The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Commander Howard W. Gilmore - May 9th, 2004

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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Commander Howard W. Gilmore



HISTORICAL REFLECTION

"Clear the bridge! Take her down!" yelled Commander Howard W. Gilmore, sacrificing his own life to save his submarine and crew.

Medal of Honor Citation for Commander Howard W. Gilmore



For distinguished gallantry and valor above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the USS Growler during her Fourth War Patrol in the Southwest Pacific from 10 January to 7 February 1943. Boldly striking at the enemy in spite of continuous hostile air and antisubmarine patrols, CDR Gilmore sank one Japanese freighter and damaged another by torpedo fire, successfully evading severe depth charges following each attack.

In the darkness of night on 7 February, an enemy gunboat closed range and prepared to ram the Growler. CDR Gilmore daringly maneuvered to avoid the crash and rammed the attacker instead, ripping into her port side at 11 knots and bursting wide her plates. In the terrific fire of the sinking gunboat’s heavy machineguns, CDR Gilmore calmly gave the order to clear the bridge, and refusing safety for himself, remained on deck while his men preceded him below. Struck down by the fusillade of bullets and having done his utmost against the enemy, in his final living moments, CDR Gilmore gave his last order to the officer of the deck, “Take her down.” The Growler dived; seriously damaged but under control, she was brought safely to port by her well-trained crew inspired by the courageous fighting spirit of their dead captain.

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Submarine Hero –
Howard Walter Gilmore

by Edward Whitman - Naval Science Advisor at the Center for Security Strategies and Operations (CSSO) at the Techmatics Division of Anteon Corp. in Arlington, VA.

The first U.S. submariner to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II, CDR Howard W. Gilmore, lost his life in a selfless act of heroism that has become one of the most inspiring legends of the Submarine Force.



Gilmore was born in Selma, Alabama, in 1902 and served first as an enlisted Sailor before entering the U.S. Naval Academy by competitive examination. He graduated from the Academy in 1926, standing 34th in a class of 456. Before the war, Gilmore had served as the executive officer of USS Shark (SS-174), and in a colorful incident during that time, narrowly survived an assault by a group of thugs in Panama, who cut his throat during an excursion ashore.


USS Shark (SS-174)

In March 1942, four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he took command of the new USS Growler (SS-215), fourth boat of the 81-ship Gato (SS-212) class and sailed her to the Pacific theater.


USS Growler (SS215)

Operating out of Pearl Harbor, Growler was one of seven submarines assigned picket duty north and west of the islands as part of the Hawaii defense force during the early phases of the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Later that month, she embarked on her first war patrol in the vicinity of the Aleutian Islands, where Gilmore attacked three Japanese destroyers off Kiska, sinking one and severely damaging the other two, while narrowly avoiding two torpedoes fired at him in return. In early August, Gilmore took Growler on her second and most successful war patrol in the East China Sea near Taiwan, sinking four merchant ships totaling 15,000 tons, before returning to Hawaii in late September.



In October 1942, Growler sailed from Pearl Harbor to Brisbane, Australia, by way of Truk in the Caroline Islands, both to support the blockade of that Japanese bastion and as part of a general repositioning of submarine assets ordered by ADM Chester Nimitz during the early struggle for the Solomon Islands. Gilmore and Growler scored no kills on this third war patrol but arrived safely in Brisbane in mid-December.



Growler departed Brisbane on New Year’s Day 1943 for her fateful fourth war patrol, targeting Japanese shipping lanes between Truk and Rabaul in the Bismarck Archipelago. On 16 January, Gilmore sighted an enemy convoy, maneuvered inside the escorts, and sank Chifuku Maru, a 6,000-ton passenger-cargo ship. He was unsuccessful in subsequent attacks on a small convoy and a converted gunboat, but on the night of 6-7 February, while charging batteries on the surface, Gilmore spotted the 900-ton provision ship Hayasaki and manned the bridge for a surface attack.



With Growler still a mile away, however, Hayasaki’s watch saw the on-coming submarine, and Hayasaki turned to the attack herself, attempting to ram her assailant. As the small ship charged out of the darkness, Gilmore sounded the collision alarm and shouted, “Left full rudder!” – to no avail. Perhaps inadvertently, Growler hit the Japanese adversary amidships at 17 knots, heeling the submarine 50 degrees, bending sideways 18 feet of her the bow, and disabling the forward torpedo tubes.



