Japanese sub blasted its way into Oregon history

IN LATE AUGUST 1943, the crew of the destroyer U.S.S. Patterson scrambled to battle stations off the coast of what is now Vanatu, near Australia. The sonar operator had picked up the signature of a big Japanese submarine submerging close by. The Patterson steamed into battle, depth charges rolling off the deck and lighting up the sea below. Then, on the final depth-charge barrage, a deep undersea explosion could be heard, bigger than any depth charge. Oil and air bubbles boiled to the surface. The Patterson had found its mark. After that day, the most important submarine in the history of the state of Oregon — the Imperial Japanese Navy’s I-25 — was never heard from again. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2401d-1101e.i25-bombards-fort-stevens-108.632.html)