The USS Seahorse (SS-304) was one of the top ranked submarines in the Pacific during World War II. She completed eight impressive war patrols under four different skippers, two of whom earned the coveted Navy Cross. Her most successful CO was Commander Slade D. Cutter of Chicago, Illinois. As captain of the Seahorse, Cutter destroyed 19 enemy ships, placing him second in the overall score for submarine commanders of WWII. In 1945, at wars end, Seahorse ranked sixth in the number of ships destroyed and twelfth in tonnage sunk.
Slade Cutter's heroic feats as an athlete and World War II submarine
commander left an indelible mark on the U.S. Navy. From a humble upbringing
on a Depression-era farm in Illinois, he became one of America's most formidable
and decorated officers of the war, earning four Navy Crosses and a Presidential
Unit Citation as the commander of a submarine in the Pacific that sank
twenty-three ships. His brilliant tactics and unusual exploits are the
stuff of legends, yet no biography has been previously published about
him. Now, with complete and exclusive access to Cutter, who lives in Annapolis,
journalist Carl LaVO presents a remarkably candid portrait of the storied
captain. He draws on countless interviews with Cutter and with many of
his shipmates and admirers, as well as a few detractors. Cutter's own views
about his naval career and the inner ticking of the Navy's hierarchy are
always forthright and make a unique and memorable contribution to the official
record.
The biography also pays welcome attention to Cutter's athletic achievements
at the Naval Academy in the 1930s. A charter member of the College Football
Hall of Fame, he single-handedly beat Army in 1935 to end a thirteen-year
losing streak for the midshipmen. An undefeated collegiate heavyweight
boxer often compared with the great Joe Lewis, Cutter says he never regretted
turning down an offer to become a professional and vie for the world heavyweight
championship. The book offers a parade of colorful figures that played
a role in Cutter's life, from his pre-Annapolis days to his post-war cruise
aboard the nation's first atomic sub, his stint as the Academy's athletic
director, and service as captain of a cruiser in the Bay of Pigs operation
in Cuba. LaVO's honest account of this national hero and Cutter's own insights
into the Navy of the mid-twentieth century make exciting reading for a
broad range of readers. 15 photographs. Bibliography. Index. 6 x 9 inches.