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Dudley Walker "Mush" Morton (July 17, 1907 – October 11, 1943) was a submarine commander of the United States Navy during World War II. He was commander of during its third through seventh patrols. ''Wahoo'' was one of the most-celebrated submarines of World War II, sinking at least 19 Japanese ships, more than any other submarine of the time.〔(A WWII Submarine Finally Comes Home )〕 Morton and ''Wahoo'' disappeared in 1943 during a patrol near La Perouse Strait, and he was ultimately declared deceased three years later. A native of Owensboro, Kentucky, Morton graduated from the Naval Academy in 1930. There he received the nickname "Mushmouth", after a character in the cartoon strip ''Moon Mullins'' whose large square jaw and prominent mouth resembled Morton's. The nickname was shortened to "Mush", by which he was known for much of his life. ==Career== Prior to the beginning of World War II, he served in the , , , , and the submarines and . Promoted to Commander October 15, 1942, he was in nominal command of while it underwent extended repairs at Pearl Harbor. He was relieved to make a war patrol in between November 8 and December 26 as prospective commanding officer, a supernumerary position to prepare him for command of a fleet boat. Morton took command of ''Wahoo'' on December 31 in Brisbane, Australia. Between January 26, 1943 and October 11, he carried out four offensive patrols, during which ''Wahoo'' was responsible for sinking 19 cargo and transport ships for a combined total of 55,000 tons. During ''Wahoo''s third war patrol, Morton was responsible for an incident which resulted in shipwrecked soldiers in about twenty lifeboats〔Bridgland p115-129.〕 of sunken Japanese transport ''Bunyo Maru''〔Holwitt, Joel I. ''"Execute Against Japan"'', Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 2005, p.287.〕 being fired on while in the water. Morton's exec, Richard O'Kane, who was on ''Wahoo''s bridge when the incident took place, likened to attacks on small craft made during the Dunkirk evacuation, and for the same reason: to prevent the enemy from recovering a body of troops that would shortly fight again. However, the Hague Convention of 1907 bans the killing of shipwreck survivors under any circumstances.〔CONVENTION FOR THE ADAPTATION TO MARITIME WAR OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION, Article 16〕 Controversy still attaches to this action, since survivors in the water may have been deliberately targeted. Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, the contemporary COMSUBPAC, asserts survivors were army troops and turned machinegun and rifle fire on ''Wahoo'' while she maneuvered on the surface, and such resistance was common in submarine warfare.〔Lockwood, p...〕 O'Kane stated fire from ''Wahoo'' was intended to force the troops to abandon their boats and no troops were deliberately targeted. Clay Blair (a historian who was not present at the action) states Morton opened fire first and the shipwrecked returned fire with handguns.〔Blair, pp.384-386.〕 Whatever the case, Morton and O'Kane had misidentified the survivors as Japanese. In fact, they were mainly Indian POWs of 2nd Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment, plus escorting forces from the 26th Field Ordnance Depot.〔Holwitt, p.288; DeRose, James F. ''Unrestricted Warfare'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2000), pp.287-288.〕 Of 1,126 men aboard ''Buyo Maru'', just 195 Indians and 87 Japanese died in all, including those killed in the initial sinking.〔Holwitt, p.289; DeRose, pp.77 & 94.〕 The low number suggests O'Kane's defense, that Morton fired only on the boats, may be correct.〔Holwitt, p.289fn29; O'Kane, ''Wahoo!'', pp.153-154. If so, it differed dramatically from the strafing of Japanese troops in the water at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.〕 It proved a rare occurrence, in any event.〔Blair, p.360; Holwitt, p.289.〕 Unlike German submariner Heinz-Wilhelm Eck, who was executed as a war criminal for ordering the killing of civilian shipwreck survivors, Morton did not face any criminal liability for his alleged actions. O'Kane believed this event prevented Morton from being awarded the Medal of Honor. After three arduous war patrols, Morton was given the highly dangerous assignment of penetrating the Sea of Japan. Commander Morton was reported missing in action in December, when his submarine was presumed lost. After the war, it was determined from Japanese records that, on October 11, in the time frame in which the ''Wahoo'' was expected to exit through La Perouse Strait, an antisubmarine aircraft found a surfaced submarine and attacked, dropping three depth charges.〔(United States Submarine Losses, World War II - Wahoo (SS 238) )〕 Declared deceased on January 7, 1946, Morton had been awarded the Navy Cross, three gold stars in lieu of a second, third, and fourth Navy Cross, and the Army Distinguished Service Cross. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dudley W. Morton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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