Frog Men in the Pacific War

         In class when we were discussing the invasion of Tarawa, I found it very interesting when Mr. Stewart said that from this failure at planning on the poor tides and, more importantly, the underground reef that ran the boats aground a quarter of a mile from the land, lead to the navy adopting the forebearers of the navy seals, the frog men (or Underwater Demolition Team -UDT).
         The U.S. military's next target was Kwajalein, and this time, the U.S. was not going in without reconnaissance. In fact, they were so concerned by the idea of a Tarawa repeat that the Admiral, Admiral Turner, ordered the frog men to break the night time reconnaissance protocol to do two daylight reconnaissance missions. On these missions, their protocol was to go in two man teams on rubber boats in full army dress including the boots and metal helmet. However, when one team found their boat too far from the shore to be certain of the conditions, the two men stripped down to their swim trunks beneath their uniforms and swam 45 minutes, undetected across the reef. They came back with sketches of gun emplacements as well as other pieces of vital information. This success made Kwajalein a turning point for the frog men because it made the U.S. forces see sense in changing their focus to be on individual swimmers. The UDT made a training and experimental base in Kihei to develop strong swimmers, daylight reconnaissance skills, and training without lifelines. Another important change was their attire. Instead of military gear, they were now outfitted with swim trunks, diving masks, fins, and a Ka-bar knife.
        Other missions the frog men went on after Kwajalein include Peleliu, the Philipenes, Guam, and Iwo Jima. They also did reconnaissance on the defenses of Saipan and Tinian. However, their largest operation was on Okinawa where there were nearly 1000 frogmen, which was riskier because it was in more northern waters meaning a hypothermia risk. In this invasion, the UDTs did work on reconnaissance, demolition of where the ships were going to land, and even feinting at where the attacks would be coming from. Throughout just this war, the frogmen's role had transformed to incorporate a broad range of unconventional things that proved critical to modern warfare. I find it interesting that, without the frogmen, there may have been a lot more Tarawa incidents in the Pacific War.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Team