Presumed Lost: The Incredible Ordeal of America's Submarine POWs during the Pacific War [Hardcover]

Stephen L. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2009

When submarines failed to return to port from patrol, they were officially listed by the Navy as overdue and presumed lost. Loved ones were notified by the War Department that their siblings, spouses, and sons were missing in action and presumed lost. While 52 U.S. submarines were sunk during World War II, the Japanese took prisoners of war from the survivors of only seven of these lost submarines. Presumed Lost is the compelling story of the final patrols of those seven submarines and the long captivity of the survivors. Of the 196 sailors taken prisoner, 158 would survive the horrors of the POW camps, where torture, starvation, and slave labor were common. This is the most complete and accurate record of their captivity experiences ever compiled. Author Stephen L. Moore draws on personal interviews with the survivors, as well as on diaries, family archives, and POW statements to reveal new details and correct longstanding errors in previously published accounts. Moore's research brought to light the following facts: Most crewmen from USS Perch endured 1,298 days of captivity without their families ever being told that they were still alive. The Perch and USS Grenadier were so badly damaged by enemy depth-charge attacks that their crews were forced to scuttle their ships. USS Sculpin and USS S-44 went down fighting, with only forty-two men from the Sculpin being taken prisoner and half of them perishing on the way to Japan. USS Tang and USS Tullibee, victims of their own faulty, circling torpedoes, had few survivors, five of whom managed to escape from the sunken, burning Tang when it was 180 feet below the ocean surface. As many as six men survived the loss of USS Robalo after it struck a mine off Palawan, but none of those survived the prison camps. The book includes dozens of rare photos of the POWs, many of which have never before been published. Appendices include final muster rolls of the seven submarines and a complete list of the U.S. submariners who were held as POWs, with details of their various camps of internment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen L. Moore, a sixth-generation Texan, is the author of eight previous books on World War II and Texas history, including War of the Wolf, the story of USS Seawolf. A resident of Lantana, TX, he is a frequent speaker at Texas book events and conferences and writes for local magazines and historical journals.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591145309
• ISBN-13: 978-1591145301
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #944,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PRESUMED LOST, September 25, 2009

By 

Janet S. Ferrin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Presumed Lost: The Incredible Ordeal of America's Submarine POWs during the Pacific War (Hardcover)

PRESUMED LOST is about our country's history and world history. It is also part of my family history. My uncle was part of that group that was prisoners of war. I have heard his side of the story along with the historical facts. We should give more honor than we do to the people who fight and some loose their lives for the freedom of the rest of us!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Room for improvement, January 9, 2012

By 

Aviatrix - See all my reviews

This review is from: Presumed Lost: The Incredible Ordeal of America's Submarine POWs during the Pacific War (Hardcover)

I devour any personal, historical accounts regarding naval and Army Air Force books, and I spotted this book at the D-Day Invasion Museum (WWII) in New Orleans, LA bookstore. This book is well researched with superb first hand accounts of the WWII Silent Service. The brave heros cited in this book indeed deserve the highest of recognition, reverence and heartfelt gratitude (certainly as do all veterans).

Unfortunately, I noted an error on page 85 regarding Louis Zamperini which cites his aircraft as a B-17(Boeing Flying Fortress). In fact, Zamperini's ill-fated bomber that was ditched in the Pacific Ocean was a B-24 (Consolidated Liberator). Where is the proof reader? "Zamp" is a famous 94 year old veteran and his story is well known. The author should either read Zamperini's book or endeavor to know the difference between these two WWII bomber aircraft. This error leads me to question if other facts are incorrect.

Another issue for me is the high number of abbreviations of naval personnel and submarine equipment. Examples; TDC, servicemen ranks such as MoMM3c,plank owner,etc. etc. The author assumes we know what all these abbreviations and jargon mean. For naval neophites who are not used to specific classifications and abbreviations, a simple appendix would be quite useful to the reader. Such explanatory appendix is quite elementary and should never be overlooked in a book of this specific nature.

Also, when discussing an aircraft carrier from any vintage, one must cite its naval CV designation as for instance, the USS Hornet(CV-8)sunk in October 1942 is not the same carrier as USS Hornet (CV-12)which was named to honor CV-8 and served the remainder of WWII.

Certainly these issues do not negate the personal stories and experiences and chronological history relayed here, as well as the incredible amount of research necessary to produce such a book. I believe the author, proof-reader and/or editor fell on their swords, perhaps due to lack of knowledge about all subjects therein, which ultimately results in the submission of less than first rate volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Dad sole surviver of Tullibee, November 12, 2011

By 

Cliff K (Columbia S.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Presumed Lost: The Incredible Ordeal of America's Submarine POWs during the Pacific War (Hardcover)

My Dad CW Kuykendll was the sole surviver of SS(284) Tullibee. And is stil alive today. The storys he has told me and he's five grandsons are almost unbeleavable.He is a true america hero, who has given he's all to are country, and would do it all over again.All he's freinds were lost that day in 1941,he still remembers every detail.I Love you Dad and think you for all you have done for are country.