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The Bravest Man: Richard O'Kane and the Amazing Submarine Adventures of the USS Tang
“There’s no margin for mistakes in submarines. You’re either alive or dead.”–Richard O’KaneHailed as the ace of aces, captain Richard O’Kane, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his consummate skill and heroism as a submarine skipper, sank more enemy ships and saved more downed fliers than anyone else.Now Pulitzer Prize—winning author William Tuohy captures all the danger, the terror, and the pulse-pounding action of undersea combat as he chronicles O’Kane’s wartime career–from his valiant service as executive officer under Wahoo skipper Dudley “Mush” Morton to his electrifying patrols as commander of the USS Tang and his incredible escape, with eight other survivors, after Tang was sunk by its own defective torpedo.Above all, The Bravest Man is the dramatic story of mavericks who broke the rules and set the pace to become a new breed of hunter/killer submariners who waged a unique brand of warfare. These undersea warriors would blaze their own path to victory–and transform the “Silent Service” into the deadliest fighting force in the Pacific.
458 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2001
65 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
William Tuohy
14 books2 followersWilliam, or Bill, Tuohy was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who, for most of his career, was a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 10, 2011
O’Kane, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, learned many of his aggressive tactics from his time as exec on the Wahoo under the command of Dudley “Mush” Morgan. Morgan did all sorts of things that most commanders considered fool-hardy including steaming on the surface during daylight when within flying distance of Japanese bases. Everyone else remained submerged during daylight, hunting only at night. He also had the temerity to define “reconnoiter” as going right into an enemy held harbor. They managed this incredible feat using a child’s atlas; the maps supplied to them by the Navy showed only indentations in the coast of New Guinea. It just happened that a crewman had purchased a child’s atlas in Australia as a present for his son which contained a foldout map of Australia and clearly showed the location of a Japanese base at Wewak.
One of the most controversial acts of a commander during wartime occurred while O’Kane was exec on the Wahoo . They had just successfully torpedoed a large troopship and Morgan ordered the sub to machine gun the lifeboats forcing the troops into the water. he rationalization was that these were troops headed to reinforce other Japanese engage in battle against U.S. forces. Many were killed and Morton said later that the troops had opened fire on his sub. O’Kane said the sub had fired first on the troops, and his recollection would seem to be more accurate since as it turned out, the troops were not Japanese but rather Indian POWs being taken to Japan (this fact was not mentioned by the author in his overly hagiographic account of the episode) and it’s unlikely they would have shot at the sub, especially as they were unarmed prisoners, although I’m sure their were many armed Japanese troops aboard as well. Nevertheless, had this been an action undertaken by a Japanese or German sub against supposed American troops, the commander would have been charged, no doubt, with war crimes. Clay Blair, the doyen of submarine historians, says the sub fired first. War sucks, either way. I suppose I would be a disciple of Sherman and all out war. The idea of war with rules does seem to be a bit oxymoronic. **
[There is a fascinating novel, An Operational Necessity http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..., that is loosely based on a WW II incident in which the U-852 sank an allied freighter, the Peleus, and then machine-gunned the survivors in order to evade detection. The account is handled with sensitivity and, so far, have proved to be quite thought-provoking. The officers were tried in court. The captain and senior officers were shot for war crimes.] Review to follow. More information at http://www.uboataces.com/articles-war....
Tuohy discusses the “skipper problem.” In the early stages of the war, submarine captains were chosen from the ranks of those who had been trained during peacetime. It had been the conventional wisdom to have subs used as reconnaissance ships and to stay out of harms way, spending most of the time underwater, rarely on the surface. This meant they usually returned from patrol with no kills. Ironically, the execs, much younger, sometimes had more actual war experience and it was these execs (O’Kane being a splendid example) who developed changes in tactics. Morgan deliberately ignored the conventional wisdom, stayed surfaced and attacked aggressively. He, and his exec, O’Kane, were very successful, (the Wahoo under Morgan was later lost at sea) and soon skippers who returned from patrol with no or few kills were replaced after two patrols.
It wasn’t just a “skipper” problem. Differences in tactics and strategy, not to mention personal animosity led to command altercations and petty decisions based on personal differences rather than what might be good for the submariners. Clay Blair in his definitive work on submarine warfare in WW II lays blame for lackluster results in 1942 squarely on the commanders. They fought over where R&R sites should be located (Carpenter wanted them away from the temptations of cities) to who might have written a little poem poking fun at the admirals at Pearl Harbor (the author, the skipper of the Haddock almost lost his command for distributing “subversive” literature) to where the command should be located (it was split between Freemantle, Pearl Harbor, and Perth) not to mention MacArthur who wanted to use subs only to deliver small groups of special forces rather than use them to sink ships.
And let’s not forget the infamous torpedo problem. The Navy’s Ordnance Bureau refused to listen to skipper’s complaints about their torpedoes which they claimed were failing at a rate of 43%. Both the depth settings (discovered later to be because they were tested with water, which is lighter than TNT, in place of the warhead) were off by about 11 feet, and the magnetic exploders were defective. Regretfully, it was the commanders at the highest levels, several of whom at done stints at the Ordnance Bureau, who refused to let the skippers test the torpedoes or change settings. The issue came to a head when Admiral Lockwood took evidence of the faulty torpedo magnetic exploders to Admiral Nimitz who then ordered them to be disconnected. Admiral Christie in Freemantle, who had been instrumental in design of the magnetic exploder, told skippers leaving Freemantle they were required to use the magnetic exploder. So when in Crhstie’s command area, the skippers had to engage the exploder; when in Lockwood’s (large area west of Pearl Harbor) they had to dismantle them. Ridiculous.
After devoting about a third of the book to O’Kane’s experiences with Mush Morgan, the author steps back and takes a look at his experiences at the Naval Academy and family. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the analysis of family pressures and an analysis command relationships. I also enjoyed the detail related to construction of a sub and the latitude granted each construction firm and skipper to make design changes. Interesting.
O’Kane was assigned to new construction: the Tang. He had a fetish for training and he tested the new sub as well. The normal test depth was 425 feet. He took her gradually down past the stop point on the depth meter, 600 feet and that dive of an estimated 625 feet was considered the deepest ever recorded for a U.S. submarine that survived. At each depth where a fitting broke, or a leak occurred, he returned to the surface and back to the shipyard, where the item was replaced and/or strengthened; then he went back and dove deeper. Scared the shit out of the crew, but the dives provided valuable information and confidence in the boat that was useful later.
Behavior under depth charging was of great interest to the Navy, and the experience of the Puffer became a textbook case for learning how men held up under extreme stress. The sub had remained under for 39 hours with the AC shut off to quiet the ship. Psychological examination revealed something surprising. It wasn’t the leaders who saved the ship, but those who were hardly noticed when things were operating normally: The worriers and the hurriers all crapped out, leaving the plodders to bring the ship home.” Clearly, the only way to judge a man’s value was wait until he was seen under stress before making final judgment. (Tuohy borrows quite liberally and perhaps excessively from United States submarine operations in World War II. By Theodore Roscoe, You can see the appropriate context at http://books.google.com/books?id=5lTI... pages 275-280)
Very interesting book and I have gone on too long as I tend to do.
** There is a competent summary of the action against the Boyu Maru troopship at http://www.warfish.com/patrol3con.html. The Wikipaedia has an excellent summary of the wartime patrols of the Wahoo at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Waho...
One of the most controversial acts of a commander during wartime occurred while O’Kane was exec on the Wahoo . They had just successfully torpedoed a large troopship and Morgan ordered the sub to machine gun the lifeboats forcing the troops into the water. he rationalization was that these were troops headed to reinforce other Japanese engage in battle against U.S. forces. Many were killed and Morton said later that the troops had opened fire on his sub. O’Kane said the sub had fired first on the troops, and his recollection would seem to be more accurate since as it turned out, the troops were not Japanese but rather Indian POWs being taken to Japan (this fact was not mentioned by the author in his overly hagiographic account of the episode) and it’s unlikely they would have shot at the sub, especially as they were unarmed prisoners, although I’m sure their were many armed Japanese troops aboard as well. Nevertheless, had this been an action undertaken by a Japanese or German sub against supposed American troops, the commander would have been charged, no doubt, with war crimes. Clay Blair, the doyen of submarine historians, says the sub fired first. War sucks, either way. I suppose I would be a disciple of Sherman and all out war. The idea of war with rules does seem to be a bit oxymoronic. **
[There is a fascinating novel, An Operational Necessity http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..., that is loosely based on a WW II incident in which the U-852 sank an allied freighter, the Peleus, and then machine-gunned the survivors in order to evade detection. The account is handled with sensitivity and, so far, have proved to be quite thought-provoking. The officers were tried in court. The captain and senior officers were shot for war crimes.] Review to follow. More information at http://www.uboataces.com/articles-war....
