Arnold E. True taught Meterology and Climatology at San Jose State Univ. 1950s

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I had Adm. True as a professor at SJSU in 1956 or 57. In one of his topics about ocean temperatures he mentioned the instance where the differences in warm ocean temperatures at shallow levels led to a significant loss to the USN fleet of the Aircraft Carrier Yorktown and his ship, the Destroyer Hamman. During the Battle of Midway, his ship while attached to the Yorktown was sunk by Japanese torpedoes from a submarine that had maneuvered undetected by surface sonar. The ship was blown apart and he ended up in the water. He held on to an enlisted man for a considerable period and was saved. The sonar failed to detect the sub because of the water temperature in tropical seas. Subsequently that year in 1942-3, he commanded a division of Destroyers in the Southwest Pacific in the Guadacanal area. I didn't realize at the time that he was in his 50s because he looked 20 years older. He was an unforgettable teacher with an amazing legitimacy to talk about the temperature of the ocean. Truman Bratton (talk) 19:01, 12 August 2024 (UTC)Reply