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Chief Paul Golden (Swish) Saunders (January 12, 1918 - August 9, 2003) was a highly decorated United States Navy submarine sailor who was twice awarded the Silver Star medal during World War II.
Naval career
Paul "Swish" Saunders enlisted in the Navy in 1936 and served for 26 years before retiring as GMGC(SS) (Chief Gunners Mate Guns, Submarine Service). Prior to submarines Paul served on the light cruiser USS Raleigh (CL-7) and on destroyers McCook (DD-252) and Sampson (DD-394). Paul qualified in submarines aboard R-4 (SS-81) in 1940 and subsequently served in Barb (SS-220), Cusk (SS-348), Carbonero (SS-337), and Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600).
The only landing of US military forces on the island of Japan during hostilities included Saunders. They destroyed a 16-car train on the coastal railway with an explosive charge, using a microswitch under the rails to trigger the explosion.
Paul was highly regarded as one of the most decorated enlisted men in the Submarine Service, distinguishing himself during WWII while serving on board the Barb. Paul made all twelve of Barb's war patrols, five in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific and was Chief of the Boat (COB) for patrols #9 through 12. He was also COB for the Cusk, Carbonero and Theodore Roosevelt.
Chief Saunders was awarded two Silver Star Medals, one Bronze Star Medal, and a Letter of Commendation with Ribbon in recognition of his heroic actions in combat during WWII. He also received the Submarine Combat pin, Victory Medal, American Theater medal, Philippine Liberation medal. He was further famed in the book Thunder Below by his USS Barb skipper, Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey.
Post naval career
Post WWII found Paul working in the development of the launching systems for KGW-1 Loon, which was an adaptation of the US Army's JB-2 Doodle Bug, Regulus, and Polaris missiles. Paul Saunders was a member of Submarine Veterans of WWII and also a member of United States Submarine Veterans, Inc., Nautilus Base.
Chief Saunders received his final set of orders 09 Aug 2003 and departed on Eternal Patrol from his home in Dunnellon, Florida following a lengthy illness. Sailor, rest your oars.
Other Comments:
Service number: 2657219
Submarine war patrols:
USS Barb (S-220) - 1st through 12th
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Okinawa Gunto Operation
From Month/Year
March / 1945
To Month/Year
June / 1945
Description The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg. was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.
The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Based on Okinawan government sources, mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths (with an estimated total of more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds). Simultaneously, 42,000–150,000 local civilians were killed or committed suicide, a significant proportion of the local population. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki together with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting on Okinawa.
