Deep, Dark and Dangerous

[SeaRat]

I had to drop my wife off to work today, and was going to go to the Body Works exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. But when I got there, there was a long line, and after looking at the book on the exhibit in their book store, which featured a body holding its skin, I decided to save my money and go to Powell's Books in Beaverton, Oregon. I looked around this impressive book store, but could not find any books on diving. So I went to their computer terminal and typed a search for "scuba". I found the section, and in there was a book I had not seen before.

The book is by Rebecca Harrison, titled Deep Dark and Dangerous, On the Bottom with the Northwest Salvage Divers[/B]. And, this was a signed copy of the book. It cost me $13.50, which was less than the ticket to the exhibit mentioned above. The book is a history of diving in the Oregon area. It features such divers as Fred DeRock, a hard hat diver in the late 1800s in the Astoria, Oregon area. Fred Devine, who established a diving company that I believe is still in existence, is there as well as Clyde Leiser, one of his divers. Art McCray and his grandson, Ron are also featured. A diver I need to read about is Robert Sheats, who apparently was both hard hat diving and worked with the US Navy (and USAF) in the 1950s.

I still have a lot to read, but this looks like a great

www.deepdarkanddangerous.com/

John

[sidm]

SeaRat, Robert Sheets was a Navy diver who was captured by the Japanese at Corregidor in WWII. He wrote "Diving for the Emperor", a recounting of his visit to the land of the rising sun. Sheats continued his service in the Navy until his retirement and was involved in many of the Navy's significant diving operations.

[sitkadiver]

Feb 28, 2012 8:56:49 GMT -8 sidm said:

SeaRat, Robert Sheets was a Navy diver who was captured by the Japanese at Corregidor in WWII. He wrote "Diving for the Emperor", a recounting of his visit to the land of the rising sun. Sheats continued his service in the Navy until his retirement and was involved in many of the Navy's significant diving operations.

Sid,

I'll have to research Robert Sheets: It wold be interesting to read.

My grandfather, Arnold N. Nelson, was also captured on Corregidor.



My grandfather survived the war. His brother Olaf did not.



I'm not sure if it's Ironic or not, but Olaf's name is listed on the wall of the missing at the Manilla American Cemetery. I know my grandfather spent a lot of time in Manilla prior to the war. Grandpa dated a girl who lived in Manilla. She died in a camp sometime during the war, but I have no idea who she was. Her father also died, he died in Bilibad prison camp.

Anyway, sorry for the hi-jack. But I would be interested to see how Mr. Sheets made out. There isn't much written about that subject and my grandfather almost never spoke of it.

[Deleted]

Interesting Searat.......I'm still looking for that old book I read in High School, Pig Boat...........

Many of us here are vets, and occasionally comment about our military history.......but you guys talking about your dads, uncles and grandfathers makes me want a string on our ancestors. Now there would be a lot of history!......even for divers not actual vets but their parents or grandparents, etc. were.

[drado]

Still a bit OT, but Sitka, on a visit to Corregidor, there is a visceral reaction on seeing the devastation of the barracks, the final positions of the guns in Battery Way, and the Malinta tunnel, the gravity of the event prior to the fall of of the island can only be imagined. Considering that the island is now full of trees, its hard to imagine that during the war practically all vegetation was blasted away during the bombardment. Your grandfather and his brother were true heros.

[luis]

Feb 28, 2012 8:56:49 GMT -8 sidm said:

SeaRat, Robert Sheets was a Navy diver who was captured by the Japanese at Corregidor in WWII. He wrote "Diving for the Emperor", a recounting of his visit to the land of the rising sun. Sheats continued his service in the Navy until his retirement and was involved in many of the Navy's significant diving operations.

Robert Sheats was also the team leader for the third group of Aquanauts in the Navy SEALAB II program. Scott Carpenter was the team leader for the first two groups.

During SEALAB I he was a support diver.

[SeaRat]

Luis, Drado, Oldmossback, SidM, and Sitkadiver,

Thanks for some very interesting discussions. The book is very interesting, and I have gotten into the first few chapters now. I am looking forward especially to reading about Robert Sheats, and will follow-up further on him. There are links in this "Media" section to both SEALAB I and SEALAB II videos on You Tube.

