RICHARD HETHERINGTON O’KANE

In 1946, President Truman personally awarded Richard Hetherington O’Kane the Congressional Medal of Honor for his gutsy leadership as the commander of the U.S.S. Tang submarine. Just one year prior – in 1945 – O’Kane had been a political prisoner of the Japanese army, subjected to starvation and beatings for these very same acts. These extreme – if disparate – reactions to the bold tactical decisions of Commander O’Kane in the Formosa Straits on October 23 and 24 of 1944 are a testament to the resounding impact he and his crew had on the US-Japanese conflict during World War II. Indeed, as O’Kane himself later stated…

The greater the performance, the harsher the consequences.

Richard Hetherington O’Kane spent most of his time at sea. He was born in Dover, New Hampshire in 1911. Immediately following his graduation from the University of New Hampshire, O’Kane enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy. By 1934, he was serving as an officer on the USS Chester and USS Pruit, and by 1938, he had completed his submarine school training and was appointed as an executive officer on the USS Wahoo. Over the course of the five combat patrols that O’Kane completed on the Wahoo, he was awarded the Silver Star Medal with 2 gold stars, a Letter of Commendation, and a Presidential Unit Citation.

Above: Commander Richard Hetherington O’Kane of the US Navy

O’Kane’s demonstrated valor on the Wahoo earned him the position of commander on a newly constructed submarine: the USS Tang. As O’Kane later recounted, the Tang was an impressive vehicle. The first deep-hulled submarine to be sent to the war in the Pacific, it boasted 24 torpedoes, an intimidating 20-millimeter gun platform, and the capacity to descend to well-beyond the 600-foot mark on the depth gauge. Indeed, under the leadership of Commander O’Kane and in this highly effective vehicle, the crew of the Tang was a force to be reckoned with. Over the course of the submarine’s first four missions, the crew sunk 17 Japanese ships, earned a Presidential Unit Citation, and rescued 22 downed aviators in a feat only made possible by O’Kane’s decision to cut rations in half to transport the pilots on the long trip home.

Above: The USS Tang

On September 24, 1944, the USS Tang, commanded by O’Kane, set out on its fifth and final patrol. By this time, the United States had been engaging in its island-hopping campaign towards Japan for nearly a year, employing the ‘wither on the vine’ technique of isolating Japanese strong points on islands along the way towards the Japanese mainland. As the US navy edged ever-closer towards Japan, by 1944 greater fleet presence in the region was desired – and so the Tang was deployed. The Tang’s mission was to depart from the Hawaiian Islands, heading towards the now-friendly Midway Island. From there, O’Kane was directed to steer his vessel into the Formosa Strait (now known as the Taiwan Strait). There, he and the crew were directed to patrol, with particular instructions to observe the Ryukyu Islands.

Above: A map depicting the 5 patrols of the USS Tang.

The Tang’s mission was indicative of the broader strategic decision that US military officials had reached at the time – to invade the Ryukyu Islands. Throughout September of 1944, aerial and submarine patrols – like the Tang – provided the much-needed intelligence to inform the February 1945 ‘Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign,’ best known for the Battle of Okinawa, the largest amphibian assault of World War II. However, this broader strategic significance was unbeknownst to Commander O’Kane and crew, who knew only their specific instructions and the broader, encompassing missive to engage the Japanese. So, over the course of late September and early October, the USS Tang led by O’Kane moved into the Formosa region, engaging in contained conflicts against Japanese ships. On October 11th and 12th, the Tang sank Japanese cargo ships Joshu Go and Oita Maru, and – by October 24th, the submarine was deep in the strait.