Simultaneously, the Japanese crew unleashed a murderous burst of machine gun fire at Growler’s bridge, killing the assistant officer of the deck and a lookout, while wounding Gilmore himself and two other men. “Clear the bridge!” Gilmore ordered as he struggled to hang on to a frame. As the rest of the bridge party dropped down the hatch into the conning tower, the executive officer, LCDR Arnold Schade – shaken by the impact and dazed by his own fall into the control room – waited expectantly for his captain to appear. Instead from above came the shouted command: “Take her down!” Realizing that he could not himself get below in time if the ship were to escape, Gilmore chose to make the supreme sacrifice for his shipmates. Schade hesitated briefly – then followed his captain’s last order and submerged the crippled ship.

Surfacing some time later in hope of reattacking the Hayasaki, LCDR Schade found the seas empty. The Japanese ship had, in fact, survived the encounter, but there was no sign of Gilmore, who apparently had drifted away in the night. Schade and Growler’s crew managed to control the ship’s flooding and limped back to Brisbane on 17 February. Taken immediately into dry dock, Growler was repaired and fought again – at first under the command of LCDR Schade, and then under CDR Thomas B. Oakley, Jr.



Sadly, she was lost on her 11th war patrol in November 1944, while attacking a Japanese convoy south of Mindoro in the Philippine Islands. Growler received eight battle stars for her role in the Pacific War.

For sacrificing his own life to save his ship, CDR Howard Gilmore was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Subsequently, the submarine tender Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16) was named for him and sponsored by his widow.


Christening of Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), at Mare Island Navy Yard, CA., 16 September 1943, by ship's sponsor Mrs. Howard W. Gilmore. Looking on are Mrs. F. A. Graf, Capt. W. E. Malloy and RADM W. L. Friedell, Shipyard Commander. US Navy photo 6500-43 Dated 9/16/1943.

Even today – over 50 years later – “Take her down!” remains one of the legendary phrases of the U.S. Submarine Force.


Sheet Music Cover

*******




USS Growler (SS-215) was launched on 2 November 1941 at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut, and commissioned on 20 March 1942. (Then) LCDR Howard Gilmore was her first commanding officer. Growler was an early member of the Gato (SS-212) class, which then represented the highest stage of development reached by U.S. fleet submarines prior to World War II. Eventually, 81 Gatos were launched between May 1941 and November 1943: 41 by Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut; 18 by the Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Navy Yard; eight by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California; ten by the Manitowoc Ship Building Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin (from whence they were barged down the Mississippi to New Orleans); and four by Cramp Shipbuilding, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Gato-class ships were followed in series construction by the Balao (SS-285) class, first launched in October 1942, but the brunt of the Pacific submarine campaign was borne by the earlier boats. Consequently, 21 of the Gato class – over a quarter – were lost in World War II, most with all hands. Growler’s principal characteristics – typical for a Gato-class fleet boat – are listed here:




Displacement: Surfaced: 1,526 tons
Submerged: 2,424 tons
Length: 311’ 9”
Beam: 27’ 2”
Draft: 15’ 3”
Speed: Surfaced: 20.25 knots
Submerged: 8.75 knots
Endurance: 11,000 nm at 10 knots, surfaced
Armament: 10 21” torpedo tubes (6 forward, 4 aft)
1 4”/50 deck gun
4 machine guns


Complement: 66 men

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[snippy_about_it]

Howard W. Gilmore – American Hero



by JOCS(SW/AW) Darrell D. Ames

Pearl Harbor, HI -- One of the most inspiring legends of the submarine force to emerge from World War II was a selfless act of heroism by submarine commander Howard W. Gilmore. The Selma, Alabama native immortalized the phrase “take her down” as he courageously gave his life to save his ship.

Gilmore took command of the USS Growler (SS 215) in March, 1942 and sailed her into the Pacific theater. The ship, the fourth boat of the 81-ship Gato (SS 212) class, left Brisbane, Australia January 1, 1943 on her sixth war patrol. On January 16, Growler sank a 6,000-ton Japanese passenger-cargo ship and, on the final day of the month, attacked a 2,500-ton converted gunboat without success.


Japanese patrol vessel burning after being attacked by Growler (SS-215)

On the night of February 7, while charging batteries, CDR Gilmore saw what he believed to be the converted gunboat he had failed to sink just a week before. It was, however, a 900-ton provision ship, but Growler had already gone to battle stations and was in pursuit. The enemy ship spotted Growler from a mile away and turned towards the sub to ram it head on. Growler’s crew was slow to detect the target’s change in course.

