John Pitts Spence, first enlisted frogman passes

LI Right sends us a link to Stars & Stripes which draws from an LA Times article about the sad news that John Pitts Spence, the first enlisted WWII frogman has passed at the age of 95.

Although he wanted to deploy as a gunner protecting merchant ships, Spence had the kind of diving experience that made him a natural for a clandestine group being organized by the OSS under the legendary Major Gen. William “Wild Bill” Donovan.

Spence became the first enlisted man selected for the group, which was trained in stealth, demolition and close-in combat tactics, with the goal of sinking enemy ships and also blowing up underwater emplacements meant to thwart beach landings by U.S. assault troops.

During the training phrase, a new word was coined, based on the green waterproof suit that Spence was wearing.

“Someone saw me surfacing one day and yelled out, ‘Hey, frogman!’ The name stuck for all of us,” Spence told maritime historian and filmmaker Erick Simmel.

Most of Spence’s adventures during the war were classified, but the veil of secrecy was lifted in the 1980s and that’s when he started talking about his wartime experiences, unlike our phonies who talk about their experiences endlessly and then tell us they’re secret squirrels and they can’t discuss it when we try to verify their claims.

Once the veil of secrecy was lifted, Spence was honored by the Army Special Forces and the Underwater Demolition Team SEAL Assn. He received a green beret from the Army and, from the Navy, a Trident, the insignia worn by SEALs. He was honored at the Naval Academy.

Category: Blue Skies