The Frogmen (film)
Encyclopedia
The Frogmen is a 1951 black-and-white film made by Twentieth Century Fox. It is based on operations by United States Navy
Underwater Demolition Team
s, popularly known as "frogmen
," against the Japanese Army
and naval forces
in World War II
. It was the first such movie about scuba diving
and became a popular cultural hit.
The film opens with this written statement: "This is a true story based on incidents which occurred in the latter part of World War II. It deals with one of the most hazardous and unique branches of the Armed Forces...the Underwater Demolition Teams. This film could not have been produced without the active cooperation of the Department of Defense
and the United States Navy."
Underwater Demolition Teams have been used since World War II
for reconnaissance
duties, clearing underwater obstacles planted by the enemy, advance landings on beaches, and offensive underwater attacks on enemy ships, and were the forerunners of the Navy SEALs.
, Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Lawrence (Richard Widmark
), a strict disciplinarian, is put in charge of Underwater Demolition Team 4 after its former leader, Lt. Cmdr. Jack Cassidy, is killed in action
. The unit's men are distrustful of the professionally-aloof Lawrence, and the relationship immediately takes a turn for the worse when they brawl with sailors aboard their transport ship
. The ship's captain, Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent (Gary Merrill
), understands the natural resentment the elite UDT men feel over the death of Cassidy, which they have transferred to Lawrence, and offers to go easy on the team at captain's mast. The "by-the-book" Lawrence, however, elects to hold his own mast and disciplines the entire team just before a dangerous reconnaissance mission to ascertain the safest landing beach during an upcoming invasion of a Japanese-held island. Lawrence is scornfully perceived as afraid when he splits up the platoon
and puts team executive officer
Lt. Klinger in charge of a diversion to the more dangerous beach, where the main landing is scheduled.
During the mission, Lawrence cuts his leg on coral
, and the diversionary section's pick-up boat receives a direct hit from artillery during pick-up operations, killing Klinger and most of his men. Lawrence sees that two frogmen
, including Chief Jake Flannigan (Dana Andrews
), are still in the water, but rather than risk loss of the information already gathered, orders a rescue boat launched and continues back to the transport. The rescue succeeds in recovering the two swimmers, but Lawrence's apparently cowardly action increases the unit's ill will toward him. An embittered Flannigan and some of the others request transfer to another unit, but Lawrence insists that they first complete the next day's mission to clear the new landing site for the invasion.
The next morning, Lawrence, who is sick with coral poisoning, does not reveal his illness when he puts Flannigan in charge of the mission and stays behind. Convinced now that Lawrence is a coward, the men angrily but efficiently complete their task, although "Pappy" Creighton (Jeffrey Hunter
), whose brother is a U.S. Marine
, sneaks onto the beach with Flannigan to leave a sign "welcoming" the Marines. Creighton is shot after the prank, but Flannigan tows him to the pick-up boat. Back on the ship, Creighton is put in traction
because of the bullets in his spine, and Flannigan confesses to Lawrence that the prank caused Creighton's injuries. Lawrence furiously upbraids Flannigan for giving in to the prank, and soon all of the men request transfers.
While Lawrence is discussing the transfer requests with Vincent, a torpedo
hits the ship but does not detonate. Lawrence volunteers to disarm the torpedo, which has lodged in the sick bay
next to Creighton's bed, and with Flannigan's help, succeeds. Soon after, Lawrence receives orders to blow up a Japanese submarine pen
, and tells the men that although it will be their last mission together, he is proud to have served with them. Although Flannigan voices disdain that Lawrence will again dodge dangerous duty, Lawrence leads the mission, which is discovered when one of the men accidentally trips a signal wire. Japanese sentries shoot at the men as they plant the charges, and Lawrence is stabbed in hand-to-hand combat with a Japanese diver. Although he orders Flannigan to leave him behind, the chief tows him to safety. The mission is a success, and soon Lawrence is recuperating beside Creighton. Finally won over by Lawrence's bravery, the men show their acceptance of him by asking him to sign the portrait
they have drawn of Cassidy to present to his widow.
ese submarine pen
), the frogmen correctly wear drysuits, but they were shown using open-circuit aqualungs, but actually they would have used rebreather
s to prevent detection on the surface from streams of exhaled bubbles. That use of aqualungs is an anachronistic (see Timeline of underwater technology#1943), since the Cousteau
aqualung
was unknown (except to a few men in France) until after World War II
. According to the official history of Naval Special Warfare, on October 21, 1950, "William Giannotti conducted the first U.S. combat operation using an 'aqualung' when he dove on the USS Pledge."
