USS Pampanito

the long version

"USS Pampanito is the story of a sub and crew that, though they caused plenty of destruction, found the pinnacle of their honor and fame in a dramatic sea rescue. Gregory F. Michno relates the experiences of the crewmen who served on the USS Pampanito - both the enlisted men and the officers.". "The Pampanito story begins with the boat's construction in 1943, continues through its six combat missions, to its decommissioning after the war in 1945. The heart of the book focuses on the September 12-14, 1944, attack on a Japanese convoy carrying English and Australian POWs from the Burma-Siam Railway (of Bridge on the River Kwai fame) to prison camps in Japan. The Pampanito helped sink two of the prison ships, unwittingly killing hundreds of Allied soldiers, then returned to rescue its own victims. The Pampanito crew picked a record seventy-three men from the sea." "USS Pampanito: Killer Angel presents a full picture of life on a "pigboat" and the attitudes of a whole generation who found their defining experience in World War II."--BOOK JACKET.