|
USS Lagarto SS - 371 |
||
|
USS Lagarto SS - 371 Submarine, USS Lagarto sunk May 3, 1945 during World War II The sub was discovered by divers in May 2005
Families &
divers revisit site August 2005 and Search commenced to locate families
David L. Dwiggins 55 Balagtas Blvd. San Pablo City 4000 Philippines September 22, 2005 Indiana Soldiers & Sailors Website
The USS Lagarto was sunk off the coast of Thailand in the Gulf of Siam by
the Japanese depth charge IJN minelayer Hatsutaka May 3, 1945. British
wreck-diver Jamie MacLeon found the Lagarto in May of this year. "We've always known that since the end of the war there's been a submarine missing around there," said British wreck diver Jamie MacLeod, who discovered the 110-meter submarine. "We went into all the war-time records, cross-referenced them with fishermen's marks and then searched with sonar and it came up trumps - we found a bump on the bottom, went down the line
and there it was."
MacLeod said, "It looks to me like it is intact and it is sitting upright
on the bottom in very clear water, so you can get a good idea of what it
looks like. Everything is still on it - all the armaments, the brass
navigation lights. It's beautiful."
At
least five Indiana sailors were on the submarine we were notified
yesterday by Karen Duvalle of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. The sub was
built at Manitowoc S.B. Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin where the museum
is located.
The five Hoosiers were; Sylvester G. Catozzi, Lawrence Co.; Glen E.
Halstead, Lynn, Indiana; Harold A Todd, Allen Co.; William G. Moss, Wayne
Co.; and Eugene T. Robison of Marion Co. After notifying us and requesting any additional information we could give her, she requested a photograph of the name of William T. Mabin as it appear on the "Tablets of the Missing". Mabin's daughter, Nancy Keeney, is working with Mrs. Duvalle researching the names of the men on the Lagarto and notifying families of the discovery. As of yesterday they had located at least 45 of the
families and told them of the news. Mrs. Keeney's children accompanied a
diving crew on a follow-up expedition.
The divers left behind a wreath and a U.S. flag, she said. They reportedly
found damage to the submarine; they also found an open torpedo tube
nearby. "In my children's words, they know the Lagarto went down
fighting," Kenney said. There is no plan to recover the men or their
submarine in the gulf.
We
emailed the photograph of Signalman Mabin’s “name photograph” as it
appears on the walls and returned an invitation to offer photos to
families of any of the 86 that died while serving on her during the
tragedy. This morning we received a note with 22 names. We have started
preparing the photos for sending to those families. We need your help
finding the families. Those of you in other states we will also include
the names of the sailors lost on the USS Lagarto. The five Hoosiers that died on the USS Lagarto are: Sylvester G. Catozzi, Lawrence Co.; Glen E. Halstead, Lynn, Indiana; Harold A Todd, Allen Co.; William G. Moss, Wayne Co.; and Eugene T. Robison of Marion Co. Although the tragedy occurred on May 3, 1945, the War Department waited the customary one year before placing the official date of death as May 25, 1946. The
obituaries often appeared in local newspapers 3 to 12 weeks after the date
of the notifications. Any help you can extend to the efforts is appreciated. USS Lagarto – Lost in South China Sea Lawrence County – Indiana DOD- May 25, 1946 Lost at Sea His name is honored on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Manila American Cemetery - Philippines Purple Heart Glen Eugene Halstead Radioman Third Class United States Navy Reserve Lynn - Randolph County - Indiana S/N 2932017 DOD - May 25, 1946 Missing in Action or Buried at Sea His name is honored on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Manila American Cemetery - Philippines Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Lewis E. Halstead, Rt. 2, Lynn, Indiana Purple Heart William G. Moss Seaman First Class United States Navy Reserve S/N 8643963 USS Lagarto – Lost in South China Sea Wayne County – Indiana DOD – May 25, 1946 Lost at Sea His name is honored on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Manila American Cemetery – Philippines Purple Heart Eugene T. Robison Boatswain’s Mate First Class United States Navy S/N 2915825 USS Lagarto – Lost in South China Sea Marion County – Indiana DOD – May 25, 1946 Lost at Sea His name is honored on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Manila American Cemetery - Philippines Purple Heart Harold A Todd Jr Lieutenant Junior Grade United States Navy Reserve USS Lagarto – Lost in South China Sea Allen County – Indiana May 25, 1946 Lost at Sea His name is honored on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Manila American Cemetery – Philippines Purple Heart Contact: David L. Dwiggins 55 Balagtas Blvd. San Pablo City 4000 Philippines Zenas5@yahoo.com Contact: Karen Duvalle Wisconsin Maritime Museum 75 Maritime Drive Manitowoc, WI 54220 kduvalle@WisconsinMaritime.Org Contact: Nancy Keeney Daughter of Signalman, William T. Mabin; Illinois 701 South French Road Lake Leelanau, MI 49653 (231)256-9342 n.kenney@worldnet.att.net USS Lagarto SS-371 Crew Members Name Hometown State Entered Service From Andrews, Harold D Malden Missouri Missouri Anker, Charles New York New York Auchard Frederick L Woodston Kansas Kansas Bjornson, Charles H Boston Massachusetts Massachusetts Breithaupt, Chas W Vicksburg Mississippi Mississippi Britain, Wardour L Willard Missouri Missouri or Kansas Brock, Aaron Busy Kentucky Kentucky Byrer, Clark Richard Canton Ohio Ohio Carleton, William E Los Angeles California California Cathey, Lloyd Fry Nicoma Park Oklahoma Oklahoma Catozzi, Sylvester G Bedford Indiana Clouse, George E New Hampton Missouri Missouri Cook, Caldwell T Columbia South Carolina South Carolina Davis, Jr., John E Little Rock Arkansas Arkansas Doud, Leslie M Alva Oklahoma Oklahoma Enns, Alvin H Gray Oklahoma California Fisher, Richard L Pekin Illinois Illinois Franze, John J Ellwood City Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Frasch, Oakley R Manitowoc Wisconsin Wisconsin or Ohio Gerlach, James N Toledo Ohio Ohio Grace, Richard F Wilmington Delaware Delaware Graves, William Portland Oregon Oregon Gray, Dennis J Trinity Texas Texas Green, Robert Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Gregorik, Richard L Michigan Michigan Gregory, James P Union South Carolina South Carolina Halstead, Glen E Lynn Indiana Indiana Hardegree, Thomas Two Rivers Wisconsin Wis or Georgia Harrington, Geo C Hamilton City New York New York Harrington, Thos J Fall River Massachusetts Massachusetts Harris, James B Baltimore Maryland Maryland Harrison, James C Royal Oak Michigan Michigan Hinken, Walter E Grand Rapids Michigan Michigan Honaker, William F Sandstone West Virginia West Virginia Irving, Lloyd G Cleveland Ohio Ohio or Minnesota Jefferson, H NYC, Bronx New York New York Jobe, Jesse Tunnel Hill Illinois Illinois Johnson, Fred Illinois Illinois Johnson, John R North Carolina North Carolina Jordan Jr., William H Charleston West Virginia West Virginia Keeney, Jr., Arthur H West Hartford Connecticut Connecticut Kimball, Philip M San Gabriel California California Kirtley, Albert Springfield Ohio Ohio Kneidl, John W Dayton Ohio Ohio Latta, Franklin, D Burlington Iowa Iowa Lee, Jr., Noah B Smithfield North Carolina North Carolina Lee, Russell W Amite Louisiana Louisiana Lewis, Robert J Louisville Kentucky Kentucky Lynch, Louis J Cleveland Ohio Ohio Mabin, William T La Grange Illinois Illinois Marriott, Jr., Joy M Columbus Ohio Ohio McDonald, James H Mattoon Illinois Illinois McGee, Justin M Rockford Illinois Illinois Mendenhall, Wm H Cleveland Ohio Ohio Moore, Willis L Lansing Michigan Michigan Moss, William G Richmond Indiana O'Hara, Lloyd R Cleveland Ohio Ohio Ortega, Howard E Pastura New Mexico New Mexico Paper, Dick Milton Davenport Iowa Iowa Pash, Joseph S Niagara Falls New York New York or PA Patterson, Robert R Roanoke Virginia Virginia Peterson, John W Philadelphia Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Peterson, Robert F Chicago Illinois Illinois Perry, Robert