Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey

In June, America lost one of its finest submarine commanders. Admiral Eugene Fluckey was credited with sinking the most tonnage of any American submarine commander in World War II. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and four Navy Crosses.

When Fluckey was 10 years old, he heard a radio address from President Calvin Coolidge that emphasized persistence as the main ingredient to success. President Coolidge said, “Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Eugene was so impressed he named his dog Calvin Coolidge.

This inspired the boy to excel, and he graduated at the young age of 15. His father felt Eugene was too young for college, so he enrolled him in the Mercersberg Academy. A professor convinced Eugene to take an eight-hour math exam. The professor had enough confidence in him that he bet $50 that Eugene would win. Since the professor believed in him, Eugene didn’t want to let him down. The exam was so tough that he was only able to complete one and a half questions in the eight hours. Eugene was disappointed, so the professor told him the important thing was that he did his best. When the results came in, Fluckey won – no one else could complete a problem. Following his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1938, he entered the submarine service.

During WWII, Fluckey commanded the submarine Barb. The Navy credits him with over 95,000 tons of Japanese vessels sunk. He is also credited with sinking 16 ships, and assisting in the sinking of a seventeenth. In September of 1944, he sank the carrier Unyo and a freighter in the same torpedo salvo.

Before dawn on January 23, 1945, Fluckey’s sub entered an uncharted, mined, and rocky harbor in occupied China. The water was so shallow that the sub attacked on the surface. They hit six of the thirty ships in the harbor and blew up an ammunition ship in the attack. While evading two pursuing Japanese frigates, the Barb set a world record for submarines at 23.5 knots.

The Barb became the only submarine to launch rockets against Japan when they attacked an air base and factories in the summer of 1945.

On July 23, 1945, the Barb launched two rafts on a sabotage raid from 950 yards off the coast of Sakhalin Island. Trains used the tracks to transport military supplies. Fluckey sought as many former Boy Scouts as he could muster for the mission – he knew they would be able to find their way in unfamiliar territory at night. The eight volunteers paddled ashore under cover of darkness where they set explosives on a railroad track. As they paddled back to the sub, a train set off charges, destroying the track and the sixteen-car train. The Barb became the only sub to sink a train, and performed the only landing of U.S. forces on mainland Japan.

Fluckey reached the rank of Rear Admiral before retiring in 1972, and was the most decorated submariner in history. Under his command, none of his crew were ever awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded or killed. Following the war, Fluckey became an Eagle Scout for the Boy Scouts in 1948. Fittingly, Fluckey had the philosophy, “We don’t have problems, just solutions.”

America has plenty of problems today, but few leaders seem to offer solutions like Admiral Fluckey. He also said, “Serve your country well. Put more into life than you expect to get out of it. Drive yourself and lead others. Make others feel good about themselves. They will outperform your expectations, and you will never lack for friends.” We all could learn something from Admiral Fluckey.

©COPYRIGHT 2007 UNTO THE BREACH MEDIA