The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry, presents the Cavalcade of America. Tonight's star, Dick Powell. Time, World War II. Place, the Pacific Ocean off Japan. The Navy submarine Trigger, submerged motionless, is under depth charge attack. With Dick Powell as Lieutenant Commander Roy Benson, United States Navy, here's tonight's DuPont Cavalcade play, the silent service. Oh, that's close. Yeah. You know who's responsible. Shut up and hand me the wrench. You've known me long enough, Galigan. You know I don't beef anymore at the next guy. Hand me the wrench. I tell you, I'm not the only one who thinks this. There's such a thing as a jink skipper. That's what I think. That's what I think. That's what I think. That's what I think. Now, this is the second trip we made with him and Commander. The first one, the food stores ran short, and about half the torpedoes were ducks. Are you blaming him for that too? I'm just telling you the things that have been going wrong. Now, think this. The thing that's wrong with this trip right now is that we're taking water through this voice tube valve. Here, give me some of your beef, Sky. Let's see if we can tighten down on it. What's going wrong with it? It's got the whole plaster chaps, Navy up there. The trees are nice, fresh air. You know, there was a guy like Benson. Came into the basketball team back home. Now, once more. Came in from another high school, a hotshot, see. Our team was doing good enough, but the first day he showed up, our center broke his leg. And it went on like that. Just like that. Skyler, sorry. A sound like that will be picked up by every destroyer between here and Tokyo. Take it easy, Skyler. Sorry, sir. It was probably my fault, sir. And partly mine, I take it. You can go back to your station, Skyler. Yes, sir. I heard what he was saying, Gallagher. Is he all right? Sure he is. He's just getting the tension out of the system like everybody else. What did he mean? A guy like me came into the basketball team. Oh, he didn't mean anything. Said he was just talking. Some of the men pray when they're in spots like this, but Skyler just talks. He thinks I'm a jinx, huh? When he's in a spot like this, he tries to blame everybody, right up to the secretary of the Navy. Well, it's not good to get anything like this jinx business started in the crew. Oh, it'll stop. And we're up in the sun again. The bow pointed the pearl with a bone in her teeth. Then you'll be the best dog-own captain there ever was. Thanks. Trying to be one has made a lot easier by chief petty officers like you, Gallagher. I want you to know that. Thank you, sir. Well, you've done a good job in the valve. I don't think it's certain it's too much now, sir, but both periscope motors are ground out by the water. There's the answer to that wrench dropping. Yes, sir. It would be better if we could move, but we can't without sending oil up to the surface and giving them our position that way. One of the shaft bearings was damaged. And maybe I am a jinx, Gallagher. Now, I'll be in the wardroom. If there's any chance of drying out the periscope motors. I'll do what I can. How's it going, Les? Good, good. I'm doing well. They're closer. Now, Skyler dropped a wrench. Do you think we sank the target file? Two torpedoes both went in. They seem to be solar-less or something. Well, could be. If she didn't go down, if it works out that I've taken these men through four hours of attack like this for anything less than a sinking, I'm going to have myself reduced to coxswain. That'd be a new way of making naval history. Now, I'll be in the wardroom. I'm going to bring the patrol report up to date. 5 November 1942. At 1300 this date, sighted a small enemy convoy. Five cargo ships, possibly carrying troops and two destroyers. Fired two torpedoes at largest cargo ship. Both torpedoes straight and hot. Two escorting destroyers located us by their sound detection equipment and immediately opened up a depth charge attack. Twenty hundred. Conditions have now improved. After six hours, the attack was lifted and we were able to observe by periscope. The amount of wreckage in the large area of sea covered by floating oil leads me to consider the target sunk. It has now surfaced and set course for Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant, Commander Benson to see the Admiral. Not too fast, sir. Go right in, he's expecting you. Yes? Roy, come in. I had to see you. I wanted to talk with you. I'm sorry to have you here. Thank you very much, Admiral. Well, got your land legs back in? Oh yes, sir. We've had three days ashore. And how many days at sea? Sixty-three, that's good. Yeah. I'm looking through your report again. You touched briefly on the problem of crew morale. Tell me about it, will you? Well, I don't think it's a serious problem, sir. It's partly the natural result of 83 men being confined