Tuohy discusses the “skipper problem.” In the early stages of the war, submarine captains were chosen from the ranks of those who had been trained during peacetime. It had been the conventional wisdom to have subs used as reconnaissance ships and to stay out of harms way, spending most of the time underwater, rarely on the surface. This meant they usually returned from patrol with no kills. Ironically, the execs, much younger, sometimes had more actual war experience and it was these execs (O’Kane being a splendid example) who developed changes in tactics. Morgan deliberately ignored the conventional wisdom, stayed surfaced and attacked aggressively. He, and his exec, O’Kane, were very successful, (the Wahoo under Morgan was later lost at sea) and soon skippers who returned from patrol with no or few kills were replaced after two patrols.
It wasn’t just a “skipper” problem. Differences in tactics and strategy, not to mention personal animosity led to command altercations and petty decisions based on personal differences rather than what might be good for the submariners. Clay Blair in his definitive work on submarine warfare in WW II lays blame for lackluster results in 1942 squarely on the commanders. They fought over where R&R sites should be located (Carpenter wanted them away from the temptations of cities) to who might have written a little poem poking fun at the admirals at Pearl Harbor (the author, the skipper of the Haddock almost lost his command for distributing “subversive” literature) to where the command should be located (it was split between Freemantle, Pearl Harbor, and Perth) not to mention MacArthur who wanted to use subs only to deliver small groups of special forces rather than use them to sink ships.
And let’s not forget the infamous torpedo problem. The Navy’s Ordnance Bureau refused to listen to skipper’s complaints about their torpedoes which they claimed were failing at a rate of 43%. Both the depth settings (discovered later to be because they were tested with water, which is lighter than TNT, in place of the warhead) were off by about 11 feet, and the magnetic exploders were defective. Regretfully, it was the commanders at the highest levels, several of whom at done stints at the Ordnance Bureau, who refused to let the skippers test the torpedoes or change settings. The issue came to a head when Admiral Lockwood took evidence of the faulty torpedo magnetic exploders to Admiral Nimitz who then ordered them to be disconnected. Admiral Christie in Freemantle, who had been instrumental in design of the magnetic exploder, told skippers leaving Freemantle they were required to use the magnetic exploder. So when in Crhstie’s command area, the skippers had to engage the exploder; when in Lockwood’s (large area west of Pearl Harbor) they had to dismantle them. Ridiculous.
After devoting about a third of the book to O’Kane’s experiences with Mush Morgan, the author steps back and takes a look at his experiences at the Naval Academy and family. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the analysis of family pressures and an analysis command relationships. I also enjoyed the detail related to construction of a sub and the latitude granted each construction firm and skipper to make design changes. Interesting.
O’Kane was assigned to new construction: the Tang. He had a fetish for training and he tested the new sub as well. The normal test depth was 425 feet. He took her gradually down past the stop point on the depth meter, 600 feet and that dive of an estimated 625 feet was considered the deepest ever recorded for a U.S. submarine that survived. At each depth where a fitting broke, or a leak occurred, he returned to the surface and back to the shipyard, where the item was replaced and/or strengthened; then he went back and dove deeper. Scared the shit out of the crew, but the dives provided valuable information and confidence in the boat that was useful later.
Behavior under depth charging was of great interest to the Navy, and the experience of the Puffer became a textbook case for learning how men held up under extreme stress. The sub had remained under for 39 hours with the AC shut off to quiet the ship. Psychological examination revealed something surprising. It wasn’t the leaders who saved the ship, but those who were hardly noticed when things were operating normally: The worriers and the hurriers all crapped out, leaving the plodders to bring the ship home.” Clearly, the only way to judge a man’s value was wait until he was seen under stress before making final judgment. (Tuohy borrows quite liberally and perhaps excessively from United States submarine operations in World War II. By Theodore Roscoe, You can see the appropriate context at http://books.google.com/books?id=5lTI... pages 275-280)
Very interesting book and I have gone on too long as I tend to do.