Above: Map of the Formosa Strait, where the USS Tang’s 5th patrol was undertaken

On October 23, 1944, O’Kane’s crew sighted a Japanese convoy consisting of a freighter, three tankers, a transporter, and a number of escorts. Realizing that the convoy was heading towards Leyte, an island in the highly-contested Philippines, O’Kane opted to engage the convoy. That night, the Tang attacked, breaking directly into the middle of the convoy with a barrage of torpedoes. As the Tang prepared to engage one of the tankers, the crew spotted the Japanese transporter preparing to ram the submarine. In a split second decision, O’Kane chose not to dive the submarine to safety, opting instead to wait until the last second before shooting the submarine forwards, leaving the transporter to collide with its own ally tanker and destroying both ships. At this point – the Japanese ships all incapacitated with the Tang trapped in their center – O’Kane ordered the few remaining torpedoes launched at two escorts, creating a route for the Tang to return to safety. As O’Kane later reported…

Only ten minutes had elapsed from the time of firing our first torpedo until the final explosion that marked the sinking of the transporter’s bow.

The following morning, October 24, the USS Tang’s radar once again picked up a Japanese convoy in the region. This convoy – even bigger than the last – was transporting planes, reinforcements, and supplies to the Leyte Gulf. Once again, O’Kane opted to go on the offensive. At nightfall, under the cover of dark, O’Kane directed the Tang to approach the convoy. As soon as the convoy spotted the submarine, firefight broke out. In quick succession and with astonishing precision, with just six torpedoes, the Tang took out two freighters and a tanker. However, as O’Kane directed the Tang away from the onslaught of enemy fire, turning to bear down on the last freighter, disaster struck. The Tang launched its very last two torpedoes: the first struck true, destroying the target, but the second – an electric Mark 18 – malfunctioned. In a devastating turn of events, that final torpedo arced in such a way that it was aimed instead at the Tang itself. Despite O’Kane’s desperate attempts to maneuver away, the torpedo struck the Tang. Within minutes, the Tang had sunk.

Above: The precise location in the Formosa Strait where the USS Tang sank

Of the 87-man crew, only 8 – Commander O’Kane included – survived. But this wasn’t the end: the sailors were plucked out of the water by the Japanese navy by the same ships that the Tang had just struck. From there, O’Kane was brought to the Japanese mainland, where he was held prisoner in an area near Tokyo for nearly ten months. Over the course of his long imprisonment, he was subjected to beatings and maltreatment, weighing only 88 pounds being freed. Of the experience, O’Kane wrote very little – but in September 1945, in his first report on the sinking of the Tang since his release, O’Kane stated that…

When we realized that our clubbings and kickings were being administered by the burned, mutilated survivors of our own handiwork, we found we could take it with less prejudice.

Overall, the USS Tang under the command of Richard H. O’Kane was the undisputed most accomplished US submarine of World War II. Over the course of the war, O’Kane led the Tang in sinking 24 enemy ships and over 93,824 tons of cargo. For his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity” over the course of the Tang’s final patrol – and in particular for his leadership during October 23rd and 24th, O’Kane was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Truman on March 27, 1946.

Above: O’Kane being awarded the Congressional Medal by President Truman in 1946

Medal of honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Tang operating against two enemy Japanese convoys on 23 and 24 October 1944, during her fifth and last war patrol. Boldly maneuvering on the surface into the midst of a heavily escorted convoy, Comdr. O’Kane stood in the fusillade of bullets and shells from all directions to launch smashing hits on three tankers, coolly swung his ship to fire at a freighter and, in a split-second decision, shot out of the path of an onrushing transport, missing it by inches. Boxed in by blazing tankers, a freighter, transport, and several destroyers, he blasted two of the targets with his remaining torpedoes and, with pyrotechnics bursting on all sides, cleared the area. Twenty-four hours later, he again made contact with a heavily escorted convoy steaming to support the Leyte campaign with reinforcements and supplies and with crated planes piled high on each unit. In defiance of the enemy’s relentless fire, he closed the concentration of ships and in quick succession sent two torpedoes each into the first and second transports and an adjacent tanker, finding his mark with each torpedo in a series of violent explosions at less than 1,000-yard range. With ships bearing down from all sides, he charged the enemy at high speed, exploding the tanker in a burst of flame, smashing the transport dead in the water, and blasting the destroyer with a mighty roar which rocked the Tang from stem to stern. Expending his last two torpedoes into the remnants of a once powerful convoy before his own ship went down, Comdr. O’Kane, aided by his gallant command, achieved an illustrious record of heroism in combat, enhancing the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

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