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The Origin of the U.S. Navy's Combat
Demolition Units, UDT, and SEALs The Water is Never Cold by James D. O'Dell In once sense, Jim O'Dell's book is somewhat like reading Irish history over the last 300 years, there is no end to characters and plots. He is a scholarly investigator noting in the
preface: ...(in) "combat demolition in WWII
far too much has been taken at face value...a
disconnected mythology has obscured facts."
His excellent documentation clears some of
that up. Admiral Ernest King, another visionary, his
chief staff officer, RADM Walter Delany who
took Kauffman under his wing, and staff
member CAPT J.C. Mettzel, first to emphasize
demolitions were with him at the start. Army
LT Lloyd Peddicord made myriad contributions
and covered a broad range of operations,
recons, and hydrographies. ADM Henry
Hewett proposed recons in advance of
landings and LT Edwin Lock urged heavy fire support. This was the
beginning but there
were lots of others who added to resources and
knowledge needed to birth NCDU's, UDT's, and
Scouts and Raiders. There is a chapter on Field Marshal Rommel's designs for beach obstacles on French coasts. Also included are extended discussions of explosives, mines, and mine disposal, and methods of insertion with contributions from the British, French, Italians and Germans. It is a very detailed and broad history. [ top ] |
The second half of the book is the story of UDT-15 from its inception to mothballs. Here O'Dell is at his best—a story that would make a
great movie. UDT-15 was lucky to get a ship
with experience in the landings at Normandy,
(a DE that became an APD in the Pacific). The
team members blended into the Blessman's
ships company serving alongside them on
watches and in their ratings. On station the
Blessman survived Kamikaze attacks. [ top ]
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