Crestline Experimental Dive Unit

            My first encounter with Jim Eubank was at the 2000 LJRWS.  Getting involved in these open ocean swimming events has been very rewarding.  Where else can one be in the league of such distinguished, accomplished, and extraordinary gentlemen as Jim Eubank.  And where else can one of these eighty five year old gentlemen swim by you just as a young athlete in graceful olympic form would.  It was a wonderful sight to see him swim, and it was a treat to have made the acquaintance of such as nice, friendly, and courteous person.  His love of the ocean is only exceeded by his love of life.  And that love was broadcasted by his smile.

            During World War II Jim Eubank was one of the first operational swimmers in the Maritime Unit of the Office Of Strategic Services (OSS).   In March 1998, the Veterans of Strategic Services dedicated a memorial, at the Army Special Operations Forces Plaza at Fort Bragg, Georgia, honoring those WWII veterans who served as operational swimmers for the Office of Strategic Services Maritime Unit.

            Jim Eubank, who was in attendance at the dedication,  was mentioned two times in a newspaper article* covering the event.  The article opens by stating,    These days, Jim Eubank swims for his health.  But 55 years ago, Eubank and more than 70 other Americans swam for their  lives under enemy gunfire.

           What makes this important to the reader, is that this is the first American organized combat swimmer unit deployed into hostile enemy combat operations that came under enemy fire.    Without men like Jim Eubank, who had the strong swimming skills and later became instructors,  they would not have had the "watermanship skills" needed to survive.  Skills that we take for granted today.

            Later in the aforementioned article it recounts a war memory Jim and his swim buddy John Booth had in Burma.

                     As they neared the beach, the Japanese sprang up and started firing at them.
                    "We, found out where the Japanese were the hard way," Eubank said.  Japanese broadcasts
                     later reported that  Japanese forces had repelled an ' American invasion.
                     “But actually it was just me and Booth,” Eubank said.

            Jim and the other members of the OSS Maritime Unit not only would swim for their health and their lives under enemy fire, but for their love of the ocean.  For the freedoms that we enjoy today, we have men like Jim Eubank and all the other American veterans to thank.  And for those of us who enjoy SCUBA, we also must thank Jim Eubank and all the other men of the OSS Maritime unit for their contribution to the development of diving equipment and procedures that are still in use today.

            Jim Eubank has inspired many over the years, myself included.

            Memorial services were held at the First Presbyterian Church in Oceanside, California on March 14, 2004 at 2:00 PM.   Before the memorial service I stopped at San Onofre State Beach to attempt another try at surfing.  The one ocean activity that I have not been successful at since initially trying it in college, at Florida Institute of Technology, back in 1969.    Out of the blue, I purchased a surfboard a few weeks ago,  and this was the first time using it.   To my surprise I actually got up on the board.  There I was standing up on that board and surfing in on the waves.  An event almost thirty five years in the making.

            It is ironic that I stood up on a surfboard on the day of Jim's funeral.  I cannot say that Jim Eubank had any hand in this event directly.  Though I may have mentioned this frustration to him over lunch one day.    But I can say that the love of the ocean which he had all his life is a love I also share.   No doubt I will always think of Jim whenever I participate in the La Jolla Rough Water Swim but now his thoughts will also enter my mind when I surf.   Surfing,  this last ocean loving activity which has eluded me for so long.   Dare I think that his hand assisted me that morning?  If so,  this is something else I thank Jim Eubank for.    Rest in Peace.

                                                With Respect,
                                                    Robert Iannello, DDS
                                                    Major, USMC (Ret.)

(Some additional memories.  Click on thumbnail for larger image.)
 
 

 

Obituary: San Diego Union-Tribune
Obituary: L.A. Times
Sports Illustrated Article on Jim Eubank

In Memory of Robert Scoles (the entire Fayetteville Observer story is printed here)
72nd La Jolla Rough Water Swim & other swims
71st La Jolla Rough Water Swim
70th La Jolla Rough Water Swim

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