Medal of Honor Recipient

CDR. RICHARD H. O’KANE

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in
presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

COMMANDER Richard H. O’Kane
UNITED STATES NAVY

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

CDR RICHARD H. O'KANE

(1944)

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to COMMANDER RICHARD H. 0’KANE, UNITED STATES NAVY for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the USS TANG operating against two enemy Japanese convoys on October 23 and 24, 1944, during her Fifth and last War Patrol. Boldly maneuvering on the surface into the midst of a heavily escorted convoy, Commander O'Kane stood in a fusillade of bullets and shells from all directions to launch smashing hits on three tankers, coolly swung his ship to fire at a freighter and, in a split second decision, shot out of the path of an onrushing transport, missing it by inches. Boxed in by blazing tankers, a freighter, transport and several destroyers, he blasted two of the targets with his remaining torpedoes and, with pyrotechnics bursting on all sides, cleared the area. Twenty-four hours later, he again made contact with a heavily escorted convoy steaming to support the Leyte campaign with reinforcements and supplies and with crated planes piled high on each unit. In defiance of the enemy" relentless fire, he closed the concentration of ships and in quick succession sent two torpedoes each into the first and second transports and an adjacent tanker, finding his mark with each torpedo in a series of violent explosions at less than a thousand-yard range. With ships bearing down from all sides, he charged the enemy at high speed, exploding the tanker in a burst of flame, smashing the transport dead in the water and blasting the destroyer with a mighty roar which rocked the TANG from

stem to stern. Expending his last two torpedoes into the remnants of a once powerful convoy before his own ship went down, Commander O'Kane aided by his gallant command, achieved an illustrious record of heroism in combat, enhancing the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

           Richard Hetherington O'Kane, USN (1911-1994)

Richard Hetherington O'Kane was born in Dover, NH on 2 February 1911. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1934, served aboard the cruiser Chester and destroyer Pruitt, received submarine instruction in 1938, and served on USS Argonaut until 1942. Lieutenant O'Kane then joined the pre-commissioning crew of the submarine Wahoo, serving as her Executive Officer under Commanding Officer Dudley W. Morton, and establishing a record as a very promising tactician.

In July 1943, Lieutenant Commander O'Kane became Prospective Commanding Officer of USS Tang, which he commanded throughout her entire career. In five war patrols, Tang sank an officially recognized total of 24 Japanese ships, establishing one of the Pacific War's top records for submarine achievement. He was captured by the Japanese when his ship was sunk off China in October 1944, and was secretly held prisoner until the war's end ten months later. Following his release, Commander O'Kane was awarded the Medal of Honor for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" during his submarine's final operations against Japanese shipping.

Following WW II, Commander O'Kane served in the Pacific Reserve Fleet as Commanding Officer of the submarine tender Pelias, testified at Japanese war crimes trials, was Executive Officer of the submarine tender Nereus and Commander of Submarine Division 32. He attended the Armed Forces Staff College in 1950-51, and was assigned to Submarine School at New London, CT, initially as an instructor and, in 1952-53, as Officer in Charge.

Promoted to Captain in July 1953, he commanded the submarine tender Sperry until June 1954 and became Commander Submarine Squadron Seven. After attending Naval War College in 1955-56, he served in Washington, DC, with the Ship Characteristics Board. Captain O'Kane retired in July 1957 and, on the basis of his extensive combat awards, was simultaneously advanced to Rear Admiral on the Retired List. He died on 16 February 1994. The guided-missile destroyer USS 0 'Kane (DDG-77) is named in honor of Rear Admiral O'Kane.

ADDENDUM by Bill Anderson

In truth, the last torpedo fired by O'Kane actually was a circular run hitting Tang in the stern throwing O'Kane and those on the bridge into the water. Tang plunged down to the bottom at 180 feet. A few of the crew were able to get to the forward torpedo room and attempted escape. 13 of them escaped. Eight of those reached the surface alive and 5 were able to swim along with the 4 from the bridge are until they were captured by a Japanese Destroyer Escort. Their real ordeal was just beginning as prisoners of the Japanese.

Interestingly, a member of this base was a crew member of Tang and one of those recovered after the war from a Japanese prisoner camp. He was Clay Decker and his telling of the harrowing story of his escape from Tang can be found on the Home page of our Rocky Mountain Website.

   Cdr. Dick O'Kane's Home Project
  by R. M. Stroud, ENFN(SS) USS Amberjack SS-522

  It was the Summer of 1952 and we (two good buddies and myself from Texas) were in submarine school at New London. It was a Saturday morning with nothing to do, no duty, no jobs, just a free day, and the three of us and a Yankee from Boston were sitting around the barracks trying to decide how to make the most of our day off. About then, a chief walks in and says, "I need some guys to help an officer with a home project and you four look like you'll do".
 
After the usual moaning and groaning and so forth, we asked what he wanted done. The job was to turn an old sail boat over behind the officers garage. He would pick us up, take us to his home, and bring us back to the base. That shouldn't take too long so we felt better about the whole thing. When we were ready, this officer met us down at the Dealy Center, introduced himself, and we were on our way. 

At the time, who the man was did not ring a bell with us three Texans, but the other guy (the nerd from Boston) started throwing questions at him about how his sub could have been sunk by it's own torpedo, what it was like being taken prisoner by the Japs, being tortured, and all kinds of stupid things including what the details were of his receiving the Medal of Honor. 

These were things we would not have brought up even if we knew the history of it and it was embarrassing to us three sitting in the back seat. The officer however was matter of fact in his answers and discussion with the nerd, and sitting there taking it all in, we realized he was someone special. You bet he was! He was the Base Commander, Commander Richard O'Kane, one of the most aggressive submarine captains out there during the Big one. He did it all. 

I knew when we finished turning over the small sail boat and he drove us back to the base, we had been in the presence of a very distinguished person and true gentleman. It was an honor for a twenty year old to be asked to help out with this home project. Through the years as I've read about O'Kane and his exploits, the significance of having had the opportunity to met and do a favor for this genuine American submarine hero has grown considerably.