Rebreathers would not have been used by UDT
operators at anytime during WW2. The Frogmen did not acquire any type of SCUBA gear until after the 2nd World War. The OSS
Maritime Units did have Lambertsen rigs which were an early type of rebreather. The UDT operators relied on their ability to breath hold.
Henry Hathaway, one of the studio's most well received directors, was originally set to direct the picture, which was to feature Millard Mitchell
in a starring role. Richard Conte
was also originally set to play "Pete Vincent," Jack Elam
was first cast as "Sleepy", and Craig Hill was set to play "Lt. J. G. Franklin." Assistant director Dick Mayberry briefly filled in for director Lloyd Bacon when Bacon fell ill with the flu.
Producer Sam Engel wrote an original story entitled "Frogmen in Korea" as an intended follow-up to The Frogmen, but the project soon dissolved. A one-hour television remake of The Frogmen, entitled Deep Water, was broadcast in May 1957 on the 20th Century-Fox Hour. The program was directed by Roy Del Ruth and starred Ralph Meeker
(Lawrence), James Whitmore
(Flannigan), and Richard Arlen
(Vincent).
Because working conditions were deemed too "riotous" for women, all female roles were written out of the script. No actresses appeared in the completed picture. Jack Warden
also makes an uncredited appearance as a crew member of the transport ship. Co-star Gary Merrill
, in the role of the captain of UDT-4's transport, delivers a line ("Looks like you've got what amounts a legal mutiny on your hands.") virtually identical to one he spoke in a similar plot device occurring in Twelve O'Clock High
three years earlier.
Filming of the submarine sequence took place from the deck of USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)
while off Key West on 11 January 1951, and much of the boat and high-speed transport scenes were shot from Kleinsmith while off St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, between 15 January and 6 February 1951. (Source: U.S.S. Kleinsmith deck log entries, National Archives and Records Administration.) The USS Taconic (AGC-17)
appeared as the command ship. As spoken in dialog, the submarine's name sounds like "USS Jackass 259" but is actually "USS Jack SS-259". The USS Jack (SS-259)
was not actually used in the filming as it was out of commission at the time.
Many Navy SEALs have cited this movie as their inspiration to join the SEAL Teams; including Richard Marcinko
, and Dennis Chalker
.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Underwater Demolition Team
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
s, popularly known as "frogmen
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
," against the Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and naval forces
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was the first such movie about scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
and became a popular cultural hit.
The film opens with this written statement: "This is a true story based on incidents which occurred in the latter part of World War II. It deals with one of the most hazardous and unique branches of the Armed Forces...the Underwater Demolition Teams. This film could not have been produced without the active cooperation of the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and the United States Navy."
Underwater Demolition Teams have been used since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
duties, clearing underwater obstacles planted by the enemy, advance landings on beaches, and offensive underwater attacks on enemy ships, and were the forerunners of the Navy SEALs.
Plot
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Lawrence (Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
), a strict disciplinarian, is put in charge of Underwater Demolition Team 4 after its former leader, Lt. Cmdr. Jack Cassidy, is killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
. The unit's men are distrustful of the professionally-aloof Lawrence, and the relationship immediately takes a turn for the worse when they brawl with sailors aboard their transport ship
High speed transport
High Speed Transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used to support amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer....
. The ship's captain, Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent (Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
), understands the natural resentment the elite UDT men feel over the death of Cassidy, which they have transferred to Lawrence, and offers to go easy on the team at captain's mast. The "by-the-book" Lawrence, however, elects to hold his own mast and disciplines the entire team just before a dangerous reconnaissance mission to ascertain the safest landing beach during an upcoming invasion of a Japanese-held island. Lawrence is scornfully perceived as afraid when he splits up the platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
and puts team executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
Lt. Klinger in charge of a diversion to the more dangerous beach, where the main landing is scheduled.
