Customer Reviews

In the Course of Duty: The Heroic Mission of the USS Batfish

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't know why I ordered this book but am so glad I did. Once I started reading, I found it very well written, entertaining and in parts, hair-raising. It captures the zeitgeist of the crew when the eerie sound of a torpedo rushes past the hull of the boat, or the shattering thunder of an exploding depth charge shakes the sub, barely missing blowing it up in the sea as well as the urgency of mechanical problems that seriously threaten the submarine and the lives of those on board. The horror is mixed with humor and the crew is presented in such a way that you are able to relate to what they must have felt in their darkest moments of terror as well as in their great joy when victorious over enemy vessels. Also well done, the foibles and dilemmas of getting it to that landlocked bean field in Oklahoma where it finally stands as a proud memorial to the WWII battles at sea and the incredibly brave men who fought them. Do put this one on your "must read list". It's a winner!

Don Keith has captured the history as well as the personalities of the crew of the Batfish. His writing style perfectly complements the events of her service during WWII and the remarkable but quirky way she wound up in Muskogee, OK. at War Memorial Park. A fun read as well as an emotional one.

Over many years, I have read ever book on the boats that I could get my hands on. Without reservation "In The Course Of Duty" is
in the top three of the best. The book takes you through some of the most daring situations that a reader will ever experience.
And, the placing the boat in an Oklahoma Bean Field gives you an insight on the guts and wisdom of Submariners past and present.

When non-submariners try to write stories about submarine operations without expert help, inevitably the work fall short. In this book, there were a number of technical glitches, such as using "breach" instead of "broach" to describe exposure of the submarine above the surface when technically in a submerged state. The WWII operations of the USS Batfish are well enough written to hold the reader's interest, however, particularly those on her sixth patrol. The remainder of the book, almost half, is devoted to the story of getting the retired submarine to a land-locked park in Oklahoma. While this story may be of interest to anyone contemplating a similar acquisition of a government war trophy, it detracts from the main tale of the boat's wartime adventures. A much more exciting and authentic tale may be found in Eugene Fluckey's "Thunder Below".

Don Keith follows a submarine, the USS Batfish, from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard through sea trials, perilous travels to the Panama Canal, to her first patrol in the Pacific during World War II, through several captains, crew members and close calls, to medal winning feats of daring and courage, and finally to a resting place in what had been a bean field in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The Batfish and her crew faced danger and death head on and with excellent training, ingenuity and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice, earned the nickname "The Sub Killer of World War II." While I was less than thrilled with the story of how it came to rest in Muskogee as a museum, this additional narrative further illustrates a laudable trait of submariners. They're willing to do whatever it takes at whatever cost to accomplish their mission. I rate In the Course of Duty 3 of 5 stars.

I've visited the Batfish twice, once in the '80s with our sons and then a couple of years ago with our grandsons, so when I ran across this book (and since I'm a World War II history nut!) it was a "must read". I suppose I had read the history of the sub when I visited the site in Muskogee but hadn't fully understood what heroes the ship and her crew had been. Don Keith does an excellent job of keeping the reader fully involved in the hunt and it's obvious he had a good technical advisor or had researched sub lingo. I remember the battle to keep the Batfish at Muskogee and was disappointed that the state might lose a piece of national history. Reading what had to occur from the submariners and other interested parties I'm grateful that they never gave up. The park has expanded to display a lot of other WW II articles but on a visit two years ago we were disappointed that the "gift shop", such as it was, didn't offer much in the way of Batfish memorabilia. We had promised our grandsons sailor caps just like I had bought our sons years before so they could have their pictures made inside the sub posing like the real Batfish crew but nothing like that was available. Those kinds of things help youngsters feel the impact of what this great ship was all about. Great book, well-written and easy to read - thanks, Mr Keith, for a job well done and to the crew of the Batfish, you have our eternal gratitude.

This is a great book for WWII submarine buffs. The best part is if you are in Muskogee,OK you can go on board and see the real USS Batfish for yourself.

IN THE COURSE OF DUTY: The Heroic Mission of the USS Batfish, is the true account of one of the US Navy's state of the art diesel submarine operating in the South China Sea during early 1945. But there are actually two stories in this book. Firstly, the author does an excellent job of describing how the USS Batfish, nicknamed, "The Submarine-Killer Submarine," managed to sink no less than three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines during a single patrol in February of 1945. It was an unprecedented event in naval history, and earned the highest honors for the Batfish captain and crew. Secondly, the book covers the almost super human efforts by several veterans to establish the USS Batfish as an Oklahoma submariner memorial and tourist attraction in a flat grassy field in Muskogee, Oklahoma. That's an interesting story by itself. A job well done.

Although not as exciting as many other submarine books on the market, nonetheless, the action was realistic, the tension was high and the pure interesting subject matter moved the story along at flank speed. I give this book a high recommendation.

This is what I wanted and I got it when I was told it would be here