** There is a competent summary of the action against the Boyu Maru troopship at http://www.warfish.com/patrol3con.html. The Wikipaedia has an excellent summary of the wartime patrols of the Wahoo at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Waho...
December 9, 2018
I started this excellent history on December 7th, fittingly the 77th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, "a day which shall life in infamy." An excellent work that traces US submarine warfare in WWII, the author follows the exemplary service of Richard O'Kane and those with whom he served. I listened to E.H. Jones read the book, and he did a great job despite a couple mispronunciations, including Nuke-u-ler instead of Nuclear. He has a great voice for a military story. By reading this book, you will get a fantastic insight into the details of submarine warfare in that conflict.
The reader might also consider Sink 'Em All by Charles A Lockwood, Silent Service of World War II, and Thunder Below by E. Fluckey, all contemporaries of Mr. O'Kane. I think it would be interesting to get their perspectives on the same events.
The reader might also consider Sink 'Em All by Charles A Lockwood, Silent Service of World War II, and Thunder Below by E. Fluckey, all contemporaries of Mr. O'Kane. I think it would be interesting to get their perspectives on the same events.
January 25, 2009
This is the third book about or by Richard O'Kane I have read. It really is a book about leadership and the ability to get the most out of the people you work for or with. Some of the attitudes toward the enemy seem harsh but these men knew that losing was not an option. Thank God there were men like this to save us from the evil of facism. It is a very interesting read though not superior to the two books written by O'Kane himself.
January 8, 2016
Awesome narrative history of life on a submarine in the Battle for the Pacific in WW2. Awesome story about an awesome man!
Listened to the unabridged audiobook on Audible.com.
Listened to the unabridged audiobook on Audible.com.
February 9, 2017
This is my all-time favorite WWII story. It reads like an action novel. The submarine service was an incredible group.
August 26, 2021
Inspiring
The exploits of Richard O’Kane are inspiring. O’Kane was an intrepid commander whose intelligence, courage, determination, and audacity exemplify the finest in naval commanders. In light of his effectiveness, the many awards he received (including the Medal of Honor) were well deserved. Unfortunately, the author’s effort to be thorough is occasionally plodding and lackluster. Nevertheless, the story itself is well worth reading, recounting a life well lived.
The exploits of Richard O’Kane are inspiring. O’Kane was an intrepid commander whose intelligence, courage, determination, and audacity exemplify the finest in naval commanders. In light of his effectiveness, the many awards he received (including the Medal of Honor) were well deserved. Unfortunately, the author’s effort to be thorough is occasionally plodding and lackluster. Nevertheless, the story itself is well worth reading, recounting a life well lived.
May 18, 2025
Tang
A great story about real men and their heroic lives aboard various submarines during World War Two. Submarines sank numerous Japanese merchant marine vessels during those years.
A great story about real men and their heroic lives aboard various submarines during World War Two. Submarines sank numerous Japanese merchant marine vessels during those years.
December 4, 2017
Well done,
November 27, 2019
Great history
This was a great book about World War II Tang and other submarines. It wars aldo and effective summary of submarine warfare in WWII
This was a great book about World War II Tang and other submarines. It wars aldo and effective summary of submarine warfare in WWII
April 21, 2020
Another great book on WWII submarines. If you are interested in this area, I see no reason why you would not like this. The pace was fast and the narrator did a great job.
June 5, 2021
6/5/2021
August 22, 2023
One of the top 3 books I've ever read.
March 24, 2025
Combat Leadership
The best book I have read on combat leadership. It is an amazing history that all U.S. citizens should read.
The best book I have read on combat leadership. It is an amazing history that all U.S. citizens should read.
May 23, 2017
This book is a superbly written chronicle of World War II US Navy submarine warfare in the Pacific. It is a very well researched history book, yet reads like an adventure novel. I literally could not put it down. Lots of interesting trivia about life on the submarines during WWII, technical details, and stories of incredible heroism such as the sacrifices of Capt. Cromwell and Cdr. Gilmore. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of WWII submarine warfare.
June 9, 2025
Rounded up from 2.5 stars.
A derivative book about US submarine service in WW2. I’m surprised at how much of this book seems to be lifted directly from the books written by O’Kane himself; Wahoo and Clear the Bridge - both of which were far superior to this one.
