CH. 2. Not by our craft thou art
caught,
But Destiny divine hath wrought
The net that holds thee bound.
Aim not at us the sound
Of thy dread curse with dire disaster
fraught.
On others let that light! 'Tis our
true care
Thou should'st not scorn our love in
thy despair.
PHI. Now, seated by the shore
Of heaving ocean hoar,
He mocks me, waving high
The sole support of my precarious being,
The bow which none e'er held but I.
O treasure of my heart, torn from this
hand,
That loved thy touch, -- if thou canst
understand,
How sad must be thy look in seeing
Thy master destined now no more,
Like Heracles of yore,
To wield thee with an archer's might!
But in the grasp of an all-scheming
wight,
O bitter change! thou art plied;
And swaying ever by his side,
Shalt view his life of dark malignity,
Teeming with guileful shames, like
those he wrought on me.
CH. 3. Nobly to speak for the right
Is manly and strong;
But not with an envious blight
To envenom the tongue;
He to serve all his friends of the fleet,
One obeying a many-voiced word,
Through the minist'ring craft of our lord
Hath but done what was meet.
PHI. Come, legions of the wild,
Of aspect fierce or mild,
Fowl from the fields of air,
And beasts that roam with bright untroubled gaze,
No longer bounding from my lair
Fly mine approach! Now freely without fear
Ye may surround my covert and come near,
Treading the savage rock-strewn ways.
The might I had is no more mine,
Stolen with those arms divine.
This fort hath no man to defend.
Come satisfy your vengeful jaws, and rend
These quivering tainted limbs!
Already hovering death bedims
My fainting sense. Who thus can live on air,
Tasting no gift of earth that breathing mortals share?
CH. 4. Ah! do not shrink from thy
friend,
If love thou reverest,
But know 'tis for thee to forfend
The fate which thou fearest.
The lot thou hast here to deplore,
Is sad evermore to maintain,
And hardship in sickness is sore,
But sorest in pain.
PHI. Kindest of all that e'er before
Have trod this shore,
Again thou mind'st me of mine ancient
woe!
Why wilt thou ruin me? What wouldst
thou do?
CH. 5. How mean'st thou?
PHI. If to Troy, of me abhorred
Thou e'er hast hoped to lead me with
thy lord.
CH. 6. So I judge best.
PHI. Begone at once, begone!
CH. 7. Sweet is that word, and swiftly
shall be done!
Let us be gone, each to his place on
board.
[The Chorus make as if they were going]
PHI. Nay, by dear Zeus, to whom all
suppliants moan
Leave me not yet!
CH. 8. Keep measure in thy word.
PHI. Stay, by Heaven, stay!
CH. 9. What wilt thou say?
PHI. O misery! O cruel power
That rul'st this hour!
I am destroyed. Ah me!
O poor torn limb, what shall I do with
thee
Through all my days to be?
Ah, strangers, come, return, return!
CH. 10. What new command are we to
learn
Crossing thy former mind?
PHI. Ah! yet be kind.
Reprove not him, whose tongue, with
grief distraught,
Obeys not, in dark storms, the helm of
thought!
CH. 11. Come, poor friend, the way we
call.
PHI. Never, learn it once for all!
Not though he, whom Heaven obeys,
Blast me with fierce lightning's
blaze!
Perish Troy, and all your host,
That have chosen, to their cost,
To despise and cast me forth,
Since my wound obscured my worth!
Ah, but, strangers, if your sense
Hath o'er-mastered this offence,
Yield but one thing to my prayer!
CH. 12. What wouldst thou have?
PHI. Some weapon bare,
Axe or sword or sharpened dart,
Bring it to content my heart.
CH. 13. What is thy new intent?
PHI. To sever point by point
This body, joint from joint.
On bloody death my mind is bent.
CH. 14. Wherefore?
PHI. To see my father's face.
CH. 15. Where upon earth?
PHI. He hath no place
Where sun doth shine, but in the halls
of night.
O native country, land of my delight,
Would I were blest one moment with thy
sight!
