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Rear Admiral Richard Hetherington “Dick” O'Kane (February 2, 1911 – February 16, 1994) was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II, who received a Medal of Honor for his service on the . He also served on the , as executive officer and approach officer. He participated in more successful attacks on Japanese shipping than any other submarine officer during the war. ==Biography== O'Kane was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He was the youngest of four children of University of New Hampshire entomology professor Walter Collins O'Kane, of Irish ancestry, and his wife, Clifford Hetherington. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover in 1930, and the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1934. He spent his first years of active duty on the heavy cruiser and destroyer . He received submarine instruction in 1938 and was then assigned to the USS . O'Kane qualified for submarines aboard ''Argonaut'' in 1938 and remained aboard until her overhaul at Mare Island in 1942.〔O'Kane, Richard H. ''WAHOO The Patrols of America's Most Famous WWII Submarine'' (1987) Presidio Press ISBN 0-89141-301-4 pp.1-3〕 In early 1942, Lieutenant O'Kane joined the precommissioning crew of the new submarine and served as her Executive Officer (XO) on five war patrols, first under Lieutenant Commander Marvin G. "Pinky" Kennedy and later under the legendary Lieutenant Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton. Morton established a record as an excellent tactician, as he preferred to run the demanding analysis and plots while his XO manned the periscopes, a reversal of standard practices. Under Morton's tutelage, O'Kane developed the skills which enabled him to become the single most accomplished American submarine commander in history. In July 1943, Lieutenant Commander O'Kane was detached from ''Wahoo'' and soon became Prospective Commanding Officer (PCO) of ''Tang'', which was then under construction. He placed her in commission in October 1943 and commanded her through her entire career. He was an innovator, and developed several operational tactics that markedly increased his ship's efficiency. Among these tactics were daylight surface cruising with extra lookouts, periscope recognition and range drills (enabling clear tactical sureness when seconds counted), and methods of night surface attacks, one of his favorite techniques to obtain and maintain the initiative in battle. In five war patrols, O'Kane sank an officially recognized total of 24 Japanese ships – the second highest total for a single American submarine and the highest for a single commanding officer. This total was revised in 1980 from a review of Japanese war records corroborated by ''Tang''s surviving logs and crewmembers to 31 ships totalling over sunk. These numbers were among the highest in the Pacific War for submarines. Several times during the war he took the ''Tang'' into the middle of a convoy and attacked ships ahead and behind—counting on ''Tang''s relative position, speed, and low profile to keep clear of enemy escorts. Under O'Kane, the ''Tang'' also performed "Lifeguard Duty", a common joint operation, with a Fast Carrier Task Force, of positioning one or more submarines in a "ditching station" off an enemy island under air attack in order to rescue downed pilots. Off Truk, he and the ''Tang'' rescued 22 airmen in one mission, thus earning a Presidential Unit Citation. ''Tang''s third patrol, into the Yellow Sea, sank more Japanese ships than any other submarine patrol of the war. O'Kane claimed eight ships sunk; post-war analysis increased this to 10 ships. During one attack, he fired six torpedoes at two large ships. Japanese records showed the torpedoes actually hit four ships. This meant number of sinkings surpassed the next highest patrol, ''Wahoo''s (with O'Kane as Executive Officer) in the same area the year before. O'Kane was captured by the Japanese when ''Tang'' was sunk in the Formosa Strait by her own flawed torpedo (a circular run of a Mark 18) during a surface night attack on October 24–25, 1944. O'Kane lost all but eight members of his crew, and was at first secretly held captive at Ofuna, then later moved to the regular Omori POW camp.〔O'Kane, Richard H. ''Clear the Bridge! The War Patrols of the USS Tang'' London Macdonald & Jane's 1978 pp462-6 ISBN 0354011855〕 Following his release, O'Kane received the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" during his submarine's final operations against Japanese shipping. In the years following World War II, O'Kane served with the Pacific Reserve Fleet as commanding officer of the submarine tender , testified at Japanese war crimes trials, was executive officer of the submarine tender and was Commander, Submarine Division 32 (ComSubDiv 32). He was a student at the Armed Forces Staff College in 1950–51 and was subsequently assigned to the Submarine School at New London, Connecticut, initially as an instructor and, in 1952–53, as the commanding officer. Promoted to the rank of Captain in July 1953, O'Kane commanded the submarine tender until June 1954 and then became Commander, Submarine Squadron Seven (ComSubRon 7). Following studies at the Naval War College in 1955–56, he served in Washington, D.C., with the Ship Characteristics Board. O'Kane retired from active duty in July 1957 and, on the basis of his extensive combat record, was simultaneously advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral on the Retired List.〔 O'Kane died in Petaluma, California at 83. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 59, Grave 874. His wife was later buried beside him. 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「Richard O'Kane」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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