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USS Bluegill (SS-242) WW2

The cause . . . the call . . . THE CRY . . . the crusade . . . the conquest

The Battle Cry: "Kill the Bastards". Photo courtesty of Hugh Story.
Left to Right: LCDR Eric Barr, QMS Smith, and Seaman Maynard.

Why did they fight? In addition to the chagrin of "the date that will live in infamy" ("the cause"), and the patriotic response to the nation's call to war ("the call"), the conflict was personal to many: "I went out there to sink ships. That was my target. I had lost too many shipmates, too many class mates, too many friends - and I went out there to fight. In fact in my acceptance speech at a party after the [Bluegill's] commissioning ceremony I said, 'we're going to get this ship's nose bloody!' And we did." Captain Eric L. Barr, Jr., USN (Ret.) in the video The Silent Service Set.

Bluegill's Battle Cry: "KILL THE BASTARDS"

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