William L. Waugh; U.S. Navy and US. Army, From the Silent Service to Army Colonel

William L. Waugh Sr.’s military career was one of extraordinary transformation. He began the Second World War as a young enlisted sailor, working among torpedoes and explosives aboard one of America’s most successful submarines. He later returned home, attended college, earned an Army commission and rose through the ranks to become a colonel. His service stretched from the cramped torpedo rooms of the famous USS Bowfin to senior military responsibilities in Southeast Asia.

Waugh enlisted in the United States Navy on November 18, 1942, and reported to the Naval Training Station in San Diego. America had been at war for less than a year, and the Navy was expanding at an incredible rate. Thousands of young men were being trained for service aboard ships, aircraft carriers and submarines that would carry the war across the Pacific.

After completing his initial training, Waugh passed through the receiving station at San Francisco and briefly served aboard USS Mount Vernon. In July 1943, he was assigned to the submarine force and reported aboard the submarine tender USS Pelias. Submarine tenders served as floating repair bases, supply depots and support stations for the fleet’s submarines. They provided everything from mechanical repairs and replacement parts to torpedoes, fuel, food and medical assistance.

On October 30, 1943, Waugh reported aboard USS Bowfin (SS-287). He had joined one of the most aggressive and successful submarines of the Pacific War.

The Pearl Harbor Avenger

USS Bowfin was a Balao-class fleet submarine constructed at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Maine. She was launched on December 7, 1942—exactly one year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Because of that symbolic date, she became known as the “Pearl Harbor Avenger.”

The Bowfin was nearly 312 feet long and displaced more than 2,400 tons when submerged. She carried ten torpedo tubes—six in the bow and four in the stern—and could carry approximately two dozen torpedoes. Her crew normally numbered between 70 and 80 officers and enlisted men, all living and working together inside an incredibly confined steel hull.

Life aboard a World War II submarine was difficult even when the boat was not under attack. The crew slept in narrow bunks packed between machinery, pipes and weapons. Some sailors slept directly above stored torpedoes. Fresh water was limited, privacy was almost nonexistent and the air became thick with diesel fumes, sweat, oil, cooking odors and cigarette smoke.

Temperatures inside the submarine could become unbearable, particularly while operating in tropical waters. Condensation covered the walls and equipment. Food gradually spoiled during long patrols, and the crew often went weeks without seeing sunlight or breathing fresh air.

Despite those hardships, American submarines became one of the most effective weapons used against Japan. Although the submarine force represented only a small part of the United States Navy, it devastated Japanese merchant shipping and disrupted the supply lines that carried fuel, troops, ammunition and food throughout the Japanese Empire.

The work was also exceptionally dangerous. Submarines often attacked from close range and then attempted to escape while Japanese destroyers and patrol vessels searched for them with sonar. Once located, the submarine could be subjected to hours of depth-charge attacks. The men inside could do little but remain silent, maintain their equipment and wait as explosions shook the hull around them.

A Torpedoman Aboard Bowfin

Waugh entered this dangerous world as a member of Bowfin’s torpedo department. He advanced to Torpedoman’s Mate Third Class on July 1, 1944, and to Torpedoman’s Mate Second Class on May 1, 1945.

The duties of a torpedoman were among the most technically demanding and dangerous aboard a submarine. Torpedomen maintained the torpedoes, firing mechanisms, compressed-air systems, tubes and associated equipment. They inspected the weapons, adjusted their settings and prepared them for firing. They also handled warheads containing hundreds of pounds of explosives.

During combat, the torpedo rooms became some of the busiest places aboard the submarine. Men loaded weapons into the tubes, made final adjustments and stood ready for the order to fire. After an attack, they worked quickly to reload the tubes in case another target appeared or the submarine needed to defend itself.

A submarine torpedo was not simply pushed into a tube and fired. Its depth, speed, course and other settings had to be carefully prepared. A malfunction could cause the weapon to miss its target, detonate prematurely or even circle back toward the submarine that fired it. Early in the war, American submariners were plagued by defective torpedoes, making the skill and attention of men like Waugh especially important.

Waugh’s October 1943 reporting date places him aboard Bowfin immediately before her second war patrol. He would remain associated with the submarine through the remainder of the war, serving during eight of her nine wartime patrols.

Bowfin’s Second War Patrol

Waugh had been aboard only two days when Bowfin departed Pearl Harbor on November 1, 1943. The submarine headed toward the South China Sea for what would become one of the most successful American submarine patrols of the war.

