The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Submarine Operations in the Aleutians (1942-1944) - Dec. 9th, 2003

www.chinfo.navy.mil ^ | Edward C. Whitman

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks EGC, at least I didn't miss anything while I am on vacation.

[snippy_about_it]

Your welcome. We love it when we can share pictures and stories of our Foxhole "family".

[SAMWolf]

What kind of hell ship was I on?
The rest of the crew thought this to be pure entertainment.

The next day Beaver was transfered in chains ,to the beach awaiting courtmartial.
Good ol Beaver, I inherited his bunk! : )

It's amazing what men in a combat zone will consider "entertainment", at least he got a bunk out of the deal.

[SAMWolf]

Afternoon GailA. That a picture of your tree?

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks Gail. I'd like to have some of that tree garland. Pretty and patriotic.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Yep. :-)

[Prof Engineer]

SS Growler

That's a cool name for a ship!

[SAMWolf]

SS Croaker

Built as part of the effort to assemble a major submarine force just prior to and after the U.S. entry into World War II, USS Croaker was sent into the Pacific to wage a war of attrition against Japan's merchant marine and Navy. Croaker made six war patrols, and attacked and sank a cruiser, four tankers, two freighters, an ammunition ship, two escort craft, and a minesweeper. Credited with eleven sinkings, with a total of 40,000 tons, Croaker's war career typifies the tremendous success of the submarine war against Japan.

I think Croaker was a cool name.

[Samwise]

Hi, snippy. You sneaked the pictures in again. :^)

Dad didn't talk much about fighting the Japanese.

He did tell me that one night he and a buddy somehow got their rifles wet. They were so wet and cold that they didn't know if they would fire or not. The Japs (he always called them Japs) were on the other side of some kind of ice hill. He and his buddy were way outnumbered.

They hid in an ice/snow mound. It was very cold. Their options were to freeze to death or be captured. Dad had some Kentucky bourbon whiskey, and the two of them drank it all. They had been warned many times of the dangers of alcohol and cold.

Dad swore the whiskey kept them warm enough to survive. He always believed that Kentucky whiskey was the best medicine in the world.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for sharing that story about you Dad, Samwise.

He had good taste in whiskey. :-)

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks Samwise for sharing more information about your dad and stories he told of his experiences. I knew I wanted to post his pictures on the Aleutians thread I just wasn't sure when it was coming up. LOL. My calendar of threads is at home and only when SAM mentioned it last night did I know it was today.

Everyone called them Japs back then, whenever you read old first hand diaries or stories you'll see the enemy referred to as Japs, or just recently on a thread the Germans were referred to as Krauts. If they said it, we leave it in. PC we're not, history tellers, we are. :)

We're thankful for your father's service and proud to be able to post his pictures here and thankful to you for sharing them with us.

[Trteamer]

Howdy SAMWolf. Thank you so much for The FReeper Foxhole. I'm kind of down in the dumps today and I figured I would get it off my chest here.

You see, today we buried a good friend of mine Dave. He was a Marine Viet Nam Vet and a very fine man. He was killed in a car crash (Please wear your seat belts!) and left us all missing him greatly. His oldest son who is a Navy Seal makes me so proud. He spoke of his dad with total admiration and respect.

Dave and I would often have a smoke and shoot the bull a little when he stopped by to do business. He loved what us FReepers to. I would tell him about FReeping Bill, Hillary, the Million Mom March, and the leftist anti-America gatherings. He loved it. Dave was so happy that we were out there stirring the pot and taking street theater right at the leftists. It made his day. Often I would see him drive past our Support Our Troops rallies just about melting the horn on his jeep.

As I sat there at the funeral I looked at the beautiful American Flag draped over his coffin. God was that flag beautiful. I kept thinking about Dave, the flag, and how he liked what us FReepers do. This was a man who understood what the fight is all about. He may have not been the type to actually take to the streets to protest the leftists, but he was behind us all.

As I left I got a chance to shake the hand of his fine Navy Seal son and thank him for his service. I looked him right in the eye and I saw the same twinkle that his dad had. My next FReep will be in Dave's honor. God Bless.

[Trteamer]

Ping to #72

[Diver Dave]

Condolences to you and Dave's family.

Hand Salute!

two

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

May God Welcome Dave Home and Comfort his family and friends.
Please tell Dave's son I said
"Thank You for your service to our country."
I am sorry for your loss.

[GailA]

No I found it looking for a graphic for this thread. My tree is a little 3 footer, it is as big as I have room for. My tree does have a US flag on it though, right below the angel.

[Soaring Feather]

You see, today we buried a good friend of mine Dave. He was a Marine Viet Nam Vet and a very fine man.

I am so sorry for your loss. I offer prayers for you and for Dave's family. Losing those we love is hard to do. Thank You to The Navy Seal for his service to our nation and to Dave. RIP Marine.

[Light Speed]

There is lots of shinanigans for sure..isolation brings out the creative.: )

I try to convey the madness of USS Luces **Conga line on New Years eve...looking at the grins of the vets from Isherwood I can tell it was a riot above all proportion which broke out at Dutch Harbor.
Secretly..I think Blue Jackets like chaos and seeing LTJG's up in the Bridge gettin their butts chewed.