as closely as we were for two months. I'm afraid we'll have to assume that it is a serious problem, Roy. Is there any particular crew member at the bottom of it? I'm sorry you asked that, sir. From what I understand, I am at the bottom of it. You? What do you mean? Well, on two patrols now, I've never fired a torpedo without taking a beating in return. Well, can't expect rosy. Well, understand I'm not complaining, sir. That's submarine duty, you give and you take. But some of the other skippers have had it easier. They've run into an unescorted target, knocked them over, and then to surface. They build up reputations as good luck skippers, a title that hardly fits me to date. You're okay, Roy, forget it. Your reports spare out your good record. Unfortunately, the enlisted men never see those reports. Yes, it's true. But by your leave, there must be a reason for the discussion of morale. Yes, yes, there is. The trigger's been ordered to undertake a new mission as quickly as she can be refitted, mine lane. Mine lane? The shipping lanes off the coast of Japan. But Admiral, the trigger was built to fight with torpedoes. That's what her crew was trained to do. That's what I was trained to do. Yes, I know. But there's a war to fight, and at the moment we can't fight it with torpedoes. There aren't enough of them. Oh, I didn't realize that. Few people do. The way things are out here, there are more submarines than torpedoes. That's why you're being ordered out as a mine layer. We can't afford to have idle ships. I understand, sir. Good. You'll start refitting and retraining immediately. Mine lane, what kind of duty is that? Inspiration duty, Les. Enlisted men are not to be told until after we leave. There's a shortage of torpedoes. Sure. When they work out a shortage of air and ocean, then things will really begin to get tough. Were you thinking of resigning, Les? Or shall we go aboard? Mine lane. We'll be laughed out of Pearl before we get a chance to leave. Let's go below. You know, I don't mean any of this, Captain. We have to do it, we'll do it. That's right. But you do mean it. I know exactly how you feel. Good morning, Captain. Good morning, Gallagher. You said it yourself, Les. A torpedo is like a good investment. You know where you're putting it. If you do it right, you'll get an immediate return on the investment. But don't be too unhappy. I taught the Admiral into letting us take at least three torpedoes aboard for morale. Okay. What's our departure date? We move over to the yard for repairs and refitting this afternoon. Officers and men start mining and structure in the morning. And we leave in two weeks. Five, December 1942. Sorted Pearl Harbor at 1100, this date. When we'd settled down on our prescribed course, I assembled all available officers and men in the forward torpedo room. And shut! Never mind, men. Carry on. Now, there are a few things I want to say to you. I won't start it out by saying that we're all in the same boat, but that is the case. None of the officers are any happier about this mission than you are. I know I'm not. You know how it goes. Somebody topside tells us what to do, no questions asked, and then we have to tell you. Now, some of you men have tagged me as a hard luck skipper. And I guess I don't blame you. Being picked for this patrol probably makes the tag fit better. But there's a darn good reason for being here. And for security reasons, I couldn't tell you about it in Pearl. The trigger was converted to mine laying. What? Yes, yes, mine laying, because there aren't enough torpedoes out here to arm her for her regular work. Well, how could a thing like that happen? It happened. The bombing of Pearl Harbor happened, too. So did the fall of the Philippines. And that left us with no bases within 5,000 miles of the enemy. But you can go a lot farther back than that, Skyler. Valley Forge happened, too. And Washington's forces fought back from that. The U.S. has always fought against big odds. And we've had to figure out a second or a third way to do things if the first way doesn't work. The submarine was developed to destroy enemy shipping. And if the trigger can't do it in the first way, now you never can tell. We may still have to put wings on her and fly her to Tokyo. Tokyo? Is that what we're bronzing? Well, not quite, Penelope. But only about 60 miles away. If we have to lay mines, we're going to lay them where they'll do the most good. Right on a Hirohito's front porch. 16 December, 1942. After our voyage from Pearl Harbor, arrived on station to commence mine-laying operations two miles off a point of land jutting out from the Japanese homeland called Inobusaki. Then it was the temptation first presented itself. Right full rudder. All ahead full. Right full rudder. All ahead full, sir. Steer course 310. Steer course 310, sir. All ahead one third. All ahead one third, sir. Bring me up to 60 feet. Right. 