• Porpoise Class Submarine
• Keel laid: January 14, 1936 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA
• Launched: March 11, 1937
• Commissioned: June 12, 1937
• Displacement: 1,330 tons surfaced; 1,997 tons submerged
• Length: 300′ 7″
• Beam: 21′ 5″
• Operating depth: 250′
• Complement: 5 officers, 45 enlisted
• Armament: six 21″ torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes, one 3″/50 deck gun, two .50 caliber machine guns, four .30 caliber machine guns

After leaving Midway on 20 August 1943 to start her seventh war patrol, POMPANO, with Lt. Cdr. W.M. Thomas in command, was never heard from again. Her orders were to patrol off the east coast of Honshu from about 29 August to sunset of 27 September 1943, and then to return to Pearl Harbor for refit, stopping at Midway en route for fuel.

When no transmission was received from her, especially just prior to her expected arrival at Midway on 5 October, word was sent from Pearl to keep a sharp lookout for her. By 15 October, all hope was abandoned, and POMPANO was reported as presumed lost in enemy waters.

Japanese information available now shows no attack which could conceivably have been directed towards POMPANO. On 6 September POMPANO was informed by dispatch that the area to the north of her own was open. Since that area was considered more productive for sinkings than the one she was in, it is quite possible that she moved into it. Both the area between Honshu and Hokkaido, and the one east of northern Honshu are known to have been heavily mined by the enemy, with the greatest concentration of mines in the northern area. In view of the evidence given, it is considered probable that POMPANO met her end by an unreported attack.

In the six patrols completed before her loss, POMPANO sank ten enemy ships for a total of 42,000 tons, and damaged four, totaling 55,300 tons. In the first month of the war, POMPANO patrolled near Wake Island, and sank a large freighter-transport of 16,500 tons. On her second patrol, conducted east of Formosa, she sank a large transport, a tanker, a small freighter, and two patrol boats. POMPANO went to the Empire for her third patrol, from mid-August to mid-September 1942, and sank a freighter and a patrol boat. In the Marshalls area on her fourth patrol, she damaged two tankers. Going to the Empire again for her fifth patrol, POMPANO damaged an aircraft carrier. She went to Japan a third time for her sixth patrol, this time along the coast south of Honshu. There she sank a sampan and damaged a freighter.

Pompano received seven battle stars for service in World War II.

Naval Historical Center

Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Patch(es) were obtained from:
NavSource Online (Submarine Photo Archive).
Originally contributed by Don McGrogan BMCS, USN (ret.)

The title of this entry says it all. But what all? What does it really mean? Does it mean to overlook an offense or does “overlook” lack the full force of the meaning?

I see this as a very deep and nearly impossible thing to do. Quite literally, if someone slaps me on the cheek I need to offer them the other cheek “for their slapping pleasure” but EVEN MORE than this I need to do the impossible. I need to offer the other cheek with the proper attitude inside where no one sees it. That place within me where I feel so wronged; that place where I’ll never be discovered. I see the admonition to turn the other cheek as much more an internal activity that an external one.

When my spouse offends me (as I will her), I need to turn the other cheek. I need to keep no record of wrongs or charges of “she doesn’t give me grace to make a mistake”. I need to offer myself to her as often as it takes, cheek after cheek. This task is not one that I feel the least bit qualified for and am wholly inadequate to live up to. But nonetheless that is where I am called. That is purpose in this life. To serve and make loving my neighbor, my wife as it were, my number one priority.

Doormat, be run over? No. Humble. Yes. The mind of a servant that wants to please. Somehow in this attitude others will be elevated and encouraged. Somehow our needs will be met. It’s not in magic or psychology; it’s in a living savior that my complete confidence for the outcome must be placed.

481 Internet news sources report the following
(excerpts are from the San Jose Mercury News) – August 30, 2006:

Scores on SAT decline in U.S.

The nation’s high school class of 2006 posted a drop in both the math and reading portions of the college-entrance exam known as the SAT, falling seven points in the sharpest decline in three decades.

[...]

The dip puzzled statisticians at the College Board because the average college-bound student is taking more college-prep Advanced Placement or honors classes.

This is very puzzling indeed. The greatest drop in 30 years! My initial reaction to this 554 word story was to contemplate the sorry state of a school system that is run more like a government bureaucracy than an institution whose primary purpose was education.

218 words later (or nearly half way through the article) we read:

The new exam features more advanced math questions and replaces analogies with more reading comprehension.