C Alderson West Virginia West Virginia Phelps, Walter B West Hartford Connecticut Connecticut Plushnik, Harry R Ceresco Michigan Michigan Price, Gerald A Elida Ohio Ohio Reeves, Morris D Atlanta Georgia Georgia Reichert, Raymond E Toledo Ohio Ohio Robison, Eugene T Boggstown Indiana Root, John H Maribel Wisconsin Pennsylvania Ruble, Robert T Denver Colorado Colorado Rutledge, Walter J Tupelo Mississippi Mississippi Shackelford, Wesley Great Bend Kansas Kansas Simmerman, Ralph E Rogersville Missouri Missouri Spalding, Robert B Eugene Missouri Missouri Stehn, John E Maryland Maryland Stiegler, Donald G Rochester New York New York St John Jr, Ulys M Florida Florida Tait, Floyd Costa Mesa California California Todd, Jr., Harold A Fort Wayne Indiana Turner, Frank D Spartanburg South Carolina South Carolina Wade, Arthur M Mason City Iowa Iowa Warnick, William C Raymondville Texas Texas Wicklander, Max M Seattle Washington Washington Williams, John L Sayre Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 SS-371 USS Lagarto Balao Class Submarine: Displacement: 1526 tons surfaced, 2424 tons submerged Length: 311' Beam: 27'3" Draft: 16'10" Speed: 20 knots surfaced, 9 knots submerged Armament: 1 4"/50 or 1 5"/50, 6 bow and 4 stern torpedo tubes, 24 21" torpedoes Complement: 80 Diesel engines, surfaced/electric motors, submerged Built at Manitowoc S.B. Co., Manitowoc, Wis. and commissioned 14 Oct 1944 Depth-charged by IJN minelayer Hatsutaka in Gulf of Siam, 3 May 45 (1st war patrol) May 3, 1945
LAGARTO, under CDR F.D. Latta, departed Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, on
April 12, 1945, for her second patrol in the South China Sea. On April 27,
she was directed to the outer part of Siam Gulf.
LAGARTO contacted BAYA, already patrolling in Siam Gulf on May 2, 1945,
and exchanged calls with her by SJ radar. Later that day BAYA sent LAGARTO
a contact report on a convoy she had contacted consisting of one tanker,
one auxiliary and two destroyers. LAGARTO soon reported being in contact
with the convoy, and began coming in for an attack with BAYA. However, the
enemy escorts were equipped with 10cm radar, and detected BAYA and drove
her off with gunfire, whereupon the two submarines decided to wait and
plan a subsequent attack. Early on the morning of May 3, 1945, LAGARTO and BAYA made a rendezvous and discussed plans. LAGARTO was to dive on the convoy's track to make a contact at 1400, while BAYA was to be ten to fifteen miles further along the track. During the day, numerous contact reports were exchanged. At 0010 on May 4, after a prolonged but unsuccessful attack, BAYA was finally driven off by the alert escorts, and no further contact was ever made with LAGARTO.
Japanese information available now records an attack on a U.S. submarine
made by the minelayer HATSUTAKA, believed to be one of the two
radar-equipped escorts of the convoy attacked. The attack was made in
about 30 fathoms of water, and in view of the information presented above,
the attack here described must be presumed to be the one which sank
LAGARTO. This vessel's first patrol was in the Nansei Shoto chain as part of an anti-picket-boat sweep made by submarines to aid Admiral Halsey's Task Force 38 in getting carrier planes to Japan undetected. She sank the Japanese submarine RO-49 on February 24, 1945, and participated in several surface gun attacks with HADDOCK and SENNET. Two small vessels were sunk and two
more damaged in those attacks, and LAGARTO shared credit for the results
with these submarines. Commander Latta had previously made seven patrols
as Commanding Officer of NARWHAL. Every patrol made by this officer was
designated successful for the award of combat insignia, a record surpassed
by no commanding officer in the Submarine Force. June 23, 2005 Divers in Thailand find missing US World War 2 submarine USS Lagarto Powered by CDNN - CYBER DIVER News Network by ERIC CARLSON BANGKOK, Thailand (23 June 2005) -- For Nancy Mabin Kenney of Lake Leelanau, Father's Day this year was the first she can remember with the knowledge of exactly where her father has been for the past six decades.
