The USS Harder
Harder (SS-257) steaming on the surface of Narragansett Bay, 20 January 1943. Photo: Courtesy of the Naval History & Heritage Command. USS Harder SS-257 Eighty years ago,
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Two men.
A father and a son.
Two destinies separated by forty years, yet secretly bound by the most daring covert operation ever undertaken by America’s silent service. A storm of treachery and betrayal is unleashed upon a tropical paradise as forces converge to stop the discovery of a deadly mystery hidden for decades below the turquoise waters of Truk Lagoon.
Off the Page
Finally, he could see the scuba tank above him. Letting go of the rope, he took two powerful kicks to the equipment. His hands snatched the regulator and forced it into his mouth. He had no air to expel into the mouthpiece to clear the water from it. He inhaled.
Nothing. The tank was empty, completely void of precious air. He spit the regulator out and kicked madly toward the surface.
Now, all the rules he knew about deep-water diving vanished. Survival, the need for air by the body to live, took control. There was only 20 feet of liquid between himself and the surface. A distance he could run in fractions of a second. Twenty feet of oxygen rich water he could not use, oxygen his body could not absorb. With no breath, the distance became twenty miles.
Feeling his hands cramp, he released his weight belt with clawed fingers. His sense of speed increased as he kicked. His wrists twisted as the muscles throughout his body knotted.
Pain blurred his vision as the gases behind his eyes pushed outward. The cold boil of his soft organs distorted his body as he shot upward. His chest swelled to twice its size, tearing the nerves along his backbone. His rib cage shattered.
Just seven feet below the surface of the lagoon, his legs stopped. Only his left foot twitched, sending him into a death spiral as the buoyancy of his dive suit carried him upward. With a last effort, he screamed. No sound, only blood came from his mouth as his right lung exploded.
the Author
Mitchell Sam Rossi is an American novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. Growing up in the beach culture of Southern California, he spent most of his youth in or on the water. An avid sailor, scuba diver and mediocre surfer, Mitchell first pursued a career in marine biology.
But his desire to write garnished him with a 30-year career as a journalist. He has written about ships, classic cars, outdoor travel, and most recently critical environmental issues.
When not at the keyboard or searching for his next excursion, Mitchell can usually be found exploring the beaches of Northern California.
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