Working alongside USS Billfish, Bowfin attacked Japanese shipping moving through waters near French Indochina. She stalked convoys, fired repeated torpedo spreads and survived determined efforts by enemy escorts to destroy her.

The patrol demonstrated the relentless nature of submarine warfare. An attack might last only minutes, but the escape could continue for hours. After firing, Bowfin would dive deep and attempt to slip away while Japanese escorts raced toward the location of the attack. Inside the submarine, the crew secured loose equipment, reduced all unnecessary noise and listened as depth charges exploded nearby.

Bowfin’s success during the patrol earned the submarine and her crew the Presidential Unit Citation. For Waugh, it was an extraordinary introduction to combat. He had gone from naval training to serving aboard a decorated submarine hunting enemy shipping in the Pacific in less than a year.

War Beneath the Pacific

During the patrols that followed, Bowfin operated across a vast area of the Pacific, including the South China Sea, waters near the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands and eventually the Sea of Japan.

The submarine attacked transports, tankers, freighters, patrol vessels and other ships supporting the Japanese war effort. Some targets were sunk in open water, while others were pursued through shallow coastal areas and defended anchorages.

During one daring attack near Minami Daito, Bowfin followed several Japanese vessels into a harbor. Once the ships anchored, the submarine fired torpedoes into the harbor, destroying two vessels, damaging another and striking the dock. It was an unusually bold operation that required the submarine to enter waters where maneuvering and escape were extremely difficult.

On another patrol, Japanese escorts dropped 16 depth charges around Bowfin in approximately six minutes. The submarine was damaged, but her crew kept her operating and escaped destruction. Such attacks could break lights, damage gauges, rupture piping and send men crashing into machinery. Every sailor had to know his station and continue performing his duties no matter how violently the submarine was being shaken.

The Tragedy of Tsushima Maru

One of the darkest moments in Bowfin’s history occurred during her sixth war patrol. On August 22, 1944, the submarine attacked a Japanese convoy and sank the transport Tsushima Maru.

Unknown to Bowfin’s crew, the ship was carrying civilians evacuated from Okinawa, including large numbers of schoolchildren. Hundreds of children and other civilians were lost.

The American submariners had no way of knowing who was aboard the vessel. To them, it was a Japanese transport traveling in convoy under military escort in an active war zone. The full human tragedy would only become known later.

The sinking remains a painful example of the uncertainty and terrible cost of unrestricted warfare. It also reminds us that sailors like Waugh sometimes carried memories of actions whose complete consequences they could not have understood at the time.

Despite that tragedy, Bowfin’s sixth patrol was considered militarily successful, and the submarine received the Navy Unit Commendation for the performance of her officers and crew.

Rescues, Depth Charges and the Japanese Home Islands

During her seventh patrol, Bowfin operated near the Japanese home islands. She sank the Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No. 56 and again survived an intense counterattack. Enemy vessels dropped approximately 26 depth charges in their effort to destroy her.

The submarine also carried out lifeguard duty in support of American air operations. Submarines were often stationed near enemy-held islands during air raids so they could rescue aviators forced down at sea. During one such operation, Bowfin rescued two airmen from a downed Navy Avenger torpedo bomber.

These rescues were important but dangerous. The submarine frequently had to surface close to enemy territory, exposing itself to aircraft, shore batteries and patrol vessels. The crew had to work quickly to locate and recover the airmen before enemy forces arrived.

During her eighth patrol, Bowfin continued attacking Japanese shipping and sank additional vessels. By this point in the war, Japan’s merchant fleet had been severely depleted. American submarines had forced the Japanese to rely increasingly on smaller ships and coastal routes, but even those waters offered little protection.

Operation Barney and the Sea of Japan

Bowfin’s ninth and final war patrol was among her most daring. She became part of Operation Barney, a secret American attempt to penetrate the heavily defended Sea of Japan.

For much of the war, the Japanese had considered the Sea of Japan relatively secure. Access was limited by narrow straits protected by mines, patrol craft and shore defenses. New American sonar equipment allowed a group of submarines to locate and pass through the minefields.

In June 1945, Bowfin and several other submarines entered through the Tsushima Strait. Once inside, they attacked the shipping routes connecting Japan with Korea and the Asian mainland.

During the operation, Bowfin sank the cargo vessels Shinyo Maru No. 3 and Akiura Maru. The submarine then escaped from the Sea of Japan through La Pérouse Strait and returned to Pearl Harbor on July 4, 1945.

