An underwater demolition team member tells his story

Chris Gallegos -

Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese nearly 70 years ago, bringing the U.S. into a two-front war.

Shortly after, a secret team was formed, armed with explosives, helping troops land safely on the shores of Japan.

On this Memorial Day, we remember all those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. and bring you a story seldom told about this elite special-purpose force.

Jack Garber is a World War II veteran who was a part of a very special group of men. Through his three-and-a-half year service, he advanced from a rifleman's position to an underwater demolition's diver.

"We were a top secret outfit in WWII," Garber said. "The primary objective of the underwater demolition team was to clear the channels of coral reef so the assault waves could get ashore."

The reason was to prevent amphibious tractors carrying troops from getting stuck and flipping over.

Floating 700 to 900 feet off shore - the underwater demo teams would strap four pieces of C-4 to their waists...

"At that time was highly top secret," he said of the C-4. "It was highly volatile and much more useful than dynamite."

Jack says they were safer than the troops out of the water, but still had their dangerous moments.

"We had 90-seconds of air in our face masks," Garber said. We wore an ammo belt to carry stuff in and we had swim fins. We didn't have a scuba dive suit."

After the troops made it ashore, he and his team would run up and down the beach clearing and disarming floating mines. He made it onto the team in an unusual way.

Full story...

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