During the mission, Lawrence cuts his leg on coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
, and the diversionary section's pick-up boat receives a direct hit from artillery during pick-up operations, killing Klinger and most of his men. Lawrence sees that two frogmen
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
, including Chief Jake Flannigan (Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
), are still in the water, but rather than risk loss of the information already gathered, orders a rescue boat launched and continues back to the transport. The rescue succeeds in recovering the two swimmers, but Lawrence's apparently cowardly action increases the unit's ill will toward him. An embittered Flannigan and some of the others request transfer to another unit, but Lawrence insists that they first complete the next day's mission to clear the new landing site for the invasion.
The next morning, Lawrence, who is sick with coral poisoning, does not reveal his illness when he puts Flannigan in charge of the mission and stays behind. Convinced now that Lawrence is a coward, the men angrily but efficiently complete their task, although "Pappy" Creighton (Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
), whose brother is a U.S. Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, sneaks onto the beach with Flannigan to leave a sign "welcoming" the Marines. Creighton is shot after the prank, but Flannigan tows him to the pick-up boat. Back on the ship, Creighton is put in traction
Traction (orthopedics)
In orthopedic medicine, traction refers to the set of mechanisms for straightening broken bones or relieving pressure on the spine and skeletal system.There are two types of traction: skin traction and skeletal traction....
because of the bullets in his spine, and Flannigan confesses to Lawrence that the prank caused Creighton's injuries. Lawrence furiously upbraids Flannigan for giving in to the prank, and soon all of the men request transfers.
While Lawrence is discussing the transfer requests with Vincent, a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
hits the ship but does not detonate. Lawrence volunteers to disarm the torpedo, which has lodged in the sick bay
Sick bay
A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...
next to Creighton's bed, and with Flannigan's help, succeeds. Soon after, Lawrence receives orders to blow up a Japanese submarine pen
Submarine pen
A submarine pen is a bunker which is designed to protect submarines from air attack.The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and the occupied countries which were also known as U-boat pens .-Background:Amongst the first...
, and tells the men that although it will be their last mission together, he is proud to have served with them. Although Flannigan voices disdain that Lawrence will again dodge dangerous duty, Lawrence leads the mission, which is discovered when one of the men accidentally trips a signal wire. Japanese sentries shoot at the men as they plant the charges, and Lawrence is stabbed in hand-to-hand combat with a Japanese diver. Although he orders Flannigan to leave him behind, the chief tows him to safety. The mission is a success, and soon Lawrence is recuperating beside Creighton. Finally won over by Lawrence's bravery, the men show their acceptance of him by asking him to sign the portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
they have drawn of Cassidy to present to his widow.
Credited cast
- Richard WidmarkRichard WidmarkRichard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
— Lt. Cmdr. John Lawrence - Dana Andrews Dana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
— Chief Jake Flannigan - Gary MerrillGary MerrillGary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
— Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent - Jeffrey HunterJeffrey HunterJeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
— "Pappy" Creighton - Warren StevensWarren StevensWarren Stevens is an American stage, screen, and television actor.Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens began his acting career after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force as a pilot during World War II. He trained at The Actor's Studio in New York, received notice on Broadway, and thereafter...
— Hodges - Robert WagnerRobert WagnerRobert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
— Lt. (jg) Franklin - Harvey LembeckHarvey LembeckHarvey Lembeck was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on The Phil Silvers Show in the late 1950s, and as the stumbling, overconfident outlaw biker Eric Von Zipper in the beach party movie series during the 1960s...
— Marvin W. "Canarsie" Mikowsky - Robert RockwellRobert RockwellRobert Rockwell was an American actor best known for playing the handsome, but awkward biology teacher Philip Boynton in the radio and television situation comedy Our Miss Brooks opposite Eve Arden....
— Lt. Bill Doyle - Henry Slate — "Sleepy"
Errata
In the last operation (destruction of a JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese submarine pen
Submarine pen
A submarine pen is a bunker which is designed to protect submarines from air attack.The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and the occupied countries which were also known as U-boat pens .-Background:Amongst the first...
