In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that I report the death of USS Wahoo crewman James Allen. I first met Jim as a volunteer during the Wahoo Memorial on Oahu during 2007. While escorting him and his lovely wife, Jim regaled us with stories of his time in Wahoo, Sperry and Silversides. He was one of those rare individuals of whom it can be said they never met a stranger. Always upbeat and sharp as a tack, he wore the honor of having served in Wahoo with pride and dignity. My condolences and prayers go out to the family.

Continue Reading

Commendation for Charles Hinman

Our good friend Charles Hinman recently received some much deserved kudos for his work at the USS Bowfin Museum. As reported here, Charles worked tirelessly to put together the Wahoo Memorial and Remembrance week in October of 2007. He also served as Project Wahoo's U.S. point of contact for information regarding the discovery of Wahoo. He has also served in much the same capacity for the search efforts of several additional lost WWII boats, notably the USS Grunion. I know from personal experience he is a gracious host and Charles made my visit to Oahu the experience of a lifetime.

In recognition of his hard work, Admiral Joe Walsh, ComSubPac, recently awarded Charles with the following citation (click the image to enlarge it). Bravo Zulu, Charles!

Continue Reading

Wahoo, Nebraska Memorial Update

SubVet Service to Honor Sailors, New Memorial

By Lisa Brichacek of wahoonewspaper.com
10/08/2008

WAHOO, NB - Submarine veterans from across the state will once again be gathering in Wahoo this Sunday.

The annual memorial service sponsored by the Wahoo Chapter of World War II Submarine Veterans and the Nebraska Base of United States Submarine Veterans Inc. will be held at 1 p.m. on the lawn of the Saunders County Courthouse in Wahoo. Activities will once again take place near the Torpedo Monument of the USS Wahoo. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

This year's ceremony will include a special dedication of the new monument near the torpedo. This past spring, the torpedo and plaque were removed for refurbishing. They were put back into place in late summer looking polished and nearly new.

Last month, a memorial marker was placed near the monument. The engraved piece of granite honors all U.S. Navy submarine sailors. It also proclaims that it is "in memory of all submarines and crews on eternal patrol."

The approximately $10,000 bill for the new memorial as well as the monument refurbishing is being picked up primarily by the World War II Submarine Veterans. The Nebraska Base of United States Submarine Veterans has also lent some assistance to the project.

In addition to the dedication portion of Sunday's activities, ceremony will also include an address from Electronics Technician Senior Chief Monty C. Clawson. Clawson is the submarine communications subject mater expert at the United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base.

He is responsible for directing the efforts of Strategic Submarine communications and continuing evaluation program management. He has served on many submarines prior to coming to the air base near Omaha and has been awarded the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various other unit and service awards.

This is the 46th year for the submarine memorial service. The World War II Submarine Veterans started holding the ceremony in 1962 to recognize the ships and crew who served this country. The ceremony is always held as close as possible to Oct. 11, the date that the USS Wahoo went to her watery grave.

U.S.S. Wahoo is arguably the most famous of the Navy's World War II vessels. During her seven patrols, she is reported to have sunk a total of 20 ships totaling 60,038 tons. Wahoo was commissioned on May 15, 1942 and sunk in the La Perouse (Soya) Strait on Oct. 11. 1943.

On board that fateful day was a young man from Wahoo. Robert Lee Jasa was a Machinist's Mate, Third Class aboard the Wahoo. He and the 79 others serving on board went down with the Wahoo and remain on eternal patrol.

For many years, the exact resting place of the Wahoo was unknown. A group of Russian divers found the remains of a submarine in the waters between the Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin. In October of 2006, the U.S. Navy confirmed that it was in fact the wreckage of the Wahoo.

Following Sunday's ceremony, a lunch is planned at the Fifth Street Bar and Grill in downtown Wahoo.

Continue Reading

Mare Island Memorial on October 11

Ceremony Pays Tribute to Seven World War II Submarines Built at the Former Naval Base

By SARAH ROHRS/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 10/08/2008 08:33:23 AM PDT

Lost at sea, the crews on eternal patrol - this was the fate of seven Mare Island-built submarines and their crewmen who never made it home during World War II. On Saturday a tribute will be held for these "lost boats of Mare Island."

A flag raising takes place at 1 p.m. at Morton Field, and a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Berth 6, where submarines were repaired during World War II.

Oakville resident Larry Maggini, a former shipyard worker who worked on modern submarines, will present a slide show and talk about the seven submarines, followed by a reception, from 2 to 4 p.m. at St. Peter's Chapel.
"The men on eternal patrol deserve our recognition and acknowledgment of the ultimate sacrifice that they made," said event organizer Myrna Hayes. Their 3,500 crewmen are on what surviving shipmates reverently call "eternal patrol," their final resting places, in some cases known only to God, Hayes said.

The submarines to be honored include: USS Pompano (SS-181), USS Swordfish (SS-193), USS Gudgeon (SS-211), USS Trigger (SS-237), USS Tullibee (SS-284), USS Tang (SS-306), and USS Wahoo (SS-238).

Maggini, who has devoted nearly 10 months researching the seven submarines, found the famous ones left a long trail of information, but others registered little publicity.