Puzzlement gives way to concern. Did you see that?
“The dip puzzled statisticians…”
“…new exam features more advanced math questions…”
“…more reading comprehension”

I am not as concerned about the SAT scores as I am at these presumed experts that seem to have a disconnect over the cause and effect. If you make a test more comprehensive (aka harder) wouldn’t you expect to have lower scores? What am I missing? Either the statisticians never made it through their college entrance exams or they are the scapegoats for some nefarious agenda.

Does the author have another agenda? To be fair all news sources that I looked at presented data in the same manner but you can’t tell me that 481 news sources missed the obvious reason for scores dipping. Yes, the headline is sensational which encourages readership, but the real message is that our schools are failing, not the SAT scores.

Next time a teachers association needs more money they now have statistics (from statisticians whose expertise I question) to support their claim. Of course, they never mention the ratio of school funds that goes to bureaucracy vs. to the teacher/student which is where it’s needed.

A standard journalistic composition puts the key information up front and less relevant details deeper in the article. This serves a twofold purpose: readers are able to skim and editors are able to easily discard the last few paragraphs if there are space concerns. We really weren’t intended to read more than the first few paragraphs, we’re being told what to believe and being told we’re thinking for ourselves.

Pretty scary.

Life is full of decisions. Some big, some small, some that seem big, some that seem small. Some are vexing to the soul, some are easy and almost obvious. There are the pros and cons, the things that move us toward a long range goal and those that are just plain fun. Decisions that can better our financial position, move us to a better neighborhood, give us satisfaction or decisions in which either choice is equally distasteful.

I currently have to decide whether to drop a class that is required for my chosen degree or risk failure after intensive struggle for the next four months. Working full time, spending quality time with the family and getting back into the grueling pace of school is a difficult lot to swallow. Stresses at home, uncertainties at work and just plain wanting to do nothing for a change are all factors that I need to consider. Besides normal household chores and maintenance I’ve got a few remodel/repair projects that need my attention. Responsibilities with my church and friends also take their toll. Should the family pick up and move out of state with no clear idea of a means of income? How quickly will house values fall? If we decide that 1 year is too soon to move, should we set a date to evaluate again? Where will I be for retirement? Where will the kids live? What if none of this happens?

That is just the tip of the iceberg with the myriad of decisions which are before me. My key decision in the next week has a deadline. If I drop this class, I can either pick it up later when it’s prerequisite is a dimmer memory – and I’ve studied beforehand, or I can drop it permanently and find another major, or I can drop school entirely since there was no clear, compelling reason that I NEED to go. The pros are that I can devote the next few months to renewed focus on God and family. I can meet with career counselors and investigate other options, I can focus some extra energy on extensively developing my web site at www.AlaskanChalet.com and maybe improve efficiency of the administrative tasks there as well as have something to market to other vacation rental owners.

Life can take someone in so many directions. If it weren’t for my confidence in God’s sovereignty, I might feel helpless and confused. I am blessed that as I lean on him I have utter confidence. It’s only when I try to manage all this in my own power that I feel unsure and uneasy.

I am blessed with some wise friends and a loving wife, all of this through his mighty hand. Thanks be to my solid rock and provider of all the resources I have before me.

• Balao Class Submarine
• Keel laid: April 13, 1944 at Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT
• Launched: April 20, 1945
• Commissioned: MAugust 25, 1945
• Displacement: 1,526 tons surfaced; 2,242 tons submerged
• Length: 311′ 9″
• Beam: 27′ 3″
• Operating depth: 400′
• Complement: 6 officers, 60 enlisted
• Armament: ten 21″ torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 5″/25 deck gun, one 40mm gun, one 20mm gun, two .50 cal. machine guns

Cochino joined the Atlantic Fleet, cruising East Coast and Caribbean Sea waters from her home port, Key West, Florida. On 18 July 1949, she put to sea for a cruise to Britain, and arctic operations. Her group ran through a violent polar gale off Norway, and the joltings received by Cochino played their part on 25 August in causing an electrical fire and battery explosion, followed by the generation of both hydrogen and chlorine gasses.

Defying the most unfavorable possible weather conditions, men of Cochino and Tusk (SS-426) fought to save the submarine for 14 hours, displaying seamanship and courage. But a second battery explosion on 26 August made “Abandon Ship” the only possible order, and Cochino sank. Tusk’s valiant crew rescued all of Cochino’s men except for Robert Wellington Philo, a civilian engineer. Six sailors from Tusk were lost during the rescue.

Naval Historical Center

Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Patch(es) were obtained from:
NavSource Online (Submarine Photo Archive).
Originally contributed by Mike Smolinski.