Why did I leave thy sacred dew
And loose my vessels from thy shore,
To join the hateful Danaän crew
And lend them succour? Oh, I am no
more!
LEADER OF CH.
Long since thou hadst seen me nearing
yonder ship,
Had I not spied Odysseus and the son
Of great Achilles hastening to our
side.
OD. Wilt thou not tell me why thou art
hurrying
This backward journey with reverted
speed?
NEO. To undo what I have wrongly done
to-day.
OD. Thy words appal me. What is
wrongly done?
NEO. When in obeying thee and all the
host --
OD. Thou didst what deed that
misbecame thy life?
NEO. I conquered with base stratagem
and fraud --
OD. Whom? What new plan is rising in
thy mind?
NEO. Not new. But to the child of
Poeas here --
OD. What wilt thou do? I quake with
strange alarm.
NEO. From whom I took these weapons,
back again -- --
OD. O Heaven! thou wilt not give them!
Mean'st thou this?
NEO. Yea, for I have them through base
sinful means.
OD. I pray thee, speak'st thou thus to
anger me?
NEO. If the truth anger thee, the
truth is said.
OD. Achilles' son! What word is fallen
from thee?
NEO. Must the same syllables be thrice
thrown forth?
OD. Once was too much. Would they had
ne'er been said!
NEO. Enough. Thou hast heard my
purpose clearly told.
OD. I know what power shall thwart
thee in the deed.
NEO. Whose will shall hinder me?
OD. The Achaean host
And I among them.
NEO. Thou'rt sharp-witted, sure!
But little wit or wisdom show'st thou
here.
OD. Neither thy words nor thy design
is wise.
NEO. But if 'tis righteous, that is
better far.
OD. How righteous, to release what
thou hast ta'en
By my device?
NEO. I sinned a shameful sin,
And I will do mine utmost to retrieve
it.
OD. How? Fear'st thou not the Achaeans
in this act?
NEO. In doing right I fear not them
nor thee.
OD. I call thy power in question.
NEO. Then I'll fight,
Not with Troy's legions, but with
thee.
OD. Come on!
Let fortune arbitrate.
NEO. Thou seest my hand
Feeling the hilt.
OD. And me thou soon shalt see
Doing the like and dallying not! --
And yet
I will not touch thee, but will go and
tell
The army, that shall wreak this on thy
head. [Exit]
NEO. Thou show'st discretion: which if
thou preserve,
Thou may'st maintain a path exempt
from pain.
Ho! son of Poeas, Philoctetes, come
And leave thy habitation in the rock.
PHI. What noise again is troubling my
poor cave?
Why do ye summon me? What crave ye,
sirs?
Ha! 'tis some knavery. Are ye come to
add
Some monster evil to my mountainous
woe?
NEO. Fear not, but hearken to what now
I speak.
PHI. I needs must fear thee, whose
fair words erewhile
Brought me to bitter fortune.
NEO. May not men
Repent and change?
PHI. Such wast thou in thy talk,
When thou didst rob me of my bow, --
so bright
Without, so black within.
NEO. Ah, but not now,
Assure thee! Only let me hear thy
will,
Is 't constant to remain here and
endure,
Or to make voyage with us?
PHI. Stop, speak no more!
Idle and vain will all thine utterance
be.
NEO. Thou art so resolved?
PHI. More firmly than I say.
NEO. I would I might have brought thee
to my mind,
But since my words are out of tune, I
have done.
PHI. Thou wert best. No word of thine
can touch my soul
Or win me to thy love, who by deceit
Hast reft my life away. And then thou
com'st
To school me, -- of noblest father,
basest son!
Perish, the Atridae first of all, and
then
Laërtes' child, and thou!
NEO. Curse me no more,
But take this hallowed weapon from my
hand.
PHI. What words are these? Am I again
deceived?
NEO. No, by the holiest name of Zeus
on high!
PHI. O voice of gladness, if thy
speech be true!
