Customer Reviews

Overdue and Presumed Lost: The Story of the USS Bullhead (Bluejacket Books)

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My older brother was one of the 84 officers & crew lost on the Bullhead. I had been searching for some information about him for a long time because I was only 11 years old when WWII ended. He was 12 years older than I and joined the navy, as did our father in WWI, when he was just a youngster of 19. He had a son, my nephew, whom he saw only once or twice. The Bullhead was the last US Naval vessel lost during the war. It went down in the Java Sea in early August of '45 only weeks before the Japanese surrender in September. I never knew what my brother did on the boat. He was the baker and is mentioned in two or three paragraphs on page 40 of the book. It has given me a sense of closure because I never knew what happened or when my brother lost his life in service to our country. I'm glad I found the book and can recommend it to anyone interested in naval history.

Overdue and Presumed Lost is a moving account of the patrols of the USS Bullhead. The author who was aboard the submarine's first patrole captures the drama as well as humor of life on a submarine on active patrol. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the "silent service" of our Armed Forces. The author's style of writing makes this a quick read yet also a moving account.

This was a good book for anyone who has served aboard a diesel boat. The style was that of a writer who did not fully understand the "mind of a submariner (SUB-ma-REEN-er)", . . . but who could blame him! He was a reporter, the only one ever allowed to go on patrol during the "real thing". The language is somewhat typical of the flavor that was fed to the public in those days, but if for no other reason than that, it is worth a place on the library shelf of all of us who have served aboard the diesel boats. It is historically important. I recommend it to all lovers of the "Silent Service", of whom I am one, qualified to wear the "twin dolphins".

My uncle, Harry A. McDermott, MoMM3, was one of the sailors onboard when the USS Bullhead was lost.