avg_rating: 3.87
name: Paul R. Schratz
about: Paul R. Schratz was an accomplished violinist, playing in a number of symphonies, depending on where his naval career took him. After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1939, he served until late 1941 in the heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45), which was involved in neutrality patrol in the Atlantic. He was a student in submarine school in early 1942, then performed wartime service in the submarines Mackerel (SS-204), Scorpion (SS-278), Sterlet (SS-392), and Atule. After hostilities ended in 1945, Schratz became officer in charge of the captured Japanese submarine I-203 and delivered her to Hawaii. He then served the Bureau of Naval Personnel before a stint as temporary skipper of the submarine Burrfish (SS-312) when she was reactivated in 1948 Paul R. Schratz was an accomplished violinist, playing in a number of symphonies, depending on where his naval career took him. After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1939, he served until late 1941 in the heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45), which was involved in neutrality patrol in the Atlantic. He was a student in submarine school in early 1942, then performed wartime service in the submarines Mackerel (SS-204), Scorpion (SS-278), Sterlet (SS-392), and Atule. After hostilities ended in 1945, Schratz became officer in charge of the captured Japanese submarine I-203 and delivered her to Hawaii. He then served the Bureau of Naval Personnel before a stint as temporary skipper of the submarine Burrfish (SS-312) when she was reactivated in 1948. He then commanded the submarine Pickerel (SS-524) during Korean War reconnaissance missions and a long submerged transit from Hong Kong to Pearl Harbor. After duty in the political-military policy division of OpNav in the early 1950s, he served as executive officer of the submarine tender Nereus (AS-17) under skipper Dusty Dornin and was later Commander Submarine Division 52. Subsequent billets were on the staff of Commander Anti-Submarine Defense Force Atlantic Fleet, as a student and staff member at the Naval War College, and as commanding officer of the submarine tender Fulton (AS-11) in the early 1960s. During this period, Schratz believed, he lost his opportunity for major command because he published a facetious story in 1963 about Vice Admiral H. G. Rickover's burial plans. He had duty from 1962 to 1964 on the Joint Staff, including service as a delegate to the 18-nation disarmament conference in Geneva, Switzerland, then served in the Department of Defense. After earning a doctorate from Ohio State University in 1966, he was on the faculty of the National War College, 1966-68. He retired from active duty in 1969, then ran an international studies program at the University of Missouri. Other post-retirement jobs were in education, including giving instruction at the various war colleges and at Georgetown University. He also wrote widely, both books and articles. ...more