Description
Signed first edition of Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the USS Tang by Rear Admiral Richard O’Kane.
Octavo, 480pp. Full green cloth, title in gilt on front cover and spine. Features illustrated map endpapers. Stated “Second printing, October, 1977” on the copyright page. Solid text block, light wear to cloth, a few marks to edges of text, near fine condition. In the publisher’s dust jacket, $10.00 retail price on front flap, shelf worn, a near fine example.
Signed by Rear Admiral Richard O’Kane on the half-title.
Rear Admiral Richard H. O’Kane (1911-1994) was a highly decorated United States Navy submarine commander during World War II. He served as the executive officer of the USS Wahoo under Dudley “Mush” Morton and later commanded the USS Tang. O’Kane is credited with sinking 33 Japanese ships, the highest total of any U.S. submarine commander during the war. On October 24, 1944, the Tang was sunk by its own malfunctioning torpedo during a battle in the Taiwan Strait, and O’Kane was captured and held as a prisoner of war until the end of the conflict. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions aboard the Tang, along with other decorations including the Navy Cross and Silver Star.