His remains are in a submarine built on the shores of Lake Michigan in
1944 that was sunk by a Japanese minelayer in the South China Sea in 1945,
shortly before the end of World War II.
Some 60 years after it went down, the USS Lagarto (SS-731) was located
just weeks ago under 220 feet of saltwater in the Gulf of Thailand by a
professional diver from Great Britain who recently reported his discovery
through the U.S. Naval attaché in Bangkok. Kenney's biological father, Signalman First Class William T. Mabin, was among the 86 U.S. Navy submariners believed to have perished in the boat during a battle between American and Japanese naval forces on May 3, 1945. Mabin's only child, Nancy, was just two years old at the time. "It's always been a fact of my life that my father died in the war," Kenney said. "Unfortunately, I
have no direct memory of him. I have often felt sadness at the loss of my
father, but have never really mourned him until now – now that I know
where he is." Kenney said that news of the submarine's discovery last month by civilian divers off the coast of Thailand has taken its toll on her emotionally – and on her mother, 88-year-old Margaret Chambers of Glen Arbor Township.
Kenney said she spent some time with her mother on Father's Day, going
through boxes full of letters her father sent during the war and
correspondence the family received in the 1940s from other families
affected by the sinking of the Lagarto and the loss of its crew. "Communication was slow back then," Kenney pointed out. "Getting information was difficult; and some mystery about the fate of the submarine and its crew has always remained. My Father's Day gift will be to do everything I can to find out what happened so long ago, and to be an advocate to ensure these sailors receive the honors they deserve."
Kenney found out about the discovery of the wreck of the Lagarto via the Internet through a website devoted to World War II submarines that her son had accessed. Professional divers in Thailand reported that they'd been asked to investigate why fishermen's nets were being snagged on the seabed near what historical records revealed to be the last known position of the USS
Lagarto. Diver Jamie Macleod of Great Britain operates a diving school on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand. Contacted by the Enterprise via e-mail, Macleod said he became aware years ago that the wreck of the USS Lagarto was in his vicinity, but actually finding her was "beyond a dream." He said new boats and equipment recently acquired by his company made the discovery possible. "We began with the last known position and then cross-referenced with fishermen's marks," Macleod explained. "I can't describe to you the feeling of bumping into the bow of the wreck." He said the wreck "is perfectly upright and seems to be intact." Macleod, 43, said that in the years he's been involved in shipwreck exploration, "this is by far the most important find."
Kenney said she has yet to hear from the U.S. Navy about Macleod's
discovery of the submarine and has written letters to members of Congress
seeking more information. "I certainly hope the Navy will see fit to honor these sailors and remember their families," Kenney said. A spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis, told the Enterprise that Navy officials had been made aware of the discovery of the submarine through official channels and would take "appropriate action."
Davis said the latitude and longitude of the wreck had been known since
the end of World War II;
but he was not aware if anyone before Macleod had ever fixed the wreck's
position precisely and
dived down to take a look.
During World War II, some 52 U.S. Navy submarines were lost in action,
along with 3,544
crewmen. Davis pointed out that the names of each of them, including SM-1
William T. Mabin of
the USS Lagarto, are inscribed on a submarine memorial in Pearl Harbor
where a ceremony was
conducted just last month on Memorial Day. In Wisconsin – where the submarine was built – May 3 was designated USS Lagarto Remembrance Day in Wisconsin following action by a submarine veterans group. USS Lagarto was one of many submarines produced during World War II by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. in Manitowoc, Wis. The submarine was launched May 28, 1944, in Lake Michigan. After test trials and training in Lake Michigan, Lagarto entered a floating dry-dock and was floated down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, where it departed for the Pacific.
Kenney said she spent a little time with her father at New London, Conn.,
and at Manitowoc,
before he went off to war.
"All my life, I never really knew my father, but the people who knew him
well kept him alive in my
memory," Kenney said. "To think of what my mother's generation went
through with all the
uncertainty during the war is just overwhelming. But now it's up to my
generation to support these
men and make sure they're honored," she said.
