(KSDK) — An old journal is all that Dave Schrick has left of his uncle.
"It's 179 pages long, and it's whole time in the Navy from basic training to the time he mustered out," explains Schrick .
He inherited the memoir when his father died. Dave said he knew his Uncle William served in World War II, but like so many who wore the uniform back then, he never talked about what he saw.
"Never a word until I read it in the manuscript," Schrick said.
His uncle's words didn't just fill in the blanks, they leapt off the page.
"I was shocked. I had no clue that my uncle was involved in anything like that," he said.
A few dozen pages in, William describes his time on the submarine, the U.S.S. Finback.
"There was a report that two planes had crashed in the water off the island," Schrick said.
William was manning the periscope that day.
"He told the guy that was relieving him on the periscope I thought I saw a flash, then he went up topside to look through binoculars to see if he could see anything," he said.
We'll let William tell the story from here. He writes:
"I had just about given up thinking it was my imagination, when I did pick up another flash with the binoculars. This time I reported it, giving a bearing of 190 degrees... We had again accomplished the seemingly impossible, We had found the needle in the haystack. As we closed in, there was a raft with three men huddled together."
Remarkable footage on board the submarine shows the rescue. Little did William know at the time, one of those men, would one day become Commander in Chief.
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