• Gato Class Submarine
• Keel laid: December 1, 1941 at Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.
• Launched: August 19, 1942
• Commissioned: December 1, 1942
• Displacement: 1,526 tons surfaced; 2,424 tons submerged
• Length: 311′ 9″
• Beam: 27′ 3″
• Operating depth: 300′
• Complement: 6 officers, 54 enlisted
• Armament: ten 21″ torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 3″/50 deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns

The important results of Harder’s fifth war patrol have caused some to call it the most brilliant of the war. Not only did Harder further deplete the critical supply of destroyers by sinking four of them and heavily damaging or destroying another one in four days, but her frequent attacks and a rash of enemy contact reports on this fleeting marauder so frightened Admiral Soemu Toyoda that he believed Tawi-Tawi surrounded by submarines. As a result, Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa’s Mobile Fleet departed Tawi-Tawi a day ahead of schedule. The premature departure upset the Japanese battle plans, and forced Ozawa to delay his carrier force in the Philippine Sea, thus contributing to the stunning defeat suffered by the Japanese in the ensuing battle.

Harder, accompanied by Hake (SS-256) and Haddo (SS-255), departed Fremantle on 5 August for her sixth and last war patrol. Assigned to the South China Sea off Luzon, the wolf pack headed northward. On 21 August Harder and Haddo joined Ray (SS-271), Guitarro (SS-363), and Raton (SS-270) in a coordinated attack against a convoy off Palawan Bay, Mindoro. The Japanese lost four passenger-cargo marus, possibly one by Harder.

Early the next day, Harder and Haddo attacked and destroyed three coastal defense vessels off Bataan, Harder sinking frigates Matsuwa and Hiburi; then, joined by Hake that night, they headed for Caiman Point, Luzon. At dawn 23 August Haddo attacked and fatally damaged Asakaze off Cape Bolinao. Enemy trawlers towed the stricken destroyer to Dasol Bay; and Haddo, her torpedoes expended, informed Harder and Hake the following night of the attack and left the wolf-pack for replenishment at Biak.

Harder and Hake remained off Dasol Bay, searching for new targets. Before dawn 24 August they sighted a Japanese minesweeper and a three-stack Siamese destroyer. As Hake closed to attack, the destroyer turned away toward Dasol Bay. Hake broke of her approach, turned northward, and sighted Harder’s periscope about 600 to 700 yards (500 to 600 m) dead ahead. Swinging southward, Hake then sighted the minesweeper about 2000 yards (1800 m) off her port quarter swinging toward them. To escape the charging minesweeper, Hake started deep and rigged for silent running. At 07:28 she heard 15 rapid depth charges explode in the distance astern. She continued evasive action that morning, then returned to the general area of the attack shortly after noon. She swept the area at periscope depth but found only a ring of marker buoys covering a radius of one-half mile.

The vigorous depth charge attack had ended the career of Harder with all hands. The Japanese report of the attack concluded that “much oil, wood chips, and cork floated in the vicinity.”

Known by her slogan “Hit ‘Em Again,” Harder had wreaked havoc among Japanese shipping. Her record of aggressive daring exploits became almost legendary. All six of her patrols were designated successful.

Harder received six battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation for World War II service. In accordance with Navy custom, the citation was presented to the second Harder upon commissioning.

Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Patch(es) were obtained from:
NavSource Online (Submarine Photo Archive).
Originally contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

A follow-up on my networking issues while on the road.

The card in my laptop did the trick. Now I find that half of my hotel suite has wireless Internet access and the other half doesn’t. It’s a good thing that there is a desk on both parts of the suite. What a pain!

Now here’s the kicker. I leave the computer on for several hours and the tray icon and utility for my wireless adapter has invisible text! What’s up with that. I rebooted this morning and the problem cleared up. Now after about 7 hours at work I have the same symptoms. Technology. Is it any wonder I want to get as far away from it as possible. Now I get to try to contact the support services for my unit. This wireless thing sure has been a timesaver

By necessity I have to travel on business several times per year. I’m not sure if it’s a plus or minus but the travel is always to the same location. To break up the monotony of seeing the same people, staying in the same hotel and eating at the same restaurants I sometimes stay in a hotel in a different area of town. That handles 2 out of 3 of the monotonous occasions mentioned above. The people are great so that’s not really a problem anyway, it just sounded nice to round out my opener.

