First SEALs: The Untold Story of the Forging of America’s Most Elite Unit

320 Pages·2014·0.33 MB·English

by  Patrick K. O'Donnell

FIRST SEALS

Copyright © 2014 by Patrick K. O’Donnell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA
02210.
Book design by Cynthia Young
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
O’Donnell, Patrick K., 1969–
First SEALs : the untold story of the forging of America’s most elite unit / Patrick K. O’Donnell. — First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-306-82173-8 (e-book)
1. World War, 1939–1945—Commando operations—United States. 2. United States. Navy—Commando troops—
History. 3. United States. Navy. SEALs—History. 4. United States. Navy. Underwater Demolition Teams—History.
5. United States. Office of Strategic Services—History. 6. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—Mediterranean
Region. 7. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—Italy. 8. World War, 1939-1945—Campaigns—Austria. 9. World
War, 1939–1945—Amphibious operations. I. Title. II. Title: First SEALs, the untold story.
D794.5.O37 2014
940.54'8673—dc23
2014026097
First Da Capo Press edition 2014
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions,
and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books
Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call [phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail
[email protected].
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Jack Taylor and the renaissance men of the Maritime Unit
To Lily
To Dawn
CONTENTS
List of Maps
Preface
Prologue
1 “Cavities in the Lion’s Mouth”: The Birth of Underwater Combat Swimming
2 Area D
3 The Race to Design a Rebreather
4 Combat Swimmers
5 Silver Springs
SEA
6 Crazy Yanks: The Maritime Unit’s Beachhead in Egypt
7 Pirate Yachts and Spies of the Cloth
8 “Haggling, bribing, fines, delays, inspections, bullshit,”
9 Treasure Island
10 The Yankee, Operation Audrey, and the Boot
11 “The Little Pearl Harbor,”
12 The Ultimate Rescue
13 Back to Albania
14 No Picnic
15 The Kelly Plan
16 Ossining
17 Swimmer Commandos
AIR
18 The Dupont Mission
19 “I was promised this mission, and I want it,”
LAND
20 Vienna Captivity
21 Decima MAS Strikes Back
22 The Eighth Army Detachment
23 Stella
24 Indiana Jones
25 Surviving
26 Mauthausen
27 Last Acts
28 God Bless America
29 Sunset
30 “This is the first time I’ve ever been in the movies,”
Epilogue
The First SEALs after the War
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
LIST OF MAPS
OSS Training Grounds in the Washington Area
Eastern Mediterranean Area of Operations
Catalina Island-Treasure Island-Pacific Area of Operations
Italy and Yugoslavia Area of Operations
Northern Italy and Austria Area of Operations
PREFACE
BEGINNING IN THE SUMMER OF 1942, an extraordinary group of men embarked
on an experiment that would alter the course of modern warfare. A dentist, a Hollywood
star, a British World War I veteran, an archaeologist, California surfers, a medical
student, and even former enemies of America united to pioneer U.S. Sea, Air, and Land
operations. They combined intelligence gathering with special operations, much like
today’s Navy SEALs. Known as the Maritime Unit, these were America’s first
swimmer commandos, an elite breed of warrior-spies decades ahead of their time.
Technically, there were no SEALs in World War II, as the unit officially formed in
1962. But the Maritime Unit bent the norm to create tactics, technology, and a
philosophy that live on in the modern U.S. Navy SEALs and shape the battlefield of
today. No other American World War II unit was quite like it.
The men of the Maritime Unit maintained their vows of silence. Their story was
classified, lost, and buried in miles of warehoused government records. Now, the World
War II generation is in its twilight, and the last of these extraordinary men are slowly
fading away.
This is their story.