60 feet, sir. All staff. All staff, sir. Up periscope. Wow. How about it, Captain? Not bad for a dry run. With an AK up there, 5,000 tons are better. Yeah, have a look, Les. Take over the dive, Gallagher. You'd better sneak up on this, Les. Shock might be serious. Oh, no. Look at that cargo here. Begging for a torpedo. Just begging. It's loaded with a Plenzel mark. We're going to let that baby get away too, Captain. That's the order. I don't like it any more than you do. Well, carry on, Les. I'll be forward. Better bring the patrol book up to date. 20 December 1942. The most serious problem aboard the Trigger was that of frustration. We spent the time between December 16th and 20th merely observing Japanese shipping. It seemed as if hundreds of vessels passed in and out of sight. And with each one, the feeling in all of us grew. Hatred for the laxity shown by the Kokushu Japanese skippers. Anger and resentment toward our own nerve-wracking inactivity. And a real hunger for the sight and sound of a ship going down on a torpedo attack. After four days of observation, we believed ourselves well enough informed on the enemy ship's favorite course around in Ubersaki to carry out the operation. Running at 100 feet, sir. Thanks, Gallagher. Oh, uh, to pass the word that we'll see an end to this tonight. That's good news. Tell the men to relax the rest of the afternoon. We'll move in a couple of hours after evening mass. Aye. Now, uh, Les, what were you beefing about? Me beef, Captain? I was only voicing a well-thought-out and cautious skepticism of this chart. It was copied from a Japanese map. That's because it covers a part of the Japanese coast. Yes, and it could well be one Japanese secret weapon. An arrow of a fathom or two here and there would do wonders to a submarine. Oh, I thought of that a few days back. Haven't looked at it since. Now, I guess I'll have to. Now, look at this, uh, this jump in fathoms here. That doesn't look right, does it? No. No. But we won't go in that close. Wouldn't you say that most of the shipping we've seen has passed between this point and, uh, this one? Definitely, sir. Oh, I think our first plant should go on a line there then, those two. Depends on depth. It shows 30 fathoms, but as I said, they're Japanese fathoms. We can't go in surfaced. We can't take the faintest chance of being sighted and killed or bombed with this load of explosives on us. Again, now if we start at this point, out here, then go in at periscope depth. I'll use a danger bearing on, uh, that point of land. That should do it. The real hot spot is after those mines, Les. They're touchy. They like to fowl. And the men are impatient to get rid of them. We'll be all right, Captain. I wouldn't let us get blown up five days before Christmas. I hope. You are listening to the Capricade of America, starring Dick Powell, sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. The DuPont Capricade continues, starring Dick Powell as Lieutenant Commander Roy Benson, United States Navy, in the silent service. Commander Benson, skipper of the Navy submarine Trigger on a dangerous mine laying mission in the coastal waters of Japan, sits in the wardroom of his submarine, making an entry in the patrol book. 20 December 1942. At 2058 was on station submerged. Brilliant moonlight made navigation by periscope easy, but it also brought a certain amount of uneasiness into the operation, as good visibility had to be shared with the enemy. In 30 minutes our first mine plant had been made without incident. At 2044 we had turned our vessel and started to lay our second plant, a line parallel to the first. How does she read now, Joe? Five hundred. QX 700. Now it's tricky compensating for the weight of those mines when they go out. The term is better now. Now, give me the time, will you? I don't want to move away from this eyepiece. It's 2159, sir. Thanks. Captain, I have something on sonar. What is it? I'm picking up propellers. What bearing? 052, sir. Gallagher, signal cease operations to Mr. Piles, Pate. Hurry. Aye, aye. Closer on the phone, sir. Hmm, it's closer here, too. Operations cease. Good. All stop. All stop, sir. Now, she'll cross her bars now. Now, fat cargo ship, not even blacked out. Forward torpedo tubes, sir? Eh, not yet. Maybe we can find her again after we get rid of the rest of the mines. What have you picked up, sir? A big AKLS. Looked bad for a couple of moments. We were both on collision courses. Take a look. Aye. Hey, we were close. We gonna take her? Not now. Maybe we can. She went up. She went up. Get one of our mines. Look at her, Captain. Let me see. Her back's broken. You mean one mine can do that? It did it, Skyler. Form a line, men, and take a look at her before she goes down. Come on, you weren't it. You're the man who knocked her off. Gee, I've never heard of anything like this happening before. It just don't happen. That's why. Let me get a look at that ship I just sunk. You sunk? You were manning the ship. I heard it first. Come on, don't be hiding. Now, sing with me. Look. 2300. We are well offshore and surface to recharge batteries. Completed mine laying operation without further incident. Although it is nearing midnight, there is no sleep in the ship. We are still buzzing with excitement over the rare privilege of being able to watch a ship die as a result of a mine we laid less than an hour before. It's unique in history. There's no morale problem aboard the trigger tonight. 