NEO. The deed shall prove it. Only
reach thy hand,
And be again sole master of thy bow.
[Odysseus appears]
OD. But I make protest, in the sight
of Heaven,
For Atreus' sons, and all the Achaean
host.
PHI. Dear son, whose voice disturbs
us? Do I hear
Odysseus?
OD. Ay, and thou behold'st him nigh,
And he shall force thee to the Trojan
plain,
Howe'er Achilles' offspring make or
mar.
PHI. This shaft shall bear thee sorrow
for that boast.
NEO. Let it not fly, by Heaven!
PHI. Dear child, let go
Mine arm!
NEO. I will not. [Exit Odysseus]
PHI. Ah! Why hast thou robbed
My bow of bringing down mine enemy?
NEO. This were ignoble both for thee
and me.
PHI. One thing is manifest, the first
o' the host
Lying forerunners of the Achaean band,
Are brave with words, but cowards with
the steel.
NEO. Well, now the bow is thine. Thou
hast no cause
For blame or anger any more 'gainst
me.
PHI. None. Thou hast proved thy
birthright, dearest boy.
Not from the loins of Sisyphus thou
earnest,
But from Achilles, who in life was
held
Noblest of men alive, and now o' the
dead.
NEO. It gladdens me that thou shouldst
speak in praise
Both of my sire and me. But hear me
tell
The boon for which I sue thee. -- Mortal
men
Must bear such evils as high Heaven
ordains;
But those afflicted by self-chosen
ills,
Like thine to-day, receive not from
just men
Or kind indulgence or compassionate
thought.
And thou art restive grown, and wilt
not hearken,
But though one counsel thee with
kind'st intent,
Wilt take him for a dark malignant
foe.
Yet, calling Zeus to witness for my
soul,
Once more I will speak. Know this, and
mark it well:
Thou bear'st this sickness by a
heavenly doom,
Through coming near to Chrysa's
sentinel,
The lurking snake, that guards the
sky-roofed fold[7].
And from this plague thou ne'er shall
find reprieve
While the same Sun god rears him from
the east
And droops to west again, till thou be
come
Of thine own willing mind to Troia's
plain,
Where our physicians, sons of Phoebus'
child[8],
Shall soothe thee from thy sore, and
thou with me
And with this bow shalt take Troy's
citadel.
How do I know this? I will tell thee
straight
We have a Trojan captive, Helenus,
Both prince and prophet, who hath
clearly told
This must be so, yea, and ere harvest
time
This year, great Troy must fall, else
if his words
Be falsified, who will may slay the
seer.
Now, since thou know'st of this, yield
thy consent;
For glorious is the gain, being
singled forth
From all the Greeks as noblest, first
to come
To healing hands, and then to win
renown
Unrivalled, vanquishing all tearful
Troy.
PHI. Oh how I hate my life! Why must
it keep
This breathing form from sinking to
the shades?
How can I prove a rebel to his mind
Who thus exhorts me with affectionate
heart?
And yet, oh misery! must I give way?
Then how could I endure the light of
heaven?
With whom could I exchange a word? Ay
me!
Eyes that have seen each act of my sad
life,
How could ye bear it, to behold the
sons
Of Atreus, my destroyers, comrades now
And friends! Laërtes' wicked son, my
friend!
And less I feel the grief of former
wrong
Than shudder with expectance of fresh
harm
They yet may work on me. For when the
mind
Hath once been mother of an evil
brood,
It nurses nought but evils. Yea, at
thee
I marvel. Thou should'st ne'er return
to Troy,
Nor suffer me to go, when thou
remember'st
What insult they have done thee,
ravishing
Thy father's rights from thee. And
wilt thou then
Sail to befriend them, pressing me in
aid?
Nay, do not, son; but, even as thou
hast sworn,
Convey me home, and thou, in Scyros
dwelling,
Leave to their evil doom those evil
men.
So thou shalt win a twofold gratitude
From me and from my father, and not
seem,
Helping vile men, to be as vile as
they.
