We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War [Hardcover]

Robert Schultz (Author), James Shell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2009

A sailor's extraordinary experiences on an American submarine in the Pacific are candidly reported in this eyewitness account of war from a torpedoman's perspective. Robert Hunt managed to survive twelve consecutive war patrols on the submarine USS Tambor. During the course of the war, Hunt was everywhere that mattered in the Pacific. He stood on the bow of the Tambor as it cruised into Pearl Harbor just days after the devastation of the Japanese air raid, peered through binoculars as his boat shadowed Japanese cruisers at the Battle of Midway, ferried guns and supplies to American guerilla fighters in the Philippines, fired torpedoes that sank vital Japanese shipping, and survived a near-fatal, seventeen-hour depth-charge attack. For exceptional skill and proficiency at his battle station Hunt received a commendation from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. This WWII torpedoman's account of the war offers the rare perspective of an enlisted seaman that is not available in the more common officer accounts. To capture and recount the progress of the Pacific War through Hunt's eyes coauthors Robert Schultz and James Shell examined the young submariner's war diary, as well as crew letters, photographs, and captains' reports, and they also conducted hours of interviews. Their vivid descriptions of the ways in which sailors dealt with the stress of war while at sea or on liberty show a side of the war that is rarely reported. The fact that Hunt's submarine was the first of a new fleet of World War II boats and the namesake of a significant class adds further value to his remarkable story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Schultz (English, Roanoke Coll.) and Shell base their book one of the few completely candid accounts of the submarine war in the Pacific Theater on the war diary of torpedoman Robert Hunt, supplemented by their further original research. Hunt enlisted in 1939 and served on the USS Tambor from 1940 to 1944. He participated in and managed to survive an incredible 12 consecutive war patrols, which covered just about every major event in the war against Japan, from action in support of the U.S. Marines on Wake Island to the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk. This is an excellent read, distinctive for its enlisted man's, rather than officer's, perspective. It should be in all World War II collections. --Library Journal

About the Author

Robert Schultz is the Fishwick Professor of English at Roanoke College in Virginia. His books include a novel, The Madhouse Nudes, and two collections of poetry. He has received a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Award in Fiction, Cornell University's Corson Bishop Poetry Prize, and, from The Virginia Quarterly Review, the Emily Clark Balch Prize for Poetry. James Shell, has had fiction, nonfiction, and poetry published in The Roanoke Times, Jazz, College Poetry Review, Single Living, Ideas at Work, Artemis, Raconteur, GlennGould, and the University of Toronto Quarterly. A resident of Salem, VA, this is his first published full-length work.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 1 edition (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591147786
• ISBN-13: 978-1591147787
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A quick read but not a great read, December 8, 2009

By 

Matt Anderson (MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War (Hardcover)

When I picked up We Were Pirates I expected a firsthand account of the Pacific War with a ghost writer and what I found was that two men have edited and woven Chief Robert Hunt's diary into We Were Pirates. While well written I found myself wishing I was reading Chief Hunt's diary with commentary by Chief Hunt. At one point Hunt by mistake fires a torpedo then the authors kept on talking about a leak in the torpedo room. It seems likely that the torpedo went through the outer torpedo tube door and damaged the tube causing the leak but the authors lack of knowledge of submarines is shown here. The authors spend too much time on Hunt's time ashore and not enough exploring the war patrols or bringing in other material supplementing Hunt's diary. the pressures of the war patrols would be far more helpful than the exploits of Chief Hunt's letting off steam. The purpose of a good History is to explore causes in order to understand the consequences, I found myself skipping over the beach portions of the book.

The end of the book became difficult to read because the main author Robert Schultz goes into first person account of hero worship for Chief Hunt and while interesting the purpose of reading this book is to know about Chief Hunt experiences not Dr. Schultz's. It is a very irritating trend in recent histories to have the author imbed themselves into the narrative. In the end it was an easy read but a book that I can't say added much to the submarine history library. It is a shame we couldn't have Chief Hunt's words and experience firsthand.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ben, September 4, 2009

By 

Ben F. Hynum "twidget" (Grove, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War (Hardcover)

Well written, and exceptionally so since I was a crewmember on the Tambor on its
last 2 war patrols.....

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Read, June 2, 2010

By 

M. Casale "history buff" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War (Hardcover)

As someone who enjoys WWII Navy/Submarine memoirs I was excited to see that there was a new memoir written by a sub sailor. My excitement turned to skepticism however when I learned that the book was written instead by two authors who based the book on the sub sailors diary and personal interviews. I had to read the book however and I am glad that I did. There are a couple reviews here that make some good points about the book in that it could have been better if they fit the sailors experiences within the wider context of the war and that some battle actions and patrols are glossed over and that there are a few points that technically could have been better explained. I also agree that the one chapter dealing with the USS Tambors actions during the Battle of Midway were marginal and that this chapter should have been condensed. I can agree with these points of view however if you enjoy a good sub sailors memoir I would still urge someone to buy it. Although its not as strong as McCleods memoir - Sub Duty - or Ron Smith's - Torpedoman - I still felt it was a very good book and well worth purchasing. After reading my impression was that it was written well and that the sailor has a great story to tell. There are plenty of sub books out there that you can read that describe every attack on every patrol however it seems the authors chose to purposely go into detail on only some of the more harrowing ones. In fact the one chapter in which the Tambor undergoes an all day depth charging was very thrilling. I realize that some people may be turned off regarding the stories of the sailors time in port partying but he also has some poignant personal experiences too. I feel that too many books do not give enough attention to a serviceman's activities when they are out of combat. If this sounds appealing I ask you not to blow vent but to give it a try. Its probably the last WWII US Sub book were ever going to see !