25 December 1942. Christmas passed quietly. Now that our primary mission, mine laying, is accomplished, we can do something with our three torpedoes. But a search for a torpedo target is unsuccessful in the area of Inubasaki. We have raised our sights and now will be satisfied with another sinking to celebrate the new year. 28 December 1942. 1200. Sighted enemy destroyer Okikaze class or even larger, accompanied by two destroyer escorts. Ordered battle stations and now starting our attack approach. Forward torpedo tubes are made ready, sir. Very well. Up periscope. Bearing 300. Left 25 degrees rudder. All ahead two thirds. Left 25 degrees rudder. All ahead two thirds, sir. Steering 290. Steering 290, sir. Steering 025. I have 25 degrees starboard angle on the bow, sir. No, she's more than that. Give it 45 degrees. Enemy's nuke cross now on 040. Right 15 degrees rudder. All ahead full. Right 15 degrees rudder. All ahead full, sir. Steer 310. Steer 310, sir. Range is now 1200 yards. Stand by. All ahead one third. All ahead one third, sir. She's dead on. Angle closing. One, two, three, four, fire. Oh, boy. That was close. Well, you don't think a destroyer of the Okikaze class without catch up from a rescuer. There's nothing to beef about. What did you say? Nothing to beef about. You know, you can call this Benson anything you want to, but he's not a hard luck skipper. Lieutenant Commander Benson. Wouldn't make any difference if he was Admiral of the whole Pacific fleet. Maybe tough duty with him, but you can't say he doesn't find targets. I didn't say that, Scarlett. Hey, look, give us more skippers like him. We'll put the whole blasted Japanese Navy right on the bottom. Or even that mine here. But it hadn't been... Uh-oh. How's it going, Gallagher? Fine, Captain. Scarlett. Oh, good to see you. Good to see you. Hey, we sure blasted that one. There's many more like her. I don't think we'll run out of targets. Well, I hope we do. We don't run out of targets. We don't win the war. You're a profound man, Scarlett. A very profound man. 1 January 1943, 0900. Believing us to be removed from danger, I surfaced and set course for Pearl Harbor. New Year's Eve passed quietly aboard. Feeling at the duty of a commanding officer, I addressed the men and told them what I thought the future promised. I wanted to tell them that as long as there were men like them, the frontiers of freedom would never stand unguarded. I wanted to tell them that they had shown and would continue to show the courage that is part of our heritage. But I didn't say those things because I knew it would embarrass them. As it turned out, the message was delivered anyway. Not by me, but by the cook. Only he said it better. Somebody beefed about the evening meal, and I heard the cook answer, Admiral King told the Navy at the start of this ruckus, do the best you can with what you have. Well, that's what we're doing, all of us. Doing the best we can with what we have. Our thanks to Dick Powell and the Cavalcade players for tonight's DuPont play, The Silent Service. Next week, the star of the DuPont Cavalcade will be Diana Lin. Our play, Chinese Daughter, tells the beautiful story of a young Chinese girl, Jade Snow Wong, who defied ancient tradition to take her place in modern American life. Be sure to listen. Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade was written by Gil Dowd, adapted from the book Battle Submerged by Rear Admiral Harley Cope and Captain Walter Carring, published by WWNorton. Technical advice by Commander William A. Overton. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell, conducted by Donald Borey. The program was directed by John Zoller. This is Si Harris speaking. Ladies and gentlemen, we all realize that inflation is a menace. Stock price advances in its tracks. In a free world, we can do this of our own free will. And we'd better. So let's do whatever is necessary, each in our own way, to hold prices down. Thank you. Don't forget next week, our star, Diana Lin. Our play, Chinese Daughter. The DuPont Cavalcade of America comes to you from the Philanthro Theater in New York and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Bloomington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Here is the DuPont and on NBC.
