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Howard Ortega joined the Navy in 1943 and went to war aboard the submarine USS Lagarto. He never returned, and the fate of Ortega and 86 crewmates remained a mystery for six decades until divers found the sub 150 miles off the coast of Thailand. mms://216.139.229.126/11-10-06usslagarto.wmv

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Experts at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., have confirmed that a World War II submarine wreck found in the Gulf of Thailand last year is USS Lagarto (SS 371). Underwater archeologists at the center completed their examination of evidence obtained in June by Navy divers from USS Salvor (ARS 52) and Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, both based in Pearl Harbor. "We now know for certain that this is Lagarto," said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force. "I am grateful to all those involved in helping...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Navy divers completed six days of diving operations June 16 on wreckage in the Gulf of Thailand believed to be that of the lost World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371). Divers will send photographs and video of the submarine to the Naval Historical Center in Washington for further analysis. The divers' observations appear to confirm the discovery made in May 2005 by British wreck diver Jamie MacLeod. "Without a doubt, it's a U.S. submarine, a Balao-class," said U.S. 7th Fleet Diving Officer, Cmdr. Tony San Jose. San Jose and his fellow divers reported...

MANITOWOC, Wis. (NNS) -- Families of crew members who served aboard the World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371) gathered here May 6 to honor the men whose submarine went missing six decades ago and was only recently located by divers. Lagarto was last seen May 3, 1945, in the southern Gulf of Thailand while preparing to strike an enemy convoy. Japanese records later indicated that the minelayer Hatsutaka reported sinking a U.S. submarine on that date. Last May, nearly 60 years to the day after Lagarto was lost, British diver Jamie MacLeod reported finding Lagarto sitting upright in...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Families of crew members serving on the ill-fated World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371) will gather May 6 in Manitowoc, Wis., to honor the men whose submarine went missing six decades ago and was only recently located by divers. Rear Adm. Jeffrey B. Cassias, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's submarine force, will serve as the keynote speaker at the ceremony held at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, where Lagarto was built. Jamie MacLeod, a British wreck diver who located the Lagarto wreck in the Gulf of Thailand last year, will also...

Wrangle Over Submerged US Ship 15 July, 2005 Wrangle over US wreck By Martin Young HUA HIN, Thailand - Since the discovery in May of the World War II wreck of the USS Lagarto, a 1,500 ton Balao class submarine, in the Gulf of Thailand, a new skirmish on and under the seas is surfacing. On one side are the divers who discovered the wreck and who are eager to explore and film it. On the other side is the might of the US military, which insists that the wreck should be left untouched out of respect for the 86...