The original material is wooden, disorganized, pedantic and often repetitive. It is clumsy filler meant to tie together the parts written by others. All of which is highly disappointing from an author touted on the cover as a Pulitzer Prize Winner. Surely not for this work?!
If you are interested in the topic of submarine warfare in WW2, I suggest you read both of Richard O’Kane’s books, and the following:
Undersea Warrior by Don Keith
Sink Em All by Charles Lockwood,
Salt and Steel by Edward Beach,
Thunder Below by Eugene Fluckey
USS Seawolf by Gerald Frank
The War Below by James Scott
Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea by Charles Atwood
A derivative book about US submarine service in WW2. I’m surprised at how much of this book seems to be lifted directly from the books written by O’Kane himself; Wahoo and Clear the Bridge - both of which were far superior to this one.
The original material is wooden, disorganized, pedantic and often repetitive. It is clumsy filler meant to tie together the parts written by others. All of which is highly disappointing from an author touted on the cover as a Pulitzer Prize Winner. Surely not for this work?!
If you are interested in the topic of submarine warfare in WW2, I suggest you read both of Richard O’Kane’s books, and the following:
Undersea Warrior by Don Keith
Sink Em All by Charles Lockwood,
Salt and Steel by Edward Beach,
Thunder Below by Eugene Fluckey
USS Seawolf by Gerald Frank
The War Below by James Scott
Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea by Charles Atwood
July 16, 2012
A good WWII two book about subs, which I had never read about before. I was very impressed not only by there service but the amount of damage they did to transport ships. Which actually was huge. The man the book was about. Richard O'Kane , was the skipper with the most kills. This book was not just about him but the sub Fleet as a whole good and bad, from top to bottom. A very telling story that is still going on today with men in Washington. People with there own agendas. Then there are those who are not in combat but think they know how it should be done from there office , not all of these men are or bad some were good they listened made judgements based on what feed back they got back from the men who were out there. All of the men who came back or not are heroes to me I. Had never known about there historic ways. God rest to the men of the keeper's of the sea.
May 20, 2015
The Bravest Man is an excellent book. It is about the courageous US submarine captain Dick O'Kane, who captained a highly successful submarine in the Pacific during World War Two. It is a fascinating story about an incredibly bold man. The author does a tremendous job explaining why Captain O'Kane's crew respected and loved him so much. I highly recommend this book for everyone, especially those you enjoy reading American History, World War Two History and biographies.
July 21, 2011
I have always enjoyed books and movies on submarines. I loved both the book and movie of The Hunt for Red October. Having read The Greatest American Hero...it makes Red October appear tame...and this story was for real. If you are into WW II, this helps us understand the critical role of "The Silent Service".
January 27, 2016
A Quiet Hero and a Heroic Crew
The officers and men of the USS Tang were the embodiment of "The Greatest Generation." With very little public fanfare they brought the war that Japan started to her own shores. Twenty seven Japanese ship sinking later, her job completed, the surviving officers and men who served on her so gallantry and survived her last patrol finally came home.
The officers and men of the USS Tang were the embodiment of "The Greatest Generation." With very little public fanfare they brought the war that Japan started to her own shores. Twenty seven Japanese ship sinking later, her job completed, the surviving officers and men who served on her so gallantry and survived her last patrol finally came home.
April 9, 2011
I love World War II history books, and this is one of the best and most interesting I have ever read. It is fascinating to learn how life aboard a submarine was lived, and how they fought the war. Highly recommended.
February 20, 2009
Clearly they were the Greatest Generation!
January 22, 2010
Very good book about WWII submarine operations.
September 18, 2012
I've read countless WWII books but only this one regarding the silent service. A great read whether or not you're interested in war books.
May 19, 2013
Great read for the WWII submarine fan.
June 17, 2014
An absolute must read if you want to have an amazing experience being aboard a highly advanced WWII attack submarine.
I can't suggest this book enough.
I can't suggest this book enough.
Read
March 8, 2016paperback 4x7
July 19, 2016
An incredibly interesting read about an incredible man, and crew!
December 14, 2016
Great story
Inspirational story and great examples of old mindsets to new amazing land difficult life of a true naval hero worth the read. If you like historical/factual books.
Inspirational story and great examples of old mindsets to new amazing land difficult life of a true naval hero worth the read. If you like historical/factual books.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews