Stevens - Fatal Dive: Solving the World War II Mystery of the USS Grunion

Table of Contents

Peter Stevens unreels a fascinating piece of nautical history. This real-life drama of war, suspense, and human achievement in the face of frightful odds is mesmerizing from start to finish. A book for all.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL DAVE PALMER (RETIRED),
author of George Washington and Benedict Arnold
and George Washingtons Military Genius

A thriller that plows forward with the unrelenting intensity of a World War II submarine hunting down an enemy cruiser, but this tale is powered by the devotion of three faithful sons desperately searching for their father, Lieutenant Commander Jim Abeleand to solve the fate of his crew, the men of the USS Grunion. A masterful mystery that is truly a love story disguised as a war story.

MICHAEL KEANE, author of Patton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer

After the USS Grunion was lost in perhaps the most hostile environment of the war, the details of the submarines sinking off the Aleutian islands remained a mystery for decadesuntil the deceased skippers sons set out with dogged determination to find out where and how their father died. Stevens manages to build suspense even though the reader knows the ultimate fate of the Gato-class pigboat. Fatal Dive is a quick but thoughtful and moving read.

JIM DEFELICE,
best-selling author of Rangers at Dieppe,
Omar Bradley: General at War, and American Sniper

A fascinating account of how a brave mans loyal sons discovered that a stateside design flaw had doomed him and his crew. Touching and eloquent.

JOHN KOSTER, author of Operation Snow: How a
Soviet Mole in FDRs White House Triggered Pearl Harbor

Suspenseful ... a chilling conclusion.

This book is dedicated to Lieutenant Commander Jim Abele,
the sixty-nine other men aboard the submarine USS Grunion
heroes alland their families. Also, to Jims remarkable wife, Catherine, and
three sons Bruce, Brad, and John who went searching against all odds for
their father, his sub, his crew, and answers.

Abele, Mannert L., Lieutenant Commander, Commanding Officer
Alexander, Frank E., Signalman Third Class
Allen, Daniel E., Signalman Third Class
Arvan, Herbert J., Mess Attendant Second Class
Banes, Paul E., Chief Motor Machinists Mate
Bedard, Leo J. I., Chief Motor Machinists Mate
Blinston, Wesley H., Radioman Third Class
Bonadies, Nicholas R., Fireman Second Class
Boo, Robert F., Electricians Mate Third Class
Bouvia, Chester L., Machinists Mate First Class
Caldwell, George E., Chief Electricians Mate, Warrant Officer
Carroll, Richard H., Seaman Second Class
Clift, John S., Torpedomans Mate Second Class
Collins, Michael F., Fireman Second Class
Cooksey, Lee D., Motor Machinists Mate First Class
Cullinane, Daniel, Chief Motor Machinists Mate
Cuthbertson, William H., Jr., Ensign
Deaton, Lawrence D., Seaman Second Class
DeStoop, Albert E., Chief Torpedomans Mate
Devaney, William P., Jr., Seaman Second Class
Dighton, Samuel R., Jr., Lieutenant Junior Grade
Doell, Louis H., Jr., Radioman Second Class
Franck, Leon H., Seaman First Class
Graham, Merritt D., Chief Torpedomans Mate, Chief of the Boat
Hall, Kenneth E., Seaman Second Class
Hellensmith, Ernest G., Electricians Mate Third Class
Henderson, Hollice B., Motor Machinists Mate Second Class
Hutchinson, Charles R., Torpedomans Mate Third Class
Kennedy, Sylvester J., Jr., Motor Machinists Mate Second Class
Knowles, Edward E., Jr., Seaman Second Class
Kockler, Lawrence R., Torpedomans Mate First Class
Kornahrens, William G., Lieutenant, Communications Officer
Ledford, Moore J., Chief Yeoman
Lehman, Woodrow W., Electricians Mate First Class
Loe, Sidney A., Motor Machinists Mate Second Class
Lunsford, Samuel E., Jr., Electricians Mate Second Class
Lyon, James W., Fireman First Class
Martin, Carson R., Chief Motor Machinists Mate
Martin, Thomas E., Electricians Mate First Class
Mathison, Ryder, Electricians Mate First Class
McCutcheon, Richard G., Torpedomans Mate Third Class
McMahon, John M., Lieutenant, Engineering and Diving Officer
Miller, Ernest C., Fireman Second Class
Myers, David O., Fireman First Class
Nave, Frank T., Motor Machinists Mate Second Class
Newcomb, Arthur G., Radioman First Class
Nobles, John W., Motor Machinists Mate First Class
Pancoast, John E., Motor Machinists Mate Second Class
Parziale, Carmine A., Torpedomans Mate Third Class
Paul, Cornelius, Jr., Mess Attendant Second Class
Pickel, Bernard J., Seaman First Class
Post, Arnold C., Seaman Second Class
Randall, William H., Radioman Second Class
Ryan, Loyal, Jr., Seaman Second Class
Sanders, Howard A., Motor Machinists Mate First Class
Schumann, Elmer T., Chief Quartermaster
Sullivan, Paul P., Pharmacists Mate First Class
Surofchek, Steven, Ships Cook First Class
Swartwood, David N., Seaman Second Class
Templeton, Samuel A., Gunners Mate First Class
Thomas, Millener W., Lieutenant, Executive Officer
Traviss, Byron A., Seaman Second Class
Ullmann, Albert, Seaman First Class
Van Woggelum, Marshall F., Fireman Third Class
Walter, Melvin H., Fireman Third Class
Webster, Raymond E., Electricians Mate Second Class
Welch, Donald F., Fire Controlman Second Class
Wells, John H., Torpedomans Mate Second Class
Wilson, John E., Jr., Ships Cook Third Class
Youngman, Ralph J., Fireman Second Class

At just about 3:30 on the sunny afternoon of September 30, 1942, at home in Newton, Massachusetts, Kay Abele received a Western Union telegram. She read the message, went to the front door, and called her sonstwelve-year-old Bruce, nine-year-old Brad, and five-year-old Johnin from the street in front of the house where they were tossing a football.