While the Wahoo was a "flamboyant character" that caught the public eye, some of the others did their duty and then faded into obscurity, he said.

Maggini said the event, and others like it, help preserve Mare Island's military legacy. "It's going to be forgotten eventually if someone doesn't do something to keep it alive," he said.

This year's submarine tribute follows last year's to the USS Wahoo, launched on Feb. 14, 1942. In 2006 a wreck found in the Soya Strait was confirmed as the Wahoo. Hayes said she agreed to stage a second tribute after former Navy chaplain John W. Berger of Vallejo secured a promise from her to organize another one.

Maggini compiled stories and photos about the submarines into the book "On Eternal Patrol - The Lost Boats of Mare Island." It will be available for sale in print and DVD version Saturday.

For more event details go to www.mareislandlostboats.org.

Continue Reading

Pelham, NY Wahoo Memorial Ceremony Update

The following is a press release with the latest info on the Wahoo memorial service scheduled this Saturday, October 11 in Pelham, NY. This will mark the 65th anniversary of Wahoo's loss while exiting La Perouse Strait during her seventh war patrol.


Oct. 11th Pelham NY Event Will Remember WWII Submarine USS Wahoo and legendary CO “Mush” Morton
---------------------------
Local Native who became US Submarine Commander will be featured speaker, US Navy Band to perform
Pelham, N.Y.

On Saturday October 11th at 11 AM Pelham Post 50 of the American Legion and Sons of the American Legion Squadron 50 plan a ceremony to honor the memory of the most famous submarine of WWII, the USS Wahoo (SS 238) and its crew, on the 65th anniversary of its loss in battle off of the coast of Japan. The ceremony is planned for 11 AM at the Daronco Town House at 20 Fifth Avenue in Pelham New York just north of New York City. A concert preceding the ceremony scheduled for 10 AM will feature the US Navy Band based in Newport, RI.

Retired Pelham Memorial High School science instructor Jerry Mele, a WWII veteran of the USS Blackfin, related to Post 50 SAL 50 members the story of the Pelham connection to the famed WWII submarine USS Wahoo and its legendary commander Dudley “Mush” Morton. The Wahoo was famed in early 1943 for feats such as sinking an entire convoy of enemy ships in the Pacific War and returning to Pearl Harbor with a broom attached to its mast. This well publicized incident, portrayed on a mural at the US Navy Memorial in Washington DC, provided a lift to the nation during the dark early years of WWII. Sadly the Wahoo was lost off the west coast of Japan on Oct. 11th 1943. After the war, CDR Morton’s widow remarried and the family moved to Pelham where his two children attended Pelham schools.

The US Naval Academy Alumni Association has supported the event which honors the memory of its 1930 graduate LCDR Dudley Morton, by nominating the speaker for the day, CAPT Raymond D. Woolrich, USN (RET.) a 1966 graduate of Annapolis who in 1983 was named Commanding Officer of the nuclear submarine USS Trepang SSN 674).

Capt. Woolrich is a native of Mt. Vernon NY who attended St. Catharine’s School in Pelham, Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, and Cornell University before entering Annapolis. Captain Woolrich currently works for Sonalysts Inc. as a Principal Analyst and as the Naval Advisor to the Commanding Officer of the Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in Groton. He is also the President of the Nautilus Chapter of the Naval Submarine League and the Vice President of the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association.

Doug Morton, the son of CRD Dudley Morton and a 1957 graduate of PMHS, is traveling from Denver to participate. Members of the US Submarine Veterans Association are planning to participate. The ceremony will include a reading of the names of the 80 crewmembers of the Wahoo and contain a remembrance of the more than 50 American submarines lost in service.

A lunch will follow at the Villa Nova Restaurant in Pelham, for reservations please call John Chuhran at 914-380-4877

The 65th anniversary ceremony will be held at Pelham’s Daronco Town House adjacent to the Town Hall and Veteran’s Memorial Park. Pelham is located just north of New York City in Westchester County and is easily reached by I95, the Hutchinson River Parkway, or Metro North Train.
All interested veterans are invited to attend. Reservations are appreciated. Please email Ken Kraetzer at kgk914@aol.com or call 914-630-3457.

Updates about the event will be available on http://www.legionpost50ny.com/.

An excellent description of the Wahoo and the 2007 ceremony held in honor of its crew at Pearl Harbor, HA can be found on http://war-fish.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
The American Legion, with 2.7 million members, is the world's largest veteran's association. The Department of New York is one of The American Legion’s largest state organizations with 1,003 local “Posts” and membership of more than 170,000 Legionnaires. Post 50 Pelham, N.Y., commanded in 2008-2009 by Frank Barbieri organizes Pelham's Memorial Day parade and has served as a New York City Fleet Week host the past six years.

Throughout the year, Post 50 conducts a variety of other projects to support veterans and the local community. In 2005, Post 50 initiated ceremonies commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Italian Campaign of World War II at the American Battle Monument Commission maintained military cemeteries at Florence and Nettuno, Italy. In 2009 the Post and its SAL Squadron are planning a trip to Normandy France for the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. More information is available at http://www.legionpost50ny.com/.

Continue Reading