NEO. 'Tis fairly spoken. Yet I would
that thou
Relying on my word and on Heaven's
aid,
Would'st voyage forth from Lemnos with
thy friend.
PHI. Mean'st thou to Troy, and to the hateful
sons
Of Atreus, me, with this distressful
limb?
NEO. Nay, but to those that will
relieve the pain
Of thy torn foot and heal thee of thy
plague.
PHI. Thy words are horrible. What
mean'st thou, boy?
NEO. The act I deem the noblest for us
both.
PHI. Wilt thou speak so? Where is thy
fear of Heaven?
NEO. Why should I fear, when I see
certain gain?
PHI. Gain for the sons of Atreus, or
for me?
NEO. Methinks a friend should give
thee friendly counsel.
PHI. Friendly, to hand me over to my
foes?
NEO. Ah, be not hardened in thy
misery!
PHI. I know thou wilt ruin me by what
thou speakest.
NEO. Not I. The case is dark to thee,
I see.
PHI. I know the Atreidae cast me on
this rock.
NEO. But how, if they should save thee
afterward?
PHI. They ne'er shall make me see Troy
with my will.
NEO. Hard is my fortune, then, if by
no sleight
Of reasoning I can draw thee to my
mind.
For me, 'twere easiest to end speech,
that thou
Might'st live on as thou livest in
hopeless pain.
PHI. Then leave me to my fate! -- But
thou hast touched
My right hand with thine own, and
given consent
To bear me to my home. Do this, dear
son!
And do not linger to take thought of
Troy.
Enough that name hath echoed in my
groans.
NEO. If thou wilt, let us be going.
PHI. Nobly hast thou said the word.
NEO. Lean thy steps on mine.
PHI. As firmly as my foot will
strength afford.
NEO. Ah! but how shall I escape
Achaean anger?
PHI. Do not care!
NEO. Ah! but should they spoil my
country!
PHI. I to shield thee will be there.
NEO. How to shield me, how to aid me?
PHI. With the shafts of Heracles
I will scare them.
NEO. Give thy blessing to this isle,
and come in peace.
HERACLES appears from above.
HERACLES. First, son of Poeas, wait
till thou hast heard
The voice of Heracles, and weighed his
word.
Him thou beholdest from the Heavenly
seat
Come down, for thee leaving the blest
retreat,
To tell thee all high Zeus intends,
and stay
Thy purpose in the journey of to-day.
Then hear me, first how after my long toils
By strange adventure I have found and
won
Immortal glory, which thine eyes
perceive;
And the like lot, I tell thee, shall
be thine,
After these pains to rise to glorious
fame.
Sailing with this thy comrade to
Troy-town,
First thou shalt heal thee from thy
grievous sore,
And then, being singled forth from all
the host
As noblest, thou shalt conquer with
that bow
Paris, prime author of these years of
harm,
And capture Troy, and bear back to thy
hall
The choicest guerdon, for thy valour's
meed,
To Oeta's vale and thine own father's
home.
But every prize thou tak'st be sure
thou bear
Unto my pyre, in memory of my bow.
This word, Achilles' offspring, is for thee
No less. For, as thou could'st not
without him,
So, without thee, he cannot conquer
Troy.
Then, like twin lions hunting the same
hill,
Guard thou him, and he thee! and I
will send
Asclepius Troyward to relieve thy
pain.
For Ilion now a second time must fall
Before the Herculean bow. But, take
good heed,
Midst all your spoil to hold the gods
in awe.
For our great Father counteth piety
Far above all. This follows men in
death,
And fails them not when they resign
their breath.
PHI. Thou whom I have longed to see,
Thy dear voice is law to me.
NEO. I obey with gladdened heart.
HER. Lose no time: at once depart!
Bright occasion and fair wind
Urge your vessel from behind.
PHI. Come, let me bless the region ere
I go.
Poor house, sad comrade of my watch, farewell!