The patrol marked the end of Bowfin’s wartime combat service. Japan surrendered the following month.

Across nine war patrols, USS Bowfin received official credit for sinking 16 enemy vessels totaling nearly 68,000 tons. She earned eight battle stars, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Unit Commendation. Waugh served aboard during the patrols that earned both of the submarine’s major unit awards.

Today, USS Bowfin survives at Pearl Harbor as one of the best-preserved American submarines of the Second World War. Visitors can walk through the same narrow passageways, torpedo rooms and machinery spaces where Waugh and his shipmates lived, worked and fought.

Returning Home

Following the war, Waugh continued serving in the submarine force. In September 1946, he was transferred through the submarine tender USS Orion before reporting aboard USS Proteus.

Submarine tenders such as Orion and Proteus supported submarines by providing repairs, supplies, spare parts and technical assistance. Their crews played an essential role in keeping the submarine force operational during and immediately after the war.

Waugh was discharged from the United States Navy on December 2, 1946. By then, he had advanced from a newly enlisted sailor to Torpedoman’s Mate Second Class and had served aboard one of the most famous submarines in American history.

For many veterans, discharge marked the end of military life. For William Waugh, it became the beginning of an entirely new chapter.

From Enlisted Sailor to Army Officer

After returning home, Waugh attended college and earned a commission in the United States Army. His experience with torpedoes, explosives, mechanical systems and military equipment made the Army Ordnance Corps a natural continuation of his earlier service.

Army ordnance officers were responsible for far more than weapons. They helped manage the maintenance, repair, storage, transportation and supply of enormous quantities of military equipment. Their responsibilities could include firearms, artillery, ammunition, vehicles, spare parts and complex mechanical systems.

The work required both technical knowledge and administrative ability. A successful ordnance officer had to understand the equipment while also managing personnel, facilities, inventories and transportation networks.

Waugh served at numerous Army installations and steadily advanced through the officer ranks. The enlisted sailor who had once maintained torpedoes in the forward compartments of a submarine eventually rose to the rank of colonel.

Service in Cambodia

By 1971, Colonel Waugh was serving as Deputy Chief, Forward, of the Military Equipment Delivery Team in Cambodia.

Cambodia was then caught in the expanding war in Southeast Asia. The government of the Khmer Republic was struggling to build and equip its armed forces while fighting for its survival. Waugh worked directly with the United States ambassador, representatives of the State Department and senior leaders of the Cambodian Army, Navy and Air Force.

His duties extended far beyond simply delivering weapons and equipment. He helped coordinate programs affecting nearly every part of Cambodia’s rapidly expanding military establishment. His knowledge of ordnance and logistics allowed him to anticipate problems and recommend practical solutions.

The Cambodian military was expanding from approximately 38,000 personnel to 157,000. Such rapid growth required new training facilities, weapons, ammunition, transportation, maintenance programs and supply systems.

One of the greatest challenges involved ammunition. Cambodian forces possessed millions of rounds manufactured in seven different countries over a period of approximately 50 years. The differences in calibers, condition, packaging and compatibility created a major logistical problem.

Waugh helped develop workable solutions that allowed training and military operations to continue. His Bronze Star Medal citation praised his professionalism, judgment and ability to coordinate programs at the highest levels of responsibility.

The citation credited his guidance with providing the leadership needed to direct the efforts of the Cambodian people during their struggle for survival. It concluded that his achievements reflected great credit upon himself, the Military Equipment Delivery Team and the United States Army.

A Career Spanning Two Services

Colonel William L. Waugh Sr. ultimately devoted approximately 33 years to military service.

He began as an enlisted sailor in the darkest years of the Second World War. He served beneath the Pacific aboard USS Bowfin, maintaining the weapons that helped cripple Japan’s maritime supply system. He experienced successful attacks, depth-charge barrages, rescues at sea and the constant dangers faced by the men of the Silent Service.

After the war, he did not simply return home and leave that life behind. He pursued an education, accepted a commission in the United States Army and built a second military career. His responsibilities grew from maintaining individual torpedoes to helping manage weapons, ammunition, training facilities and military programs involving an entire nation’s armed forces.

His story is one of determination, professional growth and lifelong service. Few careers could better illustrate the opportunities and responsibilities carried by America’s wartime generation.

William Waugh entered military service as a young sailor. He emerged more than three decades later as a decorated Army colonel. Between those two points lay an extraordinary journey—from the torpedo rooms of the “Pearl Harbor Avenger” to senior military service on the ground in Cambodia.

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