Chief Warrant Officer Eugene Robinson served in the United States Navy from February 1940 until June 1970, for a total of thirty years and four months. Twenty of those years were in the Submarine Service sometimes referred to as the Silent Service. During World War Two he was aboard the USS Bang.
The USS Bang was commissioned in December 1943. After a four weeks shakedown training, the boat started on a journey to Pearl Harbor. At Pearl she and crew underwent intense training in torpedo, evasive maneuvers and simulated warfare. Provisions were loaded and on the 29th of March she was joined by two other submarines, the Tinosa and the Parche headed toward the Luzon Strait and Formosa. At the end of the first patrol the Bang sunk the Takegawa Maru, the Nittatsu Maru and the Kinrei Maru. On her second patrol she accounted for sinking the Tokiwasan Maru and the Shoryu Maru. Other ship went down in another attack, but the Bang was not given credit for the kills as there were other U-boats in the action. However, on April 21, 1945, the Bang rescued a downed Navy pilot.
Near the end of May 1945, the Bang was deployed through the Panama Canal back to Portsmouth for overhaul. The overhaul was still going on when the war ended. The Bang was place out of commission on February 12, 1947. However, she was not finished, on February 1, 1951, the Bang was recommissioned as GUPPY IIA submarine, the first of her type to serve the Navy. The Bang continued several more year of service in United States Navy. After a very colorful career, on November 1, 1974, The Bang was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and sold to Spain.
The Bang received six battle stars and was officially credited with sink eight Japanese merchant vessel total 20,177 tons.