Ye nymphs of meadows where soft waters flow
Thou ocean headland, pealing thy deep knell,
Where oft within my cavern as I lay
My hair was moist with dashing south-wind's spray,
And ofttimes came from Hermes' foreland high
Sad replication of my storm-vext cry;
Ye fountains and thou Lycian water sweet, --
I never thought to leave you, yet my feet
Are turning from your paths, -- we part for aye.
Farewell! and waft me kindly on my way,
O Lemnian earth enclosed by circling seas,
To sail, where mighty Fate my course decrees,
And friendly voices point me, and the will
Of that heroic power, who doth this act fulfil.
CH. Come now all in one strong band;
Then, ere loosing from the land,
Pray we to the nymphs of sea
Kind protectresses to be,
Till we touch the Trojan strand.
* * * * *
In the midst of surgery for a deviated
septum, Catey Merriman's muscles began to go rigid and her temperature soared.
As the surgical team realized she was reacting to the anesthesia, they halted
the procedure, injected a powerful muscle relaxant and packed her body in ice.
The Niskayuna, N.Y., teacher woke up in the hospital's critical-care unit and
asked herself, "Did I die?"
Anesthetics can trigger malignant
hyperthermia, a rare but deadly disorder, in susceptible patients.
Ms. Merriman didn't die, but she
easily could have, had the medical team not acted quickly to reverse the onset
of malignant hyperthermia, a rare but potentially deadly disorder. Malignant
hyperthermia is caused by an inherited genetic mutation that triggers an
uncontrolled rise of calcium levels in muscle cells when a patient inhales
certain commonly used anesthetics. A patient's body temperature can jump to 108
degrees in minutes, followed by cardiac arrest and death.
The Malignant Hyperthermia Association
of the United States, a nonprofit group started by patients, operates a 24-hour
hot line to help medical professionals identify and treat malignant
hyperthermia. The association fields about 650 calls a year, including one from
the staff treating Ms. Merriman three years ago, according to anesthesiologist
Henry Rosenberg, the group's president. http://www.myface.com/index.php?do=/public/account/submit/add-blog/added_3049/
Dr. Rosenberg, director of medical
education at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., says incidents
are likely underreported, and he estimates that there are about 1,000 cases a
year.
Malignant hyperthermia can occur in
any health-care setting. But the recent death of teen Stephanie Kuleba in a
Boca Raton, Fla., surgical center where she was undergoing elective breast
surgery has put a spotlight on the many doctors' offices and surgical centers
where a growing number of surgical procedures are performed. Anesthesia
administered in a hospital setting is considered safe because of the
round-the-clock presence of trained anesthesiology professionals. In offices
and surgery centers, there may not always be an anesthesiologist or nurse
anesthetist with graduate training who can recognize and respond to danger
signs.
"As we've made anesthesia safer,
one result is the attitude that it must be so easy even a caveman can do
it," says Roger Moore, president-elect of the American Society of
Anesthesiologists. "There are thousands of things that can go wrong that
need the vigilance and training of an anesthesiology professional."
Patients undergoing procedures outside
of hospitals may also face higher risk of complications from surgical
infections, blood clots and blood-pressure problems that may require emergency
transfers to hospitals. Studies show that the highest number of incidents occur
with cosmetic-surgery patients, such as those undergoing liposuction in
doctors' offices. http://louis2j2sheehan.bloggerteam.com/
Several have died after excess fluids
were pumped into surgical sites or when they had a bad reaction to overdoses of
the local anesthetic lidocaine.
Currently, 24 states have regulations
aimed at protecting patients undergoing medical procedures in an office
setting, and more are considering such measures. A spokeswoman for the
Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, which represents outpatient centers,
says patients should talk with representatives of a surgery center to learn
about the quality standards in place and any other licensing or certification
criteria that might apply.
Researchers are still studying
malignant hyperthermia, and there are no precise statistics on the number of
episodes world-wide. But recent studies indicate that as many as 1 in 3,000
people may have the genetic mutation that predisposes them to a
malignant-hyperthermia reaction under inhaled anesthesia. Since the disorder
was first identified more than three decades ago, death rates have fallen to
less than 5% from more than 80%, thanks largely to the introduction of
dantrolene, the muscle relaxant that can quickly stop the uncontrolled release
of calcium cells.