More about
the USS Lagarto
The Balao Class LAGARTO's keel was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding
Company,
Manitowoc, and Wisconsin 12 January 1944. It was launched 28 May 1944 and
Commissioned 14
October 1944.
Under the command of Commander F. D. Latta, LAGARTO departed Subic Bay,
P.I. on 12 April
1945 for her second WWII patrol in the South China Sea. On 27 April, she
was directed to the
outer part of Siam Gulf. LAGARTO contacted USS BAYA (SS-318), already patrolling in Siam Gulf on 2 May 1945 exchanging calls with her by SJ radar. Later that day BAYA sent LAGARTO a contact report on a convoy she had contacted consisting of one tanker, one auxiliary and two destroyers. LAGARTO reported being in contact with the convoy and began coming in for an attack with BAYA. However, the enemy detected BAYA and drove her off with gunfire, whereupon the two
submarines waited to plan a subsequent attack.
Early on the morning of 3 May 1945, LAGARTO and BAYA rendezvoused to
discuss plans.
LAGARTO was to dive on the convoy's tack to make a contact at 1400, while
BAYA was to be ten to
fifteen miles further along the tack. At 0010 on 4 May after a prolonged
but unsuccessful
attack, the alerted escorts drove off BAYA, and no further contact of any
kind was ever made with
LAGARTO.
Japanese information available now records an attack on a U.S. submarine
made by the
minelayer Hatsutaka, believed to be one of the two radar-equipped escorts
of the convoy. The
attack was made in about 30 fathoms of water and in view of the
information presented above,
the attack here described must be presumed to be the one that sank
LAGARTO.
Commander Latta had previously made seven patrols as Commanding Officer of
USS
NARWHAL II (SS-167). Every patrol made by this officer was designated
successful for the
award of combat insignia, a record surpassed by no commanding officer in
the Submarine Force. July 1, 2005 Divers discover WWII U.S. sub in Gulf of Thailand By Ed Cropley
Fri Jul 1, 5:00 AM ET A team of deep-sea divers has discovered the wreck of a U.S. submarine sunk by a Japanese minelayer 60 years ago in the Gulf of Thailand during the closing stages of World War II. The U.S.S. Lagarto, a 1,500 ton” Balao class” submarine, disappeared without trace on May 4, 1945 after attacking a Japanese tanker and destroyer convoy around 100 miles off the southeast coast of Thailand. All 86 men on board are still listed as missing in action.
“We’ve always known that since the end of the War there’s been a submarine
missing around
there,” said British wreck diver Jamie MacLeod, who discovered the 110 m
(310-foot) submarine
sitting in 70m (225 ft) of water in May. “We went into all the war-time
records, cross-referenced
them with fishermen’s marks and then searched with the sonar and it came
up trumps — we
found a bump on the bottom, went down the line and there it was,” MacLeod
said. The Pentagon has not yet confirmed the identity of the wreck, which remains the property of the U.S. Navy under international maritime law although MacLeod says there is little doubt in his mind. “It’s a Balao class sub for sure because I’ve seen it and touched it and it’s the only one lost in Thailand,” he said. The Gulf of Thailand is the final resting place for many U.S. and Japanese ships and planes destroyed in the struggle for maritime supremacy in South East Asia and the South China Sea in World War II. Thailand’s west coast is strewn with Japanese and British warships sunk while patrolling the Indian Ocean shoreline from ports in Burma, or Myanmar as it is now called, and Sri Lanka. MacLeod, who said he had also just discovered a Lockheed P38 Lightning — a high-altitude fighter dubbed the “Fork-tailed Devil” by the German Luftwaffe — said the Lagarto appeared to be relatively undamaged.
“It looks to me like it’s intact and it’s sitting upright on the bottom in
very clear water, so you can
get a good idea of what it looks like,” he said. “Everything is still on
it — all the armaments, the
brass navigation lights. It’s beautiful.” Having contacted relatives of the crew through the U.S. Submarines of WWII Veterans Association, MacLeod said he would be taking two Lagarto
grandchildren to the site of the wreck later this month.