Let's find out more about these pioneers of diving. I had no idea that there was hard hat diving here in Oregon in the 1800s.

John

[sitkadiver]

Drado,

Thank You for the pictures. I plan on going over to the Phillipines in a few years, when my kids are a little older.

I should clarify that Olaf was not at Corregidor, he was lost in an A-20 crash on Feb. 24th, 1945.

My grandfather spoke very highly of the Phillipine scouts. A unit that still operates today. He remembered them as having more and better intelligence about the Japanese than the American army.

But, alas, this for another thread in another place.

I will definately look up more information about Mr. Sheats. I would enjoy reading about a diver during the 40's. My father-in-law has a Siebe Gorman bellows pump, when I look at it, it's hard to fathom(pun intended) it supplied enough to go much deeper than 10 ft.

[sidm]

Thanks, John, for giving me the opportunity to get back on my historical soapbox. Oregon's commercial diving industry began with the snag divers of the lower Columbia River in 1876. Actually, divers from both Oregon and Washington were involved. They cleared the river of snags for the seine and drift net fishermen.

Consider this: The Greeks came to Tarpon Springs and the Japanese abalone divers arrived in Monterey shortly after the turn of the century, about 1903-1906. Los Angeles did not have an organized commercial diving industry until 1913 or so. In the continental US, only the Northeast (with the likes of Merritt, Chapman, and Scott's black horse fleet) preceded the Northwest in having a well established commercial diving industry.

I interviewed Fritz DeRock's grandson for a video project. He along with some others, told me that during Fritz's time in Astoria, instead of playing cowboys and indians, kids would play "Fritz DeRock".

[SeaRat]

Sid,

I've just read about Walter and Art McCray. That was quite a team, until the tragedy of Walter being drowned in a cave in diving the Chehalis River in Washington State on October 26, 1934. The only other divers around were his team, and included is son, Art. It was Art who had to dive to recover his Dad from the river, and it took him several tries.

After thirty-five years of diving, Walter McCray was fifty years old when he was crushed to death by a cave-in fifty feet below the surface of the Chehalis River in Aberdeen. The following Saturday, one of the largest gatherings of divers, including Captain Henry Finch, met at Pier 40 in Seattle to pay their last respects to their colleague. When Arthur McCray took over his father's business, his name and his work became known, just like his father's, throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Harrison, Rebecca, Deep Darp and Dangerous, On the Bottom with the Northwest Salvage Divers, 2006, pg. 34.

Sid, there is another chapter titled "Divers Who Maintained Bridges and Dams." One of those divers prominently featured is Harold Maiken, and it got me to thinking as to whether you knew him. Then I saw that his last name, while sounding like yours, is spelled differently. But is it possible that you knew Mr. Maiken, who dove in the Portland area?

John

[sidm]

John, I didn't know Harold but I did meet and interview his wife, Beulah, for my video Swirling Dark Water. He had quite a career. He was building housings for underwater film (1947) and television cameras (1950's) for use in his commercial work. He and some of his divers did dives to over 200' while surveying the river bottom for construction of the Dalles Dam.

[sitkadiver]

Feb 28, 2012 16:39:03 GMT -8 luis said:

Feb 28, 2012 8:56:49 GMT -8 sidm said:

SeaRat, Robert Sheets was a Navy diver who was captured by the Japanese at Corregidor in WWII. He wrote "Diving for the Emperor", a recounting of his visit to the land of the rising sun. Sheats continued his service in the Navy until his retirement and was involved in many of the Navy's significant diving operations.

Robert Sheats was also the team leader for the third group of Aquanauts in the Navy SEALAB II program. Scott Carpenter was the team leader for the first two groups.

During SEALAB I he was a support diver.

I just ordered his book from Amazon. Not an inexpensive book, by used standards. Also a little tough to find since I had misspelled his name:

Here's the full title:

One Man's War: Diving as a Guest of the Emperor 1942

Just copy into Amazon or Alibris.

Dave