Silent Running

October 30, 1995
In nine war patrols, the USS Jack sank 15 Japanese ships and ranked ninth in tonnage sunk by the end of the war. The author of this exciting memoir served as Torpedo Data Computer operator aboard the Jack (he was the one who aimed the torpedoes) and later as its executive officer. Calvert's book ranks with Edward Beach's Run Silent, Run Deep as an accurate, detailed, suspenseful account of submarine operations in the Pacific: the tracking and sinking of tankers, ammunition ships and a transport with a regiment of Japanese troops on board. One convoy commander whose ships crossed paths with the Jack radioed his superiors in Tokyo that he was under attack by a ``wolf pack.'' Calvert also recalls his experiences ashore between patrols, including an unconsummated romance-he was married-with an Australian woman. The memoir climaxes with an unusual account of his unauthorized tour of Tokyo immediately after the Japanese surrender, when he nearly scuttled his naval career by violating occupation rules. Calvert (Surface at the Pole) later served as superintendent of the Naval Academy, Annapolis. Photos.

Calvert tells the story of his service under the Pacific during WWII. He was the torpedo officer aboard the U.S.S. Jack during eight combat cruises and had a reputation for being a real "crack shot." Patrick's reading is easy to understand and a fine match for the text. He convincingly expresses the many emotions that a crew experiences during a combat cruise--the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the captain's descriptions of torpedo hits and sinking ships, and the tension of the officers' discussions. The reading of how Calvert was able to avoid having an affair while on leave is done with sensitivity. Unlike many memoir writers who mainly brag and boast, Calvert is gracious in regarding the faults of others, candid in telling his own, and humble in noting his deeds. Patrick's admirable contribution to this fine work is in bringing out this humility. M.T.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine