Aloha, I just finished The Far Shore. It was a great read and I am amazed at the life and works of this fine Naval Officer. I look forward to reading more.
Read the Cmdr's books when I was a kid in the 50's. My thanks to him and his brothers in arms for their service to our great nation.
First read several of Commander ELLsburg's books (On the Bottom and Men Under the Sea) when I was in High School. Since then I have managed to collect additional ones, and still re-read them. I certainly hope the reprinting of Salvage Man comes off. I'd love to read it!
This is an answer to John Hyatt's question of 1/15/10 from John Alden, Ellsberg's biographer:
Regarding your salvage question, I don't think the Navy, especially the sub force, ever looked at either salvage operation as a cost-effectiveness matter, except for deciding what to do with the hulk after it was raised. Actually, repairing and returning either the S-51 or the S-4 to service would probably have been cheaper than building a new sub, but of course the Navy had a surplus of submarines during those times. Raising the S-51 was a challenge to the Navy as well as to Ellsberg. Recovering the bodies, even more so with the S-4, would have been important for service morale, not just for public relations. In both cases it would have been worth raising the hulks to assess the damage and look for evidence of materiel deficiencies in order to improve other submarines. The S-4 provided an opportunity to test and improve the salvage organiza tion established after the S-51 disaster. It would have been ridiculous not to make use of the knowledge learned on the S-51. These are my opinions. I don't have any official records of the discussions and decisions that were made by the authorities in charge back then.
Cdr. Ellsberg was one of my hero's as a boy during WWII
as was my father Cdr. John F. Bergmann. I want to read
Cdr. Ellsberg's book again.
Tks for Keeping memory alive.
John C Bergmann
Just amazed to read CDR Mayball's comments. Exactly my experience with "On the Bottom" thru the Erie County Bookmobile in suburban Buffalo, bi-weekly also.1950. I couldn't get to keep the book back then. Time to read it again
A "few" years, I read a book about a man who was instrumental in inventing a welding system that would function under water. It was used in clearing harbors in North Africa during WWII. I was between 16 and 17 years old at the time. That book was the driving force that convinced me to join the US Navy. I joined the Navy Reserve while I was in high school and went active in February of 1959.. I stayed for 20 of the finest years of my life. I will for ever be grateful to a mentor I never met.
By the way, can anyone tell me why he is buried in Willimantic CT?
At age of 13 in 1951, I read every one of his books I could get my hands on. He was a brave, intelligent man. His books were fascinating.
I loved his teenage diving adventures when I was in grammar school and all of his other books as an adult. What a man!
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