Wake of the Wahoo: The Heroic Story of America's Most Daring WWII Submarine, USS Wahoo [Paperback]

Forest J. Sterling (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966323521 | ISBN-13: 978-0966323528 | Publication Date: October 1, 1999 | Edition: 4

From Pearl Harbor to her last and fatal voyage, the heroic story of America's most daring World War II submarine, as told by the only surviving member of her crew Forest J. Sterling. USS Wahoo (SS-238) was the most successful American submarine in the World War II Pacific Fleet. She was the first to penetrate an enemy harbor and sink a Japanese ship. And was the first to wipe-out an entire convoy single-handedly. In her 11 short months of life, Wahoo managed an incredible 21 kills, totaling over 60,000 tons of ships. Then, just 45 minutes before leaving Midway (island) for what would be her last and fatal patrol, Yeoman Forest Sterling was suddenly transferred to other duty. The result is this book; Wake of the Wahoo, Sterling's fantastic yet completely authentic account of a remarkable crew, captain and the ship they lived and died for. Wahoo's captain the aggressive and brave Lieutenant Commander Dudley 'Mush' Morton was the pride of the submarine fleet. He would earn the Navy Cross at the helm of Wahoo. The sub's executive officer the daring Lieutenant Richard H. 'Dick' O'Kane. O'Kane would later receive the Medal of Honor in command of the submarine USS Tang (SS-306. Forest Sterling tells the story as no one else could Wake of the Wahoo is a true account of American submarine warfare from a man who lived it ... and live to tell about it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in Trenton, Missouri in 1911, Forest J. Sterling was just 3 years old when his family moved to Henryetta, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school in Ordway, Colorado, Sterling joined the U.S. Navy in 1930. Seven years later he left the Navy, and after traveling the country, settled in Los Angeles (CA.). When war broke out in 1941, Sterling re-enlisted in the Navy and requested duty in submarines. One year later, Forest Sterling reported aboard USS Wahoo (SS-238) as her new Yeoman. Home on leave in the summer of 1943, Forest married his wife Marie. With Wahoo, Sterling became sensitive to a growing feeling among his shipmates that the submarine would not survive the war. He tried to laugh it off by telling everyone that, since he was going to see the year 2000, they had nothing to worry about as long as he was on board. Then it happened: Just minutes before she sailed on her ill-fated war patrol Sterling was miraculously transferred and the Wahoo was lost.

After attending stenography school in San Diego, CA., Sterling eventually returned to the Pacific before the end of World War II. In 1956, he retired from the U.S. Navy as a Chief Petty Officer. Following retirement, Sterling spent two years attending Ventura College (CA.) earning an Associate of Arts degree. He then wrote "Wake Of The Wahoo" in 1960. When asked why he wrote the book, Sterling said; "I just wanted to tell about the fine officers and enlisted men who went to their deaths in that sub, so folks could learn what life in a sub is like, particularly during combat." "Wake Of The Wahoo" was the first book on the submarine service written by an enlisted man. In 1963, the United States Naval Institute chose Sterling's "Wake Of The Wahoo" as one of the three best books written by an enlisted man from World War II. Since that time, "Wake Of The Wahoo" has become a submarine classic. Living in Gulfport, Mississippi, Forest Sterling passed away in May of 2002 from congestive heart failure just six days after celebrating his 91st birthday.

Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: R.A. Cline Publishing; 4 edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966323521
• ISBN-13: 978-0966323528
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Wake's" a Winner: One Sub Book That's A MUST-Read, December 4, 1999

By 

Jeffrey D. Porteous (La Mirada, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wake of the Wahoo: The Heroic Story of America's Most Daring WWII Submarine, USS Wahoo (Paperback)

What a delight to find this book finally back in print after over thirty years! It's an all-time favorite, a true classic of naval lore and one of two late-'50s/early-'60s seminal works on U.S. fleet submarines in World War II which, as a boy, helped create for me a lifelong interest in subs in general and American WWII boats in particular. The difference between this book and others like it is that, in general, those others have tended to either take a stuffier historical position, or be written from a colder, more distant command perspective: the Captain's privileged and/or technical remembrances.

Sterling's account, on the other hand, is completely his own: a totally down-to-earth first person retelling of all his adventures and experiences as an enlisted man aboard Wahoo, the pride of the fleet at the time. It's all in there: the boring monotony of days of fruitless patrolling on station and the long treks back and forth across the

Pacific; the infectious and overwhelming excitement of battle and the utter terror wrought by Japanese depth charge counterattacks; even the good-natured fun and camaraderie of between-patrols R&R at Brisbane, Midway and Pearl. And it's told from a definitely Everyman point of view, very approachable and easily satisfying in its day-to-day recounting.

And Wahoo herself? Her name, and that of her daring late skipper, Dudley W. "Mush" Morton, remain legendary among our submarine force. Under his command she became, arguably, America's most famous WWII sub: first to successfully penetrate an enemy harbor and torpedo a ship therein; first to successfully execute the "down the throat" torpedo shot; certainly first to wipe out an entire convoy one-by-one in a string of stirring attacks. It's a uniquely compelling story -- with Sterling on hand for all of it -- and it reads like a good novel. Indeed, many good books are currently available about life aboard U.S. subs in WWII. But if you're going to read only one on the subject, this is the book to dive into.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding narrative of life aboard a WW II submarine, November 27, 1999

By 

Dennis Daniels (N Tonawanda, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wake of the Wahoo: The Heroic Story of America's Most Daring WWII Submarine, USS Wahoo (Paperback)

Forest Sterling's first person narrative of his experiences as a Yeoman for five of the seven war patrols, of the USS Wahoo is a classic that surpasses virtually every other book on WW II submarine warfare. Ranking right up there with Sam Watkins civil war classic, "Company Aytch", Sterling gives us an excellent insight into the life of an enlisted man aboard a submarine during war time. It's easy to read about the legendary Mush Morton and the tenacity of a Richard O'Kane in other books, but nowhere else does their personalties shine as they do in Sterling's book. Sterling effectively gives the reader an idea of the terror of repeated depth charge attacks and the fear of entering an uncharted harbor to sink an enemy destroyer. Despite the hardships, ringing clear throughout the book is the special camaraderie that the crew shared and indeed was a necessity to survive the rigors of confinement in a fleet boat of this era. Although not a long book, it will leave the reader in awe of what those aboard submarines lived through and possibly give some insight on what attracted them to this branch of service.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Wahoo a Winner', September 26, 2003

By 

Raymond J. Pelissier (Marquette, Mi United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wake of the Wahoo: The Heroic Story of America's Most Daring WWII Submarine, USS Wahoo (Paperback)

Wake of the Wahoo by Forest Sterling is a great read! Reading this engrossing book is actually more like sitting down with the author, and listening to him as he relates the five patrols he experienced on the Wahoo. We should be thankful that he received his orders for transfer before the 7th and fatal final patrol.

Forest Sterling was an enlisted sailor- the 'yeoman' aboard the Wahoo. His descriptions of long, sometimes very boring days on patrol, broken only by the tense, gut-wrenching episodes of discovering the target, tracking, stalking, and finally attacking, and evading, draws the reader into the clamy, sweaty, smelly, claustrophobic innards of a fleet submarine. No details are left to the imagination; Sterling recounts eating a particular sandwich at a moment in time; he describes his 'yeoman's' shack in minute detail. The yarns he spins on the personalities of his shipmates (including officers), is worth the read alone. His colorful insights of 'Mush' Morton, Dick O'Kane (also author of another Wahoo book, and Skipper of the Tang - the sub that sank the most tonnage in WWII), among others, is just plain fun to read about.

Footnote; Forrest Sterling also served on another sub after Wahoo, along with George Grider, who ALSO wrote a very good book on WWII subs; 'WAR FISH'. Sterling 'mentions' Grider in his book, but I don't recall if Grider ever re-called Sterling.

Anyway; Buy It, Read It, and Enjoy It!