive fast but a random bolt is caught in the conning tower hatch and water comes pouring in:
The lesson may have been learned, but we were not out of the woods yet. We still had to get a grip on the crisis. To slow the leak, Captain Palmer ordered Zully to bring us up to shallow running. This reduced the water pressure on the hull and curbed the flood into the control room.
Throughout our patrols in Pollack, our harlot of a submarine seemed to pick the worst possible moments to throw us a curve ball. This was my first experience with her wretched temper—a million-to-one snafu that could well have meant our demise. Clearly she was a boat to watch. Inattention to her fussy needs could prove fatal.
Fortunately, the plane overhead, which we later identified as a Mitsubishi G3M Nell bomber, turned for home. It probably found us at the end of its patrol and didn’t have the fuel to hunt us. It departed the scene, leaving the men inside its target with frayed nerves.
Except for the captain, that is. Palmer, as unflappable as ever, considered the attack a good lesson for those in the crew who had yet to see action in submarines. In the patrol report, he noted: “I felt almost grateful to him [the Nell] as the patrol had been so dull and he gave the new men a taste of depth charging. It had seemed almost incredible that we could have steamed so far on the surface…
Great, vivid descriptions of Japanese ASW efforts to kill them and stalking and sinking ships. I would never want to serve a tour on these "sewer pipes" but they are so brave. Just great story-telling.
5 Stars
July 31, 2025
very good account of being in a ww2 submarine in the pacific
Very good account based on ww2 pacific theatre aboard an old submarine; would have been interesting to see what happened next
Very good account based on ww2 pacific theatre aboard an old submarine; would have been interesting to see what happened next
June 16, 2023
Just finished the Luck of the Draw by kenneth Ruiz and enjoyed it for the third time I read it when it first was published in 2005 and again about 10 Years later and now in 2023. RUIZ as newly minted ensign takes you along his first duity abord the heavy Cruiser Vincennes off Savo Isl near Guadalcanal and the ordeal of its seaking and his time in the water. The luck of a card draw put him were he was able to servive the Japanese night attack thus the book title. Next the author volunteers to serve on submarines and there is more exciting action on the U.S.S Pollack a outdated noise pre war submarine he describes as a"sewer pipe". The old boat may kill them befor the Japanese. you are right there abord the cantankerous sub stocking emeny ships, fighting weather, bad torpedoes and depth charges throughout the authors 8 war patrols under 3 different captins! A very exciting action packed story each time I read it!.
August 4, 2013
This book was written by my fascinating, kind and wonderful neighbor. I love hearing him tell me stories of his life. I loved reading about his experiences during this important part of our history here in America. He and the other service men and women are true heroes.
November 16, 2018
Very interesting read. I can not imagine the horror that they went through. I served on Submarines and the thought of what people before me went through has always been with me. I stand in amazement of the skill and courage of all the men who served on submarines in that war on all sides. theirs was a hard and deadly war. it was hard to put down.
September 27, 2016
A great read about a great boat
I sometimes wonder what it was that made the men who served on the boats so daring, performing as they did, exposed to the constant threat of being sunk by the enemy. My own father was one of them. He refused to talk about the war, and just about everything I learned was from reading about it in books. He is gone now, and with these heroes goes what is justly referred to as the Greatest Generation.
I sometimes wonder what it was that made the men who served on the boats so daring, performing as they did, exposed to the constant threat of being sunk by the enemy. My own father was one of them. He refused to talk about the war, and just about everything I learned was from reading about it in books. He is gone now, and with these heroes goes what is justly referred to as the Greatest Generation.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews