 The Cavalcade of America, sponsored by Dupont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry, presents Robert Young as Commander Howard Gilmore in Take Her Down. This is a story that in a few short months has become a legend. The legend of submarine Commander Howard Gilmore, and the words he spoke before he died, Take Her Down. But legends are made by living men, and so this is the story of a man that is told by those who knew and loved him best when he was alive, his wife and the men of his command, for each of them saw best and loved him for. The many-sided picture of what a man must be to ascend into the immortality reserved for heroes, and so tonight in commemoration of Navy Week throughout the nation, Cavalcade is proud to present Take Her Down. Our star tonight is Robert Young, soon to be seen in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Cantorville Ghost. Tonight's Cavalcade, Take Her Down, was written by Norman Rostin and Robert Richards, with Robert Young as Commander Howard Gilmore, United States Navy. He was my husband. It's hard for me to think of him or remember him as anything but that. I suppose there are always things about someone you love that you know better than anyone else in the world. Sometimes they're just little things you've always taken for granted, and when other people find out and make a big fuss about it, you're surprised. I always knew he was a brave man and strong because he had strength enough for both of us whenever mine failed. It did sometimes when he went away and I didn't know when he was ever coming back. It was like that when I saw him off on that last trial run. I'd gone down to see his new command and we were standing there looking at her just before he went aboard. Well, there she is. What do you think of her? Beauty, huh? She's a beautiful ship. Do you call a submarine a ship? No, darling. You call her a boat. My boat. I'm her skipper. Yes? She is beautiful. She's more than that, though. She's got power. Power like a healthy young animal. You can see it in her lines, too. Darling, is it true that a skipper loves his boat more than he loves his wife? Well, it's not true about this skipper. Howard, I've tried not to think about it, but I've got to ask you. Sure. How long this time? No, I don't know, darling. Sealed orders. Not very long, though. Sealed orders. Sealed under the sea, so far from home. I try not to be afraid, Howard, but when I sit alone at night and look at the map, it just seems you're lost in an endless world of water. I'm never lost? Are you sure? Well, I always know where I am. I always know where my home port is, and I always know where you are. And now there's all this talk about war in the Pacific. I love you very much, Hilda. Oh, up to now we've been so lucky. What if... Look, Mrs. Skipper, no ifs. I'm coming back. Remember that, will you? All right, darling. I'll remember. In eight weeks, at the latest. And I want you to be right here on this very spot, see? I'll be waiting. All right, then. See that you are. Because I'll be waiting, too. My name's McCabe. I, uh... I'd never served under him before, and neither had any of the other officers or men. But we hadn't been out of port 24 hours before I knew what kind of a man the Skipper was. To me, he'll always be the best natural born leader of men I've ever known. He was like a great football coach. He had a genius for getting men to work together as a team, and that's half the battle on a sub. Because at first, a sub-crew's just a bunch of men thrown together inside of a... an iron-egg shell. Somebody's got to make a team out of them, and nobody in the world can do it, but the Skipper. You find out about a man pretty quick that way. I know I did. The whole crew. Hey, cut the potato with a little bit of tension. Look, I'm trying to read. Oh, you're trying to read. Oh, no, this is important. Listen. Anyone stranded on a beach or shore should find an abundant supply of food on the beach at low tide. Eating a turtle egg is relatively simple. Bind a hole in one end of the elastic shell and squeeze the contents into the mouth. Hey, what's the name of that book, Professor? How to survive in the South Pacific Island? Oh, I can hardly wait. Well, this big boat routine is no picnic. You know, you can get into trouble in these things. What are you squawking about? You enlisted. What does that crack mean? Anything you want to make of it. All right, all right, all right. Pipe down here, pipe down here. What's the trouble here? The boys just have a little argument about the danger of the submarine warfare. Oh, you're getting a little jumpy, huh? Well, the Skipper will take that out of you if he's the right kind of a Skipper. What do you mean the right kind of a Skipper? You'll find out, son, we're heading for the test grounds now. We're going to run a rock channel through reefs. Submerged. Submerged, huh? Suppose we don't make it. We'll make it. Or else. Uh, gang, wait for me here. Here's the Skipper. Not as you were, man. I just want to say a couple of things. This isn't going to be a speech. We're all down here together now. And we're going to have to work together from here on out. We'll sort of get acquainted and talk about each other as we go along. Every man has his weak points and his strong points. We'll find out about those, too. But our job is to make the best possible combination with all the human material that we add up to between us. I guess Chief McCabe has told you our first job. We're running a channel. Submerged. I won't say it isn't dangerous. It is. But it isn't half as dangerous as what we may be up against later because don't forget. We're training for war. If and when. It's a job, and that's all. Every man will be a part of it. Every man can feel that he shares equally in success. There aren't going to be any failures. Now just take it easy and you'll be all right. Any questions? All right, at your stations. A little noise would help. Or if you could see something. All right, pipe down, you guys. Give us a position as soon as you can, Shade. Aye, aye, sir. Chief, when you think about all those rocks out there, it's what I make you just don't think about. According to our navigational fix, Captain, we're at the end of the channel now. Course, two four five should carry us through. Okay. Steer two four five. Two four five, aye, aye, sir. Steady on two four five, Captain. Watch your depth, Davis. This channel's tricky. Reefs and tides. We're 63 feet now, Captain. Good control. What speed, Wagner? Pitlog shows three knots, sir. We're at the turning point, Shade. About a minute, sir. All ahead, standard speed. McCabe, right five degrees, rudder. Letter swing slowly. Aye, aye. Rudder, right degrees. Five. Swing slowly. Bring up to 50 feet. Now, Periscope, here's a set of bearing shades. The other plot. Bishop Rock, three four two. Right tangent on bluff. Zero eight seven. Tall spire, two four five. Down, Periscope. Right in position, sir. In the channel. Two six zero, sir. Steady you're up. We're losing depth control, sir. The current's throwing us, sir. Being forced up, sir. All ahead, emergency. Hard dive on both planes. Got it now, Captain. Control all right. Clearing the channel now, sir. All ahead, two third speed. Up, Periscope. Steady as you go. Watch your depth carefully. Danger bearing passed. All ahead standard. Now we're clear and we're through. We're through. To me, Commander Gilmore was an iron man. That's what he was. He put us through hooked like I'd never been through before since, but he was a real skipper. There was nothing he dished out. He couldn't take himself and more. When he got tough and he could be plenty tough. Every man aboard knew why. Not just to show his authority, but to teach us something that someday might save the lives of all of us. We didn't know then how right he was. There was a time I was standing watch on the bridge. We were surfaced at night during practice. I wonder how long we keep this up, Red. Until he figures we can do it right, I guess. Well, I'm too tired right now to do anything right. Gee, it's a pretty night, though. I wonder what Irma's doing tonight. Oh, she's probably wondering what you're doing. You know, I told Irma before I left, don't feel attached to me, I said, because I won't have a return address for quite a while. If someone else comes along, I said, follow your instinct. I should never have said that. Oh, what's the difference? She probably would anyway. There it is. Let's go, boys. On the hatch, on the double. Here it is. Closer. All ahead one-third. Close hold, Vince. Level off, 60 feet. Hold it, hold it, hold it. Too slow. You're too slow. Now listen to me, all of you. Come on over here. Now, for the last time, when I say crash dive, I mean crash dive. When I say take her down, I mean take her down. Can't you understand that five seconds can mean the difference between getting down and being blown out of the water? We're not playing a game here. This is life and death. Now, come on, we'll do it again. There's one the men are pretty tired, sir. What's that? Nothing, sir. Of course they're tired. We're all tired, but we're not going to quit till we got to... Excuse me, sir, but here's a radio message. I'll see to it right away, sir. What's that? Well, man, I guess we won't be doing any more training tonight after all. The Japanese have just attacked Pearl Harbor where it wore. What? Pearl Harbor? Those dirty sins of... Near the combat zone, that ought to make you feel good. And maybe I ought to say this. I believe in this crew to the last man. And I hope you believe in me. Because school is over. From now on we're all teachers and the Japs will be doing the homework. I'll always think of him as a scrapper. Somehow the skipper reminded you of a thoroughbred hunting dog. Once he caught the trail, nothing in the world could shake him. Never thought of the danger. You just see that old light in his eye and you know he was thinking about the excitement and the chase and the kill. We'd all catch a spirit from him. After Pearl Harbor, we went hunting for keeps. We were heading for a Jap harbor in the South Pacific running submerged and hot on the trail. Aren't we in yet? There ought to be any menace given. I got a hunch we're going to draw our first blood. Well, I sure hope that's what it is because I know something's going to happen. Keep your ear to that sound detector shade. Oh, hi, sir. He's like a kid that's just hooked his first fish. Hey. Hey, listen. You getting it? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Okay, that's it. Sound operator picking up propeller, Captain. A periscope. A periscope, sir. We're right smack in the middle of their harbor. Here, Davis, tell me if I'm counting right. Jap destroyers. Mm-hmm. One, two, three. Big ones. Range, 6,000 yards. Angle on the bow, 30 port. Destroyers aren't very healthy for subs, Captain. Three in a line. We'll have to get away fast, but we've got them. Boy, we've got them. Have to creep in a bit for range. Waters as flat as a lake. Ticklish. Sure it is, but we can't leave those babies sitting there. We can. Forward torpedo room. Make ready bow tubes. Tubes ready forward, sir. Tubes ready forward, sir. All ahead, one-third. Slowly. Watch your depth control, Davis. Control all right, sir. Zero, one-three. Zero, one-three. Zero, two, zero. Zero, two, zero. Zero, one-zero. Zero, one-zero. Stand by forward. Fire one. One fire, sir. Bearing three, five, nine. Set up on number two. Fire two. Two fire, sir. Set up on third. Anglin bow seventy-fourth. Bearing three, four, five. Fire three. Three fire, sir. One jet destroyer in the air. There's two. Two jet destroyers in the air. Hit on the third. I think it's time to retire gracefully, Captain. Okay. Let's call it two down and Tokyo to go. You are listening to Robert Young as Commander Gilmore on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by Dupont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Our play tonight celebrating Navy Week is the story of Commander Howard Gilmore, whose last command was, take her down. Three words that have already become immortal in Navy tradition. Commander Gilmore and his command have just emerged victoriously from their encounter with the Japanese. And as our play continues, one of his men is recalling his impressions of his skipper. Commander Gilmore was the kindest, gentlest, squares man I ever knew. You could feel about him the way you do about your father when you're a little boy. Or about a priest. There's no picnic on a submarine. There's excitement, but there's the strain. It's with you all the time. There's nothing you can do about it. Maybe I was different or something, but it finally got to me. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think straight. It can find me to quarters. When I was in my bunk, just lying there, not seeing anything, not thinking about anything. In here? Yes, sir. I'll see him alone. Aye, aye, sir. Wilson? Yes, sir. How are you feeling? I'm all right, sir. I'll be all right. Sure you will. I just thought I'm going to pieces, I guess. I know. You like to read, don't you? Yes, sir. I've got a book you might like. A biography of Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandberg. I've heard of it. I was reading a story in there the other day. One of the stories that Lincoln used to tell. About the two boys going into battle. One said to the other, say, I think you're scared. The other one said, you're darn right I'm scared. If you were half as scared as I am, you'd have run long ago. You're scared, aren't you? Yes, sir. I guess I am. Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Plenty of brave men before you've been scared. This is different, sir. Keeps following me like a, like a twerk. You're coming at us in the dark. I can't sleep. I try, I try. Well, I can think about this whole... Look, son, we're all scared. A little. Anybody who tells you he isn't is either a liar or something wrong with him. I know. You see, me or Lieutenant Davis going about our business. Maybe we looked to you as though we didn't have a care in the world. But I'm scared. Lots of time. I get lonely, too. Think about home. It's one of those things about war that nobody talks about much and most people don't even hear about. Fear. But they're afraid, too. Don't forget the Japs and the Germans. Maybe that's what war comes down to. Us hanging on and them hanging on until they're more scared than we are and they show it and we know it. And then it's over. The war is won. Now, you see what I mean? Yes, sir. So just hang on. Take it easy. You'll be all right. Yes, I know I will now. I'll send you around that door. Good night. Good night, sir. Thank you. Thank you. I saw him die. A man who dies like that is different from other men. There's something there that most of us will never know about. It's not just a skipper being killed in action. It happens all too often in our kind of war. It's choosing to die. That's what you've got to try to understand, if you can. Choosing to die. We were cruising on the surface. The skipper was catching a nap in the conning tower. I was on deck with a watch. It was dusk. The sun had just gone down. Say, Lieutenant Davis, look out there. Starboard. Now, what about it? I thought I saw something like a shadow on it. I don't see anything. Must be our imagination. Yeah, I guess it was a cloud. And a foggy out there. Say, wait a minute. There is something out there. It's a ship. Ship sighted off Starboard beam coming by fast. Man in your battle stations. Make ready all tubes. All ahead of emergency. What's up, Lieutenant? Jack Rader, honey. Going by is parallel off Starboard, looks like. It's hard to see. She's blacked out. You get the skipper. Yeah, it's right behind you, Davis. Oh, a radar off Starboard, Captain. No time to submerge. She's coming by on a straight line. Keep left, brother McCabe. Left rudder, sir. We'll bear left and swing for a shot with our stern tubes. She spotted. I saw she zigzagged. She's turning in on us. That means she's going to try to ram us. Sound the collision alarm. The one thing to do. Left full rudder, all ahead full. Left full rudder, all ahead full, sir. We'll never get a torpedo shot at her now. Power stern tubes. Davis, we're going to have to ram her. She's a big ship, sir. I know. I hate to do it. Even if we get away with it, it'll crumple our ball like a paper bag. But it's ram or be ram. I guess you're right. Circle to ram. We're getting to circle, sir. We can catch her where they're bowing away. She's coming in fast, Captain. Try to throw off of it. Right full rudder, all stop. Right full rudder, all stop, sir. Left full rudder, all speed. Left full rudder, all