Fluckey, Eugene Bennett

▪ 2008

      rear adm. (ret.), U.S. Navy

born Oct. 5, 1913, Washington, D.C.

died June 29, 2007 , Annapolis, Md.

was the daring submarine commander during World War II of the U.S.S. Barb and earned the moniker the “Galloping Ghost” because of his ability to pilot his submersibles undetected through enemy-laden waters. The much-decorated Fluckey was awarded four Navy Crosses and a Medal of Honor for his exploits during the war. He was specifically cited for having located more than 30 enemy ships in Nankuan Chiang (Mamkwan Harbour) and for having successfully blown up an ammunition ship and crippled five other ships with a volley of torpedoes. He was the first submarine commander in history to use guided missiles at an enemy target. He destroyed two Japanese factories, sank 29 ships, and helped with the destruction of another, and in 1945 a contingent of eight commandos from his crew used rubber rafts to reach the shores of Sakhalin Island, where, under the cover of darkness, they planted on railroad tracks explosive charges that were detonated by a passing 16-car train. Fluckey was most proud that among the crew members who received a Purple Heart, none had sustained a serious injury. After the war he became an aide to Navy Secretary James Forrestal and to Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, the chief of naval operations. After Fluckey retired from military service in 1972, he and his wife ran an orphanage in Portugal.

* * *