But while virtually all hospitals have
an adequate supply of dantrolene on hand, medical safety experts say doctors'
offices and surgical centers often don't. The reason often given by doctors and
surgical centers is the cost of the drug, which has a three-year shelf life.
But Dr. Rosenberg says that isn't a good excuse: The cost of an adequate supply
to treat an episode is about $2,500, which is a relatively inexpensive
insurance policy against disaster.
Keith Metz, a member of the board of
the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, says that if inhalation anesthetics
are being used, the most important questions for patients to ask are whether
the center has an attending anesthesiologist and an adequate supply of
dantrolene on hand -- and whether staffers know how to use it. Dantrolene can
require preparing and administering as many as 36 vials in quick sequence. Dr.
Metz, an anesthesiologist at a surgical center in Southfield Hills, Mich., says
he has seen a case of malignant hyperthermia only once in his career. Still, he
says, "It's the same as saying we are unlikely to have a fire, but it's
important to have a fire extinguisher around."
Because inhaled anesthetics that
trigger malignant hyperthermia are cheap, effective and easy to use --
including on children -- they are the drugs of choice in many surgeries. Uses
range from ear-tube insertions, wisdom-teeth removal and elective cosmetic surgery
to even more complex procedures like open-heart surgery. Drugs that trigger
malignant hyperthermia include potent inhalation agents like halothane,
isoflurane and sevoflurane, and older drugs like ether. Susceptible patients
should be sedated instead with intravenous drugs such as propofol, barbiturates
and benzodiazapenes, and short-acting narcotics like fentanyl.
Arizona's state medical board earlier
this year banned physicians in office-based surgery centers from using any drug
that could trigger malignant hyperthermia.
The Malignant Hyperthermia Association
urges patients who have ever had a family member experience complications
during anesthesia to discuss their own risks before surgery. The group offers
detailed information on risks, prevention and treatment on its Web site,
mhaus.org.
Those with muscular dystrophy in the
family may be at risk. Indeed, Ms. Merriman's father had had the disease, and
she says she informed the hospital of this before her surgery. Researchers also
are studying whether there is a relationship between malignant hyperthermia and
sudden deaths in young athletes and soldiers linked to heat stroke. Dr.
Rosenberg says susceptible patients may have no problem under anesthesia in one
surgery but may still be at risk in a future procedure. And patients can have a
reaction after surgery in the recovery room, so close monitoring is important.
The most accurate test to determine
predisposition to malignant hyperthermia is a specialized muscle biopsy that
analyzes the response of a piece of muscle taken from the thigh to a triggering
anesthetic. But it is available in only a handful of centers and can cost more
than $6,000. http://louisbjbsheehan.blogspot.com/
A genetic test is available that can
be performed on a blood sample, but its accuracy still needs to be improved,
Dr. Rosenberg says. Those who do have the genetic disorder or may be at risk
because of family history should wear medical-identification bracelets. Teens
and young adults, and especially highly athletic men and women, tend to be more
vulnerable, perhaps because of their stage of muscle development or hormone levels.
Tom Kuleba, whose daughter Stephanie,
a high-school cheerleader, died last month, says he had never heard of
malignant hyperthermia and knew of no family history of problems with
anesthesia. The surgery was performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon with
an anesthesiologist present, and though dantrolene was administered, among the
questions raised is the adequacy of the dose. The death is still being
investigated by the state medical board. The family has started a Web site,
stephaniejudekuleba.org, to educate consumers about the risks of anesthesia,
especially in outpatient surgical centers. "We need to raise awareness so
no other parent has to suffer the horrific loss of a child," says Mr.
Kuleba.
A Tambor-class submarine,
was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for
the lake herring.
