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any more casualties, he claimed to have the book safely hidden. Although
Hubbard would mention this book from time to time, its existence has
never been proven.
In 1939 and 1940, Hubbard continued to write, producing several
famous stories such as "Fear," "Typewriter in the Sky," and "Final
Blackout." His stories are still known and read by science fiction fans
throughout the country, to whom the name L. Ron Hubbard is associated
with science fiction and not with a controversial cult.
In 1941, as the United States was drawn into the Second World War,
Hubbard was determined to get into the Navy. When a friend of his who
was a Senator obligingly gave him some official stationery, Hubbard
composed his own letter of recommendation for the military.
This will introduce one of the most brilliant men I have ever known:
Captain L. Ron Hubbard.
He writes under six names in a diversity of fields from political
economy to action fiction and if he would make at least one of his pen
names public he would have little difficulty entering anywhere. He has
published many millions of words and some fourteen movies.
In exploration he has honorably carried the flag of the Explorers
Club and has extended geographical and mineralogical knowledge. He is
well known in many parts of the world and has considerable influence in
the Caribbean and Alaska.
As a key figure in writing organizations he has considerable
political worth and in the Northwest he is a powerful influence.
I have known him for many years and have found him discreet, loyal,
honest and without peer in the art of getting things done swiftly.
If Captain Hubbard requests help, be assured that it will benefit
others more than himself.
For courage and ability I cannot too strongly recommend him. (10)
In July of 1941, L. Ron Hubbard entered the Navy as Lieutenant in
the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Hubbard's stories of his naval career serve as an example of his
most outrageous fiction writing. The official (Scientology) account of
Hubbard's naval career reads:
Commissioned before the war in 1941, by the US Navy, Hubbard was
ordered to the Philippines at the outbreak of war in the U.S. and was
flown home in the late spring of 1942 in the Secretary of the Navy's
private plane as the first U.S. returned casualty from the Far East.
He served in the South Pacific, and in 1942 was relieved by fifteen
officers of rank and was rushed home to take part in the 1942 battle
against German submarines as Commanding Officer of a corvette serving in
the north Atlantic. In 1943 he was made Commodore of Corvette Squadrons,
and in 1944 he worked with amphibious forces. After serving in all five
theaters of World War II and receiving twenty-one medals and palms, in
1944 he was severely wounded and was taken crippled and blinded to Oak
Knoll Naval Hospital. (11)
Another "official" biography continues:
Crippled and blinded at the end of the war, he resumed his studies
of philosophy and by his discoveries recovered so fully that he was
reclassified in 1949 for full combat duty. It is a matter of medical
record that he has twice been pronounced dead and that in 1950 he was
given a perfect score on mental and physical fitness reports.
The truth about Hubbard's war career, although quite different, is
no less interesting.
Hubbard's first job in the Navy was a desk job in public relations.
His job was to write stories featuring the American serviceman for
various national publications. However, this did not fit with the image
that Hubbard had of himself as war hero, so he soon requested, and was
awarded a transfer to Navy Intelligence.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and war was
officially declared.
On December 18th of 1941, Hubbard was posted as an Intelligence
Officer to the Philippines. In Brisbane, Australia, while waiting for a
ship to Manila, Hubbard managed to so antagonize his superior officers
that he was sent home, with an entry in his record stating that, "This
officer is not satisfactory for independent duty assignment. He is
garrulous and tries to give impressions of his importance. He also seems
to think he has unusual ability in most lines. These characteristics
indicate that he will require close supervision for satisfactory
performance of any intelligence duty." The report also added that
Hubbard had become "the source of much trouble." (12)
Hubbard was then sent to San Francisco and given a posting in the
Office of the Cable Censor, another desk job. Two months later, bored
with his duties as Cable Censor, Hubbard requested sea duty and was made
the Commanding Officer of the USS YP-422, a
converted Navy gunboat. Hubbard went to Neponset, Massachusetts, where
the gunboat was being refitted, but he was relieved of command before
the boat sailed because of difficulty that he had with the Commandant of
the Navy Yard. Again a report was filed in his service record, stating
that he was "not temperamentally fitted for independent command." (13)
Anticipating another desk job, Hubbard's spirits rose when he found