), the frogmen correctly wear drysuits, but they were shown using open-circuit aqualungs, but actually they would have used rebreather
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
s to prevent detection on the surface from streams of exhaled bubbles. That use of aqualungs is an anachronistic (see Timeline of underwater technology#1943), since the Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
aqualung
Aqua-lung
Aqua-Lung was the original name of the first open-circuit free-swimming underwater breathing set in reaching worldwide popularity and commercial success...
was unknown (except to a few men in France) until after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. According to the official history of Naval Special Warfare, on October 21, 1950, "William Giannotti conducted the first U.S. combat operation using an 'aqualung' when he dove on the USS Pledge."
Rebreathers would not have been used by UDT
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
operators at anytime during WW2. The Frogmen did not acquire any type of SCUBA gear until after the 2nd World War. The OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
Maritime Units did have Lambertsen rigs which were an early type of rebreather. The UDT operators relied on their ability to breath hold.
Production notes
Producer Paul Short of Allied Artists protested the use of the title The Frogmen by Twentieth Century-Fox, asserting that he had established prior claim to it. Eventually Short dropped his claim and Twentieth Century-Fox was allowed to use the title. Short's production was never made. Several major studios were interested in producing films about the Underwater Demolition Teams, but only Twentieth Century-Fox obtained an exclusive guarantee of cooperation from the U.S. Navy.Henry Hathaway, one of the studio's most well received directors, was originally set to direct the picture, which was to feature Millard Mitchell
Millard Mitchell
Millard Mitchell was an American character actor whose credits include roughly thirty feature films and two television appearances....
in a starring role. Richard Conte
Richard Conte
Richard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
was also originally set to play "Pete Vincent," Jack Elam
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
was first cast as "Sleepy", and Craig Hill was set to play "Lt. J. G. Franklin." Assistant director Dick Mayberry briefly filled in for director Lloyd Bacon when Bacon fell ill with the flu.
Producer Sam Engel wrote an original story entitled "Frogmen in Korea" as an intended follow-up to The Frogmen, but the project soon dissolved. A one-hour television remake of The Frogmen, entitled Deep Water, was broadcast in May 1957 on the 20th Century-Fox Hour. The program was directed by Roy Del Ruth and starred Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
(Lawrence), James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
(Flannigan), and Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen
-Biography:Born Sylvanus Richard Van Mattimore in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. His first job after the war was with St. Paul's Athletic Club...
(Vincent).
Because working conditions were deemed too "riotous" for women, all female roles were written out of the script. No actresses appeared in the completed picture. Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
also makes an uncredited appearance as a crew member of the transport ship. Co-star Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
, in the role of the captain of UDT-4's transport, delivers a line ("Looks like you've got what amounts a legal mutiny on your hands.") virtually identical to one he spoke in a similar plot device occurring in Twelve O'Clock High
Twelve O'Clock High
Twelve O'Clock High is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany and occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II. The film was adapted by Sy Bartlett, Henry King ...
three years earlier.
Filming of the submarine sequence took place from the deck of USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)
USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)
USS Kleinsmith , ex-DE-718, was a for the United States Navy. She was named for Chief Watertender Charles Kleinsmith , who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Midway....
while off Key West on 11 January 1951, and much of the boat and high-speed transport scenes were shot from Kleinsmith while off St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, between 15 January and 6 February 1951. (Source: U.S.S. Kleinsmith deck log entries, National Archives and Records Administration.) The USS Taconic (AGC-17)
USS Taconic (AGC-17)
USS Taconic was an Adirondack class amphibious force command ship of the U.S. Navy named after the Taconic Mountains in New York...
appeared as the command ship. As spoken in dialog, the submarine's name sounds like "USS Jackass 259" but is actually "USS Jack SS-259". The USS Jack (SS-259)
USS Jack (SS-259)
, a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the jack ....
was not actually used in the filming as it was out of commission at the time.
Many Navy SEALs have cited this movie as their inspiration to join the SEAL Teams; including Richard Marcinko
Richard Marcinko
Richard "Dick" Marcinko , is a retired Commander in the United States Navy and a former Navy SEAL. He was the first Commanding Officer of SEAL Team Six and Red Cell...
, and Dennis Chalker
Dennis Chalker
Dennis Chalker is a retired Navy SEAL, inventor and author who has written six books about the United States Navy SEALs.-Career:Chalker began his military service with the U.S. Army, serving in the 82nd Airborne Division. Upon discharge he tried his hand at a few civilian jobs and found them less...
.