https://peertube.dngr.us/videos/watch/ce743bb5-b4e5-4875-b4fd-6407dacb360e The Silent Service was a documentary style anthology series about the U.S. Navy's submarine fleet and their missions during World War II and the Korean War created by Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers, who retired from the Navy in the late 1940s. Every episode was based on true historical events, with the realism of the show reinforced by the use of actual combat footage from the archives of the United States Navy. This particular episode titled “The Growler’s Captain” is episode 18 from season 2 of the show, which aired Sunday, July 6th, 1958. Directed by Jean Yarbrough and written by Jack Jacobs, “The Growler’s Captain” featured a cast of actors which included Ross Elliot, Bing Russell, Joel Marston, Steven Terrell, Jack Grinnage, Stafford Repp, Ed Nelson, Fred Gabourie, and Arnold F. Schade. Together, this crew of actors bring to life the story of the USS Growler and the submarine’s heroic captain, Commander Howard W. Gilmore, who sacrificed himself for the safety of his crew. The Commander Gilmore was one of 57 Navy men from World War II who received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and one of three Submariners to receive the prestigious award posthumously. Specifically, he received the “first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a submariner for distinguished gallantry in valor, above and beyond the call of duty.” Following an introduction by Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers (0:37), the episode opens on December 31st, 1942 as the USS Growler has just completed its refit at a port in Brisbane, Australia. Crew members wonder who will be named the ship’s skipper/captain. Commander Howard W. Gilmore, the Growler’s skipper, and Lieutenant Commander Arnold F. Schade, the Growler’s executive officer, arrive onboard the ship (3:00). January 1st, 1943 the Growler departs Brisbane to commence its 4th War Patrol off the coast of New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), covering enemy shipping lanes between New Guinea and Australia (4:03). It took the ship 9 days to reach its new post, as a result, the crew takes the time to relax and horse around on board. January 9th the USS Growler enters its patrol area and was in daily contact with enemy shipping (7:20). While patrolling, the USS Growler’s presence becomes known, and enemy anti-submarine ships and float planes try and force the ship to reveal itself. On the morning of January 16th the USS Growler’s luck changes, they have eyes on an enemy convoy that seems unaware that the Growler is lurking nearby (8:30). In retaliation for the Growler’s attack on the enemy convoy, the submarine becomes the target of depth charge attacks and is under constant surveillance by enemy planes. Nonetheless, the crew aboard the USS Growler persist in targeting the enemy. On the night of January 17th, the USS Growler comes across a new enemy target, the crew members scramble into their positions to launch a torpedo attack (18:04). Unfortunately, the Growler is never able to complete the attack, as the enemy ship launches a surprise counter-attack. As crew members succumb to gunfire wounds and the USS Growler begins to fill with water, Commander Howard W. Gilmore orders the crew to take the ship down, despite him not being able to reach the hatch in time, ultimately sacrificing his life. (22:46). Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers talks with Lieutenant Commander Arnold F. Schade who recounts the story of when Commander Howard W. Gilmore heroically died (23:17). Motion picture films don't last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we've worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies -- including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have endangered films you'd like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKVr4Hv9Mgc Mirrored from Periscope Film (https://www.youtube.com/@PeriscopeFilm) Sat, 13 Jun 2026 12:47:25 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://peertube.dngr.us https://peertube.dngr.us/lazy-static/avatars/41a6fee9-7f57-42d0-a5fc-5db4f1af2e31.png https://peertube.dngr.us/videos/watch/ce743bb5-b4e5-4875-b4fd-6407dacb360e All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://peertube.dngr.us/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.