Wahoo Veteran Lemert on Eternal Patrol

USS Wahoo veteran Richard H. "Dick" Lemert, 89, died February 29, 2008 at the Iowa Veteran's Home in Marshalltown. He was born June 5, 1918, in Waterloo, the son of Harley and Lillian Hark McElhany. He married Margaret Messer on June 5, 1946, in Kansas; she preceded him in death on June 29, 1995.

Lemert was a farmer and worked at the Rath Packing Company for 25 years, retiring in 1978. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1939-1945. During WWII he was a Pearl Harbor survivor and spent the entire war serving on submarines, achieving the rank of Chief Motor Machinist Mate. He served in Wahoo from her second patrol through her sixth, departing just prior to the boat's loss with all hands. He served as the Wahoo's "Oil King" in charge of her diesel fuel supply.

He is survived by one son, John (Sandy) Lemert of Brandon; one daughter, Sue (Lloyd) Bathen of La Porte City; eight grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren and one sister, Karen Hark of Illinois. Services were held March 6, 2008, at the La Porte City Funeral Service with burial in the Brandon Cemetery. Military rites were conducted by the La Porte City American Legion San Diego Post #207.

Information courtesy the Waterloo & Cedar Falls Courier (wcfcourier.com).