“It’s nice because now the families are talking about closure,” MacLeod
said. Asia Times Online July 15, 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 crewmen who went down with her. For 60 years the Lagarto rested untouched on the seabed in 70 meters of water about 150 kilometers off the southeast coast of Thailand. Local dive operators on the tiny resort island of Koh Tao knew of the submarine's fate, but couldn't pinpoint her location until recently.
and there it was."
MacLeod said, "It looks to me like it's intact and it's sitting upright on
the bottom in very clear
water, so you can get a good idea of what it looks like. Everything is
still on it - all the armaments,
the brass navigation lights. It's beautiful." The waters around Thailand are the final resting place for many warships that battled for domination of the oceans during World War II. Several well-known wrecks further north in the gulf are popular with recreational and technical divers. At the time of discovery of the Lagarto, US officials unequivocally denied permission to local dive shop owners to dive the wreck, fearing that it would turn into a tourist attraction. A US Embassy spokesperson said the divers would never get permission to study the submarine because it
belonged to the US Navy under international maritime law and was the final
resting place for the
people who went down with it. Jeff Davis, spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet Submarine Force in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, said the vessel discovered in May "is in the area where we suspected the Lagarto was". The Lagarto was one of 52 submarines that sank in the Pacific during World War II, he said. There are no plans to raise the vessel.
The term war grave was used to discourage further diving to the site.
MacLeod has been
sympathetic, recently saying, "It's nice because now the families are
talking about closure," but he
has maintained his position to seek official permission to dive the sub
and has even gone to
lengths to bring some of the Lagarto grandchildren to the site after
contacting relatives of the
crew through the US Submarines of WWII Veterans Association. Lucy Foster, 79, a woman whose brother, Wardour Britain, died in May 1945 aboard the USS Lagarto, said, "Now we know that he isn't just missing, we know where he is." She is one of many relatives who can now get some closure for loved ones that have remained lost beneath the waves for six decades. At the time of writing, divers are currently trying to obtain Pentagon permission to visit the wreck to conduct research and documentation.
Fateful encounter
USS Lagarto was one of many submarines produced during World War II by the
Manitowoc
Shipbuilding Co in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The submarine was launched on May
28, 1944, in
Lake Michigan. After test trials and training in Lake Michigan, Lagarto
entered a floating dry-dock
and was floated down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, where it
departed for the Pacific.
Following a number of successful missions in Japanese waters the Lagarto
(SS-371), under the
command of Frank D Latta, departed Subic Bay in the Philippines for the
South China Sea on
April 12, 1945. She was directed to patrol in the Gulf of Siam, where
sister-ship Baya (SS-318)
joined her on May 2. That afternoon, Baya signaled that she was tracking a
tanker traveling under
heavy escort. The same night Baya tried to attack, but was driven off by
enemy escorts equipped
with radar. The two submarines rendezvoused early next morning to discuss attack plans. The following night Baya made a midnight attack, but was again driven off by the unusually alert Japanese escorts. Early next morning, May 4, when Baya tried to contact her teammate, Lagarto made no reply. Since Japanese records state that during the night of May 3-4, mine-layer Hatsutaka attacked an American submarine in that location, it is presumed that Lagarto perished in battle with all hands. Its 86 crew members are still listed as missing in action.
Closure, WW II sub found under the sea Family finally has place to put flowers By Kelly Kennedy Tribune staff reporter
Published August 8, 2005
In
the ghostly blue lights of a video camera, sea snakes, squids and schools
of blue and yellow
fish swirl past five-inch battle guns of a World War II submarine 200 feet
beneath the South China
Sea.
"With all the fish and the coral covering the Lagarto, it's almost like
someone put flowers on a
grave," said Elizabeth Kenney-Augustine, whose grandfather, Bill Mabin of
La Grange, was on
the vessel. For decades, no human knew where to put flowers for the 86 men
who disappeared
with the USS Lagarto somewhere between Thailand and Australia shortly
before World War II
ended. In May, a diving team, following the hints of fishermen telling tales of snagged nets, discovered the Lagarto in the Gulf of Thailand. Experts say this is the missing boat because it is believed to be the only American Balao class submarine sunk in the Gulf of Thailand during the