Gilmore’s family believed he had been born under an “unlucky star.” It was now shining brightly. The small ship suddenly emerged out of the darkness dead ahead while Gilmore, on the bridge, sounded the collision alarm and shouted, “left full rudder!” Gilmore intended to avoid both ramming and being rammed. However, the swing of the ship left put Growler on collision course and she struck the enemy boat amidships while traveling at 17 knots.

The massive impact sent Growler heeling 50 degrees and threw everyone below decks off their feet. The crew of the gunboat immediately manned their machine guns and let out with a deadly spray of bullets across Growler’s bridge. The assistant officer of the deck, Ensign William Williams, and lookout, Fireman Kelley, were killed instantly. Gilmore, wounded, was clinging to the bridge frame while the enemy machine guns roared. Amid the chaos several other crewmembers on the bridge could hear Gilmore give the order, “Clear the bridge!”



The officer of the deck, the quartermaster, and two wounded lookouts hurried down the hatch into the conning tower. The executive officer, LCDR Arnold Schade, stood at the foot of the ladder waiting for Gilmore to come down. Realizing that he could not get below in time if the ship were to be saved, Gilmore chose to make the supreme sacrifice for his shipmates. Then came the final command from the skipper – one that would become submarine legend.

“Take her down!”

“Do I save the ship or save the captain,” his mind raced. The XO decided to follow his captain’s final order and save the ship. He gave orders to dive and Growler disappeared below the waves, leaving Howard Gilmore, along with the bodies of Williams and Kelley, topside. No one knows how long Gilmore lived in the water and the Japanese apparently made no effort to capture him. It is believed he drifted off into the darkness, carried off by the winds and current into immortality.


Radio Call Sign: November - Charlie - Bravo - Papa

Beneath the waves, LCDR Schade, dazed and bruised from a fall from the conning tower to the control room, turned his focus to the battle at hand. The impact of the collision had bent 18 feet of Growler’s bow, rendering her forward torpedo tubes useless. Saltwater poured through bullet holes in the conning tower. Schade gave orders to surface and sink the enemy boat, but realized the seas were empty when she came up. It was initially believed the enemy had gone down following the collision and subsequent machine gun attack, but the ship had simply departed the area, living to fight on, as did Growler.


USS Growler (SS-215) at Brisbane, Australia, for repairs to her bow, after she rammed a Japanese patrol vessel in the Bismarck Islands on 7 February 1943.

The XO was able to get the leaks repaired and limped slowly back to Brisbane. Upon returning Growler received an endorsement from RADM James J. Fife, task force commander. “The performance of the officers and crew in effecting repairs and bringing the ship safely back to base is one of the outstanding submarine feats of the war to date,” said Fife. “Growler will be repaired and will fight again,” he added.

Growler did fight again, sinking four more enemy vessels before sadly going down herself with all hands in November, 1944 under the command of CDR Thomas B. Oakley.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

http://www.csp.navy.mil/centennial/gilmore.htm
http://www.submarinesailor.com/Boats/SS215Growler/default.asp
http://www.mississippi.net/~comcents/tendertale.com/tenders/116/116.html
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/issue_4/sub_herohoward.html

[snippy_about_it]

USS Howard W. Gilmore from a 1950 photograph

Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), originally Neptune but renamed before launching, was launched by Mare Island Navy Yard, Mare Island, Calif., 16 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. W. Gilmore, widow of Commander Gilmore; and commissioned 24 May 1944, Captain D. N. Cone in command.

For her first 2 months, Howard W. Gilmore conducted shakedown training out of San Diego. After loading parts and supplies she sailed 12 August for Pearl Harbor, arriving 18 August. Howard W. Gilmore arrived Majuro Atoll 19 September 1944, and began her vital tending duties. In the 4 months that followed she made voyage repairs on submarines, replenished them, and helped in training both crewmen and repairmen. She thus did much to maintain the high-intensity attack on Japanese shipping which hastened the end of the war. The ship also provided repairs and parts to surface ships when necessary.

Returning to Pearl for Harbor 29 January 1945, she took on replacement crews for Australia-based submarines and sailed for Brisbane, arriving 23 February. But the busy tender was soon underway again, this time sailing via Humboldt Bay to Subic Bay, Philippines, with supplies for an advanced base. Howard W. Gilmore arrived 13 March and immediately started refitting 7th Fleet subs and setting up a recuperation area for their crews. She continued this duty through the climactic days of the Pacific war, sailing for the East Coast, via Pearl Harbor and Panama 31 August 1945.



