Captain Eric H. Swenson, USN (ret.) saw his first submarine at the 1939 World’s Fair.  In 1942, he joined the US Navy with the intention of becoming a submariner. Through a twist of fate, he ended up joining and going to aviation training.  His career as a Naval aviator was cut short by a training incident which washed him out of the school.  The second twist of fate set on his true path as a submariner.  He said of his World War Two service, “The South Sea theater in 1944 was no turkey shoot. We sank four enemy ships and were almost sunk ourselves on more than one occasion. I saw men bleeding from their ears by the concussions that almost, but never quite, brought disaster to us all. Most lost submarines died anonymous deaths; they just never came back from their cruise. Sometimes the fate of one of the boats might be discovered later through enemy records, but lots of times nobody ever learned what happened. They were just gone.”  (11O Magazine).

Over his 33 year military career, Captain Eric H. Swenson would serve both active and reserve duty.  Captain Eric H. Swenson is the author of Top Secret.

According to the book description of Top Secret, “Prior to World War II, an aging submarine is selected for a highly secret espionage mission. Badly in need of repairs, it is hastily modified, provisioned and dispatched to Japan. The submarine experiences material casualties enroute. After probing the entrance to Kagoshima Wan they determine there is extensive aerial bombing and torpedo practice underway. The submarine is detected by the Japanese and is vigorously attacked. Oil leaks confirm there is a submarine on the bottom and an attempt is made to demolish or salvage the submarine by the Japanese. Heroic damage control efforts made by the submarines crew are successful and the submarine is able to make a hair-raising escape. They are able to make a tortuous but undetected trip to Midway. They cannot receive help from that base but disembark two-thirds of the crew. The submarine is towed to Pearl Harbor and arrives On December 7, 1941.”