Her keel was laid down by the Electric
Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 31 January 1941
sponsored by Mrs. Wilson Brown, wife of Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, Superintendent
of the United States Naval Academy, and commissioned on 30 June 1941 with
Lieutenant Willard A. Saunders in command.
Attached to the Atlantic Fleet
Grayback conducted her shakedown cruise in Long Island Sound out of Newport,
New London, and New York City. In company with Grampus (SS-207) she departed
New London, Connecticut, on 8 September for patrol duty in the Caribbean Sea
and Chesapeake Bay; then arrived Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 30 November for
overhaul. With the United States's entry into the war, Grayback sailed for
Pearl Harbor on 8 February.
Grayback’s first war patrol from 15
February to 10 April took her along the coast of Saipan and Guam. There she
participated in a deadly four-day game of hide-and-seek with an enemy
submarine; the enemy I-boat fired two torpedoes at Grayback on the morning of
22 February, then continued to trail her across the Pacific. Grayback spotted
the enemy conning tower a couple of times, and the Japanese ship broached once;
but the Grayback could not get into position to attack. After four
nerve-wracking days, Grayback shook the other sub and continued on patrol.
First blood for her came on 17 March as she sank a 3291-ton cargo ship off Port
Lloyd.
Grayback’s second war patrol met with
a dearth of targets although she even took the unusual and risky measure of
patrolling surfaced during the day. On 22 June she arrived at Fremantle,
Australia, which was to remain her home base for most of the war. Her third and
fourth war patrols, in the South China Sea and St. George's Passage were
equally frustrating as Grayback was hampered by bright moonlight, shallow and
treacherous water, and enemy patrol craft. Despite these hazards, she damaged
several freighters and also got in a shot at another Japanese submarine. However,
the very presence of Grayback and her sister ships in these waters—the threat
they presented to shipping and the number of enemy escorts they tied up—was an
important factor in the successful conclusion of the Guadalcanal campaign,
America's first offensive campaign in the Pacific war.
The fifth war patrol began as Grayback
sailed from Australia on 7 December 1942. Only a week out of port, Pharmacist's
Mate Harry B. Roby was called upon to perform an emergency appendectomy, the
second to be done on a patrolling submarine. With Grayback running silent and
steady a hundred feet beneath the surface, the untutored Roby successfully
removed the infected appendix, and his patient was back standing watch by the
end of the patrol. Then 20 December, Grayback enjoyed "a Jap appetizer for
Christmas dinner," as she battle surfaced to sink four landing barges with
her deck guns. Four days later she was again fired on by an enemy submarine but
maneuvered to avoid the torpedoes. On 3 January 1943 she gained her revenge by
sending to the bottom I-18, one of the 25 Japanese submarines chalked up by the
Pacific submarines.
On 5 January Grayback served as beacon
ship for the bombardment of Munda Bay and also indulged in some hair-raising
rescue work. Lying off Munda early in the morning of 5 January, she received
word that six survivors of a crashed B-25 Mitchell bomber were holed up on the
island. Grayback sent ashore two men, then submerged at dawn to avoid enemy
aircraft. The submariners located the downed aviators, three of whom were
injured, and hid out with them in the jungle. http://louiscjcsheehan.blogspot.com/
As night fell, Grayback surfaced
offshore and by coded light signals directed the small boat "home
safe" with the rescued aviators. For this episode skipper Edward C.
Stephan received the Navy Cross.
Grayback continued on patrol,
torpedoing and damaging several Japanese ships. On 17 January she attacked a
destroyer escorting a large maru, hoping to disable the escort and then sink
the freighter with her deck guns. However, the destroyer evaded the torpedoes
and dropped 19 depth charges on Grayback. One blew a gasket on a manhole cover,
and the submarine, leaking seriously, was ordered back to Brisbane where she
arrived 23 February.
On her sixth war patrol from 16
February to 4 April 1943, Grayback again had a run of bad luck and returned
empty-handed from the Bismarck Islands-Solomon Islands area. Her newly
installed SJ radar had failed to function; and although she had taken several
shots at marus, none were sunk.
Louis Sheehan 927
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