speed, sir. All ahead emergency. Like we got there first. Hold fast. Here it comes. We've ripped her open, sir. She's listening. We better pull out fast. Clear the bridge. Stand by to dive. Right. Watch out. Hurry. Get below. Quick. Keep your head down. I'm hit, Davis. Take her down. Let me help you, Captain. There's no time. I'm hit. It's me or the ship. Take her down. I won't leave you here, sir. I said take her down. It's an order. Do you hear me? Take her down. Aye, aye, sir. Sir Merge. The skipper. Where are you going? He's on the bridge, sir. I had to shut tight. Let me go. He's out, sir. We can't leave him, sir. Skipper's orders. Take her down. Order. Do you hear me? Down. Down. Aye, aye, sir. Fifty feet. Fifty-five. Sixty. Sixty-five. I will give you that. Thirty-five. I keep him calm. Ninety... To seventy-five. Eat him. Thank you Robert Junger, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Jung will return to the microphone in a few moments. Meanwhile, here is Gaine Whitman to tell you how research found many important jobs for a chemical element long unused. In recent years, paints have been developed, which brush more easily, cover better, which brush more easily, cover better, and are more durable. The white is whiter and stays white. The colors are clearer and more lasting. This superior hiding power and durability comes from the use of entirely new pigments. And thereby hangs the tale of how titanium, a chemical element long unused came into its own. Pigments are the fine powders which are added to the liquid vehicle to make the paint do the job it is intended to do. That is, hide the surface, protect exterior surfaces from the ravages of weather, and protect interior surfaces with attractive and sanitary finishes. While some chemists were investigating the possibilities of titanium dioxide as a pigment, other chemists had developed new vehicles, including the new synthetic resins. DuPont chemists and others found titanium dioxide to be not only the best white pigment for these new resin paints, but also a superior pigment for other vehicles. It made a gleaming white paint that stayed white. It had unusual covering qualities. Thypeure, titanium dioxide pigment, and a new synthetic resin developed in the research laboratories, made possible due lux finish. The permanent white enamel made by DuPont that gives you the snowy white mechanical refrigerator and so many other articles in your home. Further research developed other grades of Thypeure that were particularly well suited for tinted exterior paints where great resistance to fading is desirable. Today, titanium dioxide is performing many tasks in industry. It helps reduce the transparency of thin paper, such as is used in air mail stationery, Bibles and catalogs. It is used in making linoleum, rubber articles, white leather, printing inks, printed and coated fabrics, glass and ceramics. Also, titanium dioxide is doing an important war job in paints which provide excellent protective camouflage coatings for military installations and equipment. Titanium dioxide is doing another important war job in electric welding, where it acts chemically to give the weld greater flow and tensile strength than can be obtained with any known material. And tomorrow, when peace comes, this relatively new contribution of chemical research will return from its war tasks to make life more pleasant and efficient. Another of DuPont's better things for better living through chemistry. Before we present Robert Young, the star of this evening's performance, here's an example of how titanium makes for better living in its use in DuPont speed easy. This remarkable new one coat wall paint contains titanium dioxide pigment. That's why it covers even dingy faded wall paper in one coat. Speed easy thins with water and dries in an hour. If a room in your home needs brightening up, try one of speed easy's eight beautiful colors. And now here is the star of tonight's cavalcade, Robert Young. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. In honoring the hero of tonight's play, we also pay tribute to the United States Navy, the mightiest surface fleet in history, the most powerful naval air force in the world. Navy day is day after tomorrow, October 27. We salute those who built this new and greater Navy and the dauntless men who sail the ships and fly the planes to the ends of the earth, making good our Navy's proud boast, the spearhead of victory. Next Monday evening, cavalcade will present the popular motion picture star George Brent in Burma Surgeon. Our play based on the best selling nonfiction book of the same name is the compelling story of Dr. Gordon Seagrave, medical missionary and how he helped the allies in the seeming jungles of Burma. The story of courage and resourcefulness in establishing field hospitals under fire at the time of the Japanese invasion. DuPont invites you to be with us again next Monday when the cavalcade of America will bring you George Brent as Dr. Gordon Seagrave in a radio adaptation of Burma Surgeon. The story of an American missionary doctor who wrote a never to be forgotten page of gallantry and service in the battle for Burma. Tonight's musical score was composed and conducted by Robert Armbrister. Robert Young's star of tonight's play will soon be seen in Metro Golden Mares production, Canterville Ghost. This is James Bannon sending best wishes from cavalcade sponsor, the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Cavalcade of America comes to you from Hollywood. This is the national broadcasting company.