It looked almost like wrinkled turd floating on the water. In this case, the turd was going about ten knots and there was a wake behind it. The patrolling frigate hadn’t even noticed it until the lookout sighted what looked like an American flag flying over a blank sea. A helicopter was sent to investigate. Sure enough, the pilot radioed back that something with an American flag was making its way toward the entrance to Hampton Roads. There appeared to be some sort of railing with a single human being on the top of the wrinkled mass in front of the flag. As the helicopter flew over, the figure, dressed in blue camo, waved up at them. As the helo got closer, another figure came out of a hatch behind the flag and ran forward on the rolling deck. They unfolded a small banner. It read “USS Texas.”
Norfolk exploded with the news. Immediately tugs were dispatched and an admiral’s barge got underway. As the submarine rounded the point, cars and trucks stopped along the shoreline drive to see the ship everyone had been told was at the bottom of the sea. She sailed slowly past the battered Eisenhower and past the hulk of the Iwo Jima. Media helicopters swarmed overhead. By now the tugs had been attached and the pilot was standing beside Captain Jacobs. Within 30 minutes, USS Texas was moored port side to pier ten. A brow was placed from the pier to the ship and an army of naval officers descended on the ship. The first was the Commander of Submarines, Atlantic.
Admiral Hendrick practically embraced Jacobs. “My God, Frank, we all thought you were dead,” he exclaimed.
“We almost were, Admiral. Come on down to the wardroom and I’ll fill you in,” Jacobs said as he ushered the Admiral down the hatch.
On the way, Hendrick noticed the damage to the control room, periscopes, shorted equipment and other things not normal on a submarine. Sitting down at the head of the table he looked at Jacobs. “Frank, this is more damage than I have ever seen on a submarine. Fill me in on what happened.”
“Short version, we had just finished sinking the sub after the Kennedy when my sound man heard a torpedo in the water. He said it was a 46. We immediately began maneuvering to get out of the thing’s way, but except for one time, it stayed with us. Even the one time it lost us, it found us again in short order. Just before it looked like the thing would hit us, I ordered the planes full down. It was just enough that the torpedo missed the tail and hit the sail. You see the damage. I lost communications, periscopes, snorkel, just about everything. We were at about 250 feet when it hit. The water coming into the control room was like a waterfall. It seemed to come from everywhere. My damage control team jumped on it. I was afraid somebody up there might drop another one, so I ordered everything to stop and just made like a hole in the ocean. It took us four hours to get all the leaks stopped. When we got underway again the noise of all that damage made a racket in the water, so I had to keep our speed below five knots. I doubt you noticed, but the pressure hull is dented. So I could not go below about 150 feet without leaking again or maybe even breaking apart. By the time I felt like it was okay to surface, there wasn’t anybody who might hurt us or help us.” Jacobs gave out a sigh. “It’s been a long trip home. My people have listed all that needs fixing, but I figure just redoing the hull will take a year.” He chuckled. “At least I brought her home,” he said.
Hendrick sat back and looked at Jacobs. The story was written in the lines of his face. He could tell the man had almost single handedly willed his ship back home when others might have abandoned the vessel and allowed it to sink. He nodded at the man. “Yes, Frank, you brought her home. You need to know that Texas was the first to strike a blow to our enemy. You already have a higher kill ratio than any other sub in the Atlantic. You really did save that carrier, despite the idiot that had her going around at 27 knots. I’ll be sending a team aboard to take statements and debrief. Then as soon as a space becomes available, USS Texas will move into a drydock. This ship needs saving, Commander, and we’re going to do it. Once the team is done, you and your crew will be relieved and sent home on 30 days of leave. Then I want you back with me to get her ready for sea again. I need you and your men out there, Frank. You’re the best team I have,” Hendrick said.
Jacobs brightened at those words. “Thanks, Admiral. I have some recommendations for the crew. They were the ones who saved the ship.”
“I’ll see to it. Now get some rest. From what I see, you more than deserve it,” Hendrick said.
When the admiral left, Jacobs looked around at his command. The ship’s sail was gone with only jagged fragments where it was attached to the hull. All along the top of the hull the plating was dented and scarred. Holes were in several places along the hull where fragments had penetrated the outer hull. In the area where the periscopes had been even the pressure hull was dented so that the openings were at different angles. Rust was everywhere around the small foothold where his hull technicians had welded supports for someone to stand topside without falling overboard. Even the place for the flag had been jury rigged. Jacobs wondered if she could ever be fixed. There was a shout behind him on the pier. He turned to see his wife and two children running toward him along with some other families. He scooped them into his arms and hugged them hard. His wife was crying.
“Are you coming home, Daddy?” asked his young son.
Through tears of his own he said, “Yes, Christopher. Daddy’s home.”
Dearest Freda,
I have to write quickly. We don’t have much time to ourselves. The training seems to be getting better for me. I’ve lost about ten pounds and it feels like I am moving around quicker. Of course, my sergeant is always keeping us moving. He was very strict with us at first but he is getting a lot easier to understand. He puts on a mean face, but I realize it’s for our own good. He says what we are doing might mean the difference between going home alive catching a bullet. Most of us are doing well, although some of these guys are pretty thick.
It’s hard to believe that my training is being done in Germany. There looks like thousands here. Between the running everywhere we go, the exercises and the training classes, there is no time to really think about much. But when I do have some time I think about you. I miss having you with me. The thought of your smile takes my mind off my sore muscles. It helps me get to sleep at night. This will all be worth it just to be able to come home to you.
In the evenings and during breaks in the day we are told to play these video games. I never really did these before, but it turns out they are quite fun. Just the other day after I finished playing the sergeant told me they are putting me in a special program. I am told that I will be doing something with drones. I understand it’s like the games we’ve been playing. The sergeant says when I finish my training I will have a higher rank than many of the others. That’s fine with me. I’ll leave here in two days for another camp just ten miles from here run by the Americans. I guess it was a good thing I took English in school.
Please keep writing. I keep reading your letters over and over. In my mind I can see you writing them to me. It makes a big difference for me.
Say hello to your family for me. I’m still hoping to get some time to see you before I go out. The thought of being with you again gives me the strength to go on. I’ll write as often as I can.
With all my love,
Petyr
USS America was huge. Just finding his stateroom was a challenge, but eventually Rod Jeffers got all his gear from the car to the small ten by fifteen foot space that held a single bed, desk, sink, bookshelf and closet, all made of metal. A second door led from his stateroom to a shared bath. He was lucky. Most of the officers shared a stateroom with at least one other person, but because he was on the Admiral’s staff and a Lieutenant Commander, he had been given this one.