Cat's Eyes

The story was told later in newsprint (January 10, 1943, Hanford, CA), folded into a Sunday paper in California, trimmed to fit a column and given a confident headline that promised reassurance to families far from the sea. It said there was never a dull moment for a submarine, and that submarine duty was not a job but a way of life. It said the night belonged to sharp eyes, steady nerves, and a skipper who knew when to act. All of that was true. None of it conveyed what the night of February 3, 1942 actually felt like aboard USS Searaven SS-196.