To my point. I am back at what is probably my favorite hotel to stay in. Many of the rooms have gone through a recent remodel and even the ones that are in need of a facelift are still pretty nice compared to the competition. The hotel in question has upgraded their Internet connections to wireless. This sounds like a great move toward progress, IF I had a laptop with wireless connectivity. The “free” Internet was no longer PLUS for this hotel, at least in my book. After a short call to the front desk in which I was informed that a wireless adapter kit would be sent to my room, I felt a little better about the situation, for a short time.

Within minutes my kit arrived (accompanied by a huge deposit on my credit card) and I proceeded to connect to the Internet. Well what should have been a 5 minute operation went on for over 3 hours before I simply gave up. Way too technical. Here I am in a technical occupation that deals with computers and technology and I am unable to figure out the 5 step Quick Start Guide. To top it off I get into work this morning and spent 5 minutes getting connectivity to my company network.

No wonder so many VCR’s/DVD’s and stereos have the time flashing 12:00. If someone moderately technical can’t figure it out – who can?

The twists and turns that our lives take because of our choices is interesting to say the least.

Some people are so driven that when they plan their work, they actually work their plan. Me, I’d like to. I can make a pretty good plan but there’s always something that I can’t identify missing. I feel uneasy but since I don’t know what to do with it, and doing nothing is usually worse, I end up going with what I have. That wouldn’t be so bad except that I also become distracted as the term of the plan increases. Double whammy!

What does this have to do with anything? Maybe a lot, at least I hope so. In my not so many relationships I find that if I don’t give them some intentional attention the result is exactly the same as having a goal to be the fire chief but never even working as a fireman. Marriage is a relationship specially set apart from all others. Two people make a public commitment to “stick it out” no matter what life or spouse throws at them. Yet how many of you are exactly like me and have found that after the first year or so (maybe less, maybe more), if we were to be brutally honest with ourselves, that we are taking the “easy road”? We are on the path of least effort. Sometimes we’re flat lazy, other times it more of a case of too many irons in the fire.

Then, if you are part of those 80% of marriages that are mediocre at best, you find that you really don’t have the “happily ever after” that you dreamed about. This phase takes time to get to. For some it takes only a few disillusioned months, others stick out for 3 to 5 years. Still for others, the distractions of life, children, etc. take our minds off their true unhappiness. I believe these are the 15 to 25 year group. The group that sticks it out through children or careers and finally one day look up and realize that they have had enough. It all looks like a road-trip gone wrong. Lack of planning. No shared goals. No shared vision. Drifting, until one day we see the waters have taken us to a place we never wanted to go.

Is it ever too late to make a plan? I don’t think so. Can it be very discouraging? I think so. The discouragement comes in when we realize that a plan is needed but our spouse has already moved too far into a state of apathy. Maybe that is me. Maybe I struggle to find enough caring and concern to take action but how do I put it on track. Isn’t the road so much harder to plow when we’ve let the soil harden for years?

As individuals we are all emotional. We all cycle through highs and lows. Caring and non-caring. If my spouse wants to create a roadmap to stop the drift and take us somewhere, how do I get back to that point of caring? Or vice versa. How do both spouses meet at the same place at the same time?

I personally believe very highly in personal responsibility. I find it so easy to find reasons for my behavior, but ALWAYS come to the final conclusion that I am responsible for me. That last statement is easier said than done. I am pretty selfish and amaze myself at the previously unknown ways that selfishness manifests itself. In the end, no matter what your religious beliefs, isn’t the moral code embedded in each of us that same code that makes it clear what we “should” do?

The answer seems to be in taking the high road. Persisting with infinite patience and grace until our spouse comes alongside. A hard road to plow? Yes. The right road to plow? Yes.

“TV found to be a painkiller for children“.

This is a headline in today’s USA Today. I’m all for natural anesthetic, but (you knew that was coming) as the article continues with a description of the study ever so quiet warning bells started to go off in my head. The study was done in a hospital and children were monitored while receiving shots. Some were given nothing, others had the comfort of their mother and another group had children’s programming on TV. Although it is comforting that a mothers comfort is better than nothing, it is equally as disquieting that television was a better pain reliever than a mother.

The studies conclusion is not that the television is necessarily a better pain reliever, but instead possibly a better distractor. The study did allow that possibly some mothers even made the situation worse by heightening awareness of upcoming pain.

On the surface this sounds fine and I really have no argument. It’s the studies this study will spawn and the upcoming invention of the “distractionator” which will be ubiquitous in every doctors and dentist office. It’s one of those cases where history tells me that we’re headed down a slippery slope.

Will anyone along the way even consider that the pain of a needle or of the other mild discomforts in life actually do us more good than harm?