Dwight W. “Bud” Huntington III, 88, of Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, is a proud veteran of the Navy’s Submarine Service. Subs escaped the destruction of our surface fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and had a key role in taking it to the enemy until the U.S. could repair and replace our lost shipping and gear up for war.

“At Pearl Harbor our subs escaped the Japanese attack unscathed—no damage to the four subs in Pearl Harbor and the remaining 18 boats in the Submarines Pacific Fleet that were not in Pearl at the time,” Huntington said.

In addition, the Asiatic Fleet, which operated out of the Philippines with 39 submarines, was not as lucky in Japan’s first attack there. The Sea Lion was hit by two aerial bombs and was later destroyed to keep her from falling into enemy hands. The Sea Dragon, which was alongside, escaped with minor damage and was able to maneuver into the bay. She was one of the first subs to go out on patrol.

“As battle quartermaster on the USS Pargo, I was lucky to be on the bridge in a surface attack or in the conning tower manning the periscope with the skipper when submerged. In these stations we knew what was going on all the time,” Huntingdon said. “I was fortunate to see enemy ships disappear beneath the waves on a few occasions. I was also chosen as rescue swimmer in our rescue party, formed to aid in retrieving downed pilots.”

During World War II, subs were named after fish. The Pargo was a member of the snapper family found in Caribbean waters.

Approximately 16,000 submariners in the force conducted more than 1,600 war patrols and destroyed 5.3 million tons of enemy ships. Thus, 1.6 percent of the U.S. Naval strength was responsible for 55 percent of all enemy ships lost. Unfortunately, 3,506 submariners paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Huntington is a native of Flanders, Long Island, N.Y. His father, Dwight W. Huntington Jr., was a World War I veteran, who volunteered the day war was declared. He was wounded in Europe. On his return to America, after his recuperation, he met and married Alice Dunbar on Long Island, N.Y.

“As time went on, my father was unable to support the family, so my mother, with two children, moved back to Flanders, where she taught school. My sister and I were brought up by our maternal grandparents.”

Huntington graduated from Riverhead High School, where he was on the mile and cross country track teams. After graduation in June 1941, he returned to school for postgraduate work and sports. He was offered a sports scholarship to Syracuse University but by then, war had been declared, so he attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

“I was rejected because I had hay fever,” he remembered.

In April 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and started serving in August. Huntington attended boot camp at Newport, R.I., where he saw submarines maneuvering at the torpedo range in the bay and he decided to volunteer.

“Of the 120 men in our company, 36 of us volunteered but only six were accepted.”

Following Submarine School and Quartermaster-Signal School in Groton, Conn., he was assigned to the newly constructed Pargo from February 1943 through the end of hostilities in 1945. During that time, Pargo was able to complete eight successful patrol runs.

“We returned to the West Coast for new engines after the second run and new equipment and overhaul after the seventh run.”

The Pargo was a Gato Class boat, 312 feet long with a 26-foot beam and a 5/8-inch thick hull and carried a crew of 10 officers and 70 enlisted men. After commissioning April 26, 1943, at the sub base in New London, Conn., the ship underwent its shakedown in the Atlantic until late June, when she departed for Pearl Harbor via Panama.

On her first war patrol in the East China Sea, the Pargo sank a large 10,000-ton tanker. Two days later, on Sept. 6, a very successful night torpedo attack was made on a six-ship convoy, with the sinking of three ships, the severe damaging of another, and the complete disruption of the convoy.

By the war’s end, the Pargo was credited with sinking more than 100,000 tons of enemy shipping.

On its last patrol, Pargo ran submerged through enemy minefields into the Sea of Japan. Subs were held there, on orders of Gen. McArthur, until the final surrender terms were signed Sept. 2, 1945, in anticipation of a possible invasion of Japan by the Russians.

On Sept. 3, the Pargo skirted the minefields of Tsushima by running on the surface close to the coast of Korea en route to Guam. Three floating mines were exploded by gunfire. This sub was decommissioned June 12, 1946.

Continued next month …

If you are a mature veteran and have interesting or unusual experiences in your military or civilian life, phone Al Goodman at (717) 541-9889 or email him at klezmer630@comcast.net.