Arriving New York 17 October, Howard W. Gilmore took part in the joyous Navy Day celebrations in New York Harbor, where the fleet was reviewed by President Truman. After a short stay in New London, Conn., Howard W. Gilmore steamed to Portsmouth, NH, to load torpedoes and then sailed to her new home port, Key West, where she arrived 25 January 1946. Serving Submarine Squadron 4, the ship was to stay in Florida for the greater part of the next 13 years, serving submarines on their far-flung training and readiness duties. The ship occasionally tended submarines at Norfolk, and deployed to the Caribbean twice during this period, notably for Operation Springboard, a giant fleet exercise in the Caribbean in 1958.

Howard W. Gilmore sailed into storied Charleston harbor 30 July 1959 to take up her tending duties from this new base. In addition to servicing submarines during the next 18 months, the ship rode out Hurricane Donna in September 1960 off Charleston. During 1961 she operated off the Florida coast before entering Charleston Naval Shipyard in November for a major overhaul. During this repair period Howard W. Gilmore was fitted with facilities for servicing nuclear submarines, increasing her versatility and usefulness for today's nuclear Navy. With this important Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization Overhaul (FRAM) completed the ship returned to the Caribbean for refresher training before resuming tender duties at Charleston.

In October 1962 the introduction of offensive missiles into Cuba brought strong response from the American President and people - a naval quarantine of the island. Howard W. Gilmore's crew worked `round the clock servicing two squadrons of submarines for Caribbean operations. American naval power forced the removal of the Communist threat to the Western Hemisphere.

From 1963 into 1969, the veteran tender continued to serve submarines from her home port, Charleston, making short cruises for training off the South Carolina coast and in the Caribbean.

Howard W. Gilmore and her sister tenders fulfill the goal expressed In the slogan: "Service for the silent service.

History from the Dictionary of American Fighting Ships.


USS Howard W. Gilmore AS 16 in 1971

In 1970, The Howard W. Gilmore relieved the Bushnell (AS 15) at Key West, then after some yard time on the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast, Howard W. Gilmore departed for her new homeport of La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy - where she provided service and support from mid 1973 until just before her decommissioning in 1980.

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[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy.

[snippy_about_it]

:-)

Good night Sam.

[SAMWolf]

[SAMWolf]

Happy Mother's Day
to our Military Mom's

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for remembering Mother's Day. Mind you I'm not one but I do have one and shouldn't have forgot!

[SAMWolf]

You didn't forgot, you knew I had it covered. :-)

[snippy_about_it]

you knew I had it covered

It was nice of you. I've never been real big on "Hallmark" holidays. One of my pet peeves. Too much consumerism. Is that even a word? LOL.

Time to hit the hay. Goodnight.

[Iris7]

A little known statistic is that 25% of all of the Navy men who took a submarine war cruise against the Japanese were killed by enemy action. This is an especially large number since the Navy made a great effort to relieve submarine sailors of combat duty before they were lost. The men would insist on going out with their ship, knowing the odds against them, and not come back.

I don't believe that even the 8th Air Force bomber crew had anything like this death rate. I could be wrong.

The English night bombing crewmen had a worse death rate, by the way. They had something like a one in thirty loss per mission on the average, two or three missions a week, and a thirty mission tour. Then a ten week stint in Training Command, and then another tour of bombers. Do three tours and you were done. Some made it, nerve a little shaken. This was in '43 and the first half of '44.

[E.G.C.]

Happy Mother's Day from E.G.C.

[The Mayor]

I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. —2 Timothy 1:5

No man is poor who has had a godly mother. —Abraham Lincoln

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

[tomball]

Good Morning Foxhole,

Another Great Post, and another Great Day.
May this Mother's Day be warm and sunny to all.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning PE. Great Flag-o-gram today.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Iris7. You were first one in today!!!

I didn't know that the figures of loss were so high on WWII submarines. I do know that the B-17 bombers we were flying in Europe had high odds of loss. They needed to complete 25 missions yet odds were against them. Sam and I just watched the History Channels Heavy Metal show on B-17's. I know he will know more about the 8th Air Force than I do. This is what I found.

"Some interesting facts about the 8th Air Force. The average life of a B-17 bomber and crew was 15 missions. From August 17, 1942 to May 8, 1945, the 8th Air Force had the following statistics:

Personnel missing in action: 39,007; personnel killed in action: 2,818; B-17s lost: 4,754; B-24s lost: 2,112."

[snippy_about_it]

I plan on a relaxing day, hope yours is too.