But the other side...these guys..even the hardiest of vets were wretching their guts out...the entire ship would be pukeing sick for days if they went out after say a 48 hour stay in port.
Scared too...I imagine the submarine blue jackets went thru the same,as the grinding,snapping and breaking noises of the ships were nearely too much to mentally bear.
Some of the unsung hero's of the Aleutians were the destroyer and sub tenders..allong with the towed floating dry dock crews.
Isherwood had here sonar dome ripped off..other ships were badly mangled as their frames moved beyond tollerance.
some ships were lucky..a gut instinct got them into dry dock and repairs.
other ships simply broke up at sea..mostly the cargo runs.
DD-520's closest call came when the ship fell into a trough..then rolled some 48 degree's....the wall of the trough went into one of the stacks and snuffed a boiler.

A few vets from 520 shared how they were stranded at a naval base..as the Des Div pulled out quickly and left them.
No complaint at all about being stranded..rather a party.
It was to be hoped for I gather, that if you got ashore..this could happen for a week or more : )

[PhilDragoo]

U.S. forces at Fort Mears met the first attack on June 3, with antiaircraft and small arms fire, but on June 4, the Aleutian Tigers (eight P-40s), engaged the Japanese planes in aerial dogfights. The U.S. planes were launched from Cape Field at Fort Glenn, a secret airbase on neighboring Umnak Island. The Japanese had thought the nearest airfield was on Kodiak, and Cape Field, disguised as a cannery complex, had remained undetected. The surprise aerial counter-attack destroyed four Val dive bombers and one Zero.

IJS Ryujo [Note: Aleutian climate so bitterly cold, it froze the island off this Japanese light carrier]

IJS Junyo only carrier to feature unique command center in middle of flight deck.

S-Boat plan and profile

S-Boat section at midship

USS S-35 in rough water--from The S-Boats

USS Narwhal (SS-167)

USS Nautilus (SS-168)

USS TRITON (SS-201)

TRITON was a most active and valuable member of the Submarine Force prior to her loss. In total, she is credited with sinking 16 ships, totaling 64,600 tons, and damaging 4 ships, of 29,200 total tons. Her first patrol, conducted around Wake Island, resulted in no damage to the enemy, but her second, in the northern part of the East China Sea, was very productive. In ten days she sank to freighters, and damaged a greghter-transport and another freighter. She went back to the East China Sea for hre third patrol, and again was most successful. She sank a trawler, two freighters, a freighter-transport, two sampans, and a submarine. The latter was I-64, torpedoed south of Kyushu on 17 May, 1942. TRITON's fourth patrol was made in the Aleutians. During it, she is credited with sinking two escort-type vessels.

On her fifth patrol, TRITON went into the Solomon area. She sank a tanker, and two freighters, in addition damaging a tanker of 10,200 tons and a freighter. She was credited with having sunk two medium freighters on her last patrol.

USS GRUNION (SS-216)

After shakedown out of New London, USS GRUNION (SS-216) sailed for the Pacific 24 May. A week later, as she transited the Caribbean for Panama, she rescued 16 survivors of USAT JACK torpedoed by a German U-boat, and conducted a fruitless search for 13 other survivors presumed in the vicinity. Arriving at Coco Solo 3 June, GRUNION deposited her shipload of survivors and continued to Pearl Harbor, arriving 20 June.

Lcdr. Mannert L. Abele took GRUNION out of Pearl on her first war patrol and, as ordered,proceeded to the Aleutian theater and patrolled westward from Attu on routes between the Aleutians and the Japanese Empire. On 10 July GRUNION was reassigned to the area north of Kiska. GRUNION made her first report on 15 July: Dutch Harbor received her message that, attacked by an enemy destroyer, she had fired three torpedoes at it, and missed with all.

Shortly after this message was received GRUNION sent another relating that she had sunk three destroyer-type vessels on 15 July. This message was garbled to the extent that details of the attacks were never learned (Japanese information reveals that GRUNION sank patrol boats 25 and 27 and damaged a third patrol vessel). On 19 July GRUNION, USS S-32 (SS-137), USS TRITON I (SS-201) and USS TUNA II (SS-203) were assigned areas in the approaches to Kiska, all to be there by daylight 22 July.

There was a strong concentration of enemy vessels at Kiska, this time being only a month and a half after the enemy had taken that island. The vessels patrolling there were told to watch particularly on the afternoon of 22 July 1942 for departing enemy naval vessels, since our own surface forces were scheduled to bombard Kiska that afternoon. The bombardment did not take place in accordance with the original plans, but our forces did stage the operation on 28 July and GRUNION was told to guard the exits from Kiska during darkness on this date. On this day GRUNION reported an attack on unidentified enemy ships six miles southeast of Sirius Point, Kiska. She had fired two torpedoes, made no hits, and been depth charged, but sustained no damage.

GRUNION's last transmission was received 30 July 1942. She reported heavy antisubmarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that she had ten torpedoes remaining. On the same day, GRUNION was directed to return to Dutch Harbor. She was not contacted or sighted after 30 July, despite every effort to do so, and on 16 August was reported lost. Planes observing the approaches to Kiska for indications of enemy salvage operations in connection with GRUNION reported negatively.

Japanese antisubmarine attack data available now record no attack in the Aleutian area at this time, and GRUNION's fate remains an unsolved mystery. No enemy minefields are known to have been in her area; thus her loss may be presumed to have been operational or as a result of an unrecorded enemy attack.

GRUNION received one battle star for World War II service.

[Light Speed]

The Marines Hymn

From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country’s battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

Our flag’s unfurl’d to ev’ry breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev’ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job—
The United States Marines.

Here’s health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we’ve fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.