Beneath the Sea, A Sampling of Diving and Other Adventures

Bill High spent more than 365 days of his working career underwater in 4 undersea laboratories, 5 deep submersibles and as both a commercial and sport diver. Bill was a hospital and field medic, sport and commercial fisherman, sky diver, hunter and witness to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. He rode the back of a wild killer whale and swam with more than 1,000 dolphins. For more than 50 years he sought adventure above and below the ocean.

I rode the back of a wild killer whale; descended more than one thousand feet beneath the sea; lived for weeks on the ocean floor; was "attacked" by brown bears, sharks, giant octopuses and sea lions. I watched the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and dove among the war dead of Truk Lagoon. I was shipwrecked on a desolate Alaska shore. I had conversations with the distinguished Ambassador Clare Booth Luce, chatted with John Wayne, shared company with the father of saturation diving, Dr. George Bond, met Lyndon Johnson under most unusual circumstances and had a couple of run-ins with Jacques Cousteau.

These experiences, and many others, caused me to set down in the following pages my adventures while working and playing above the sea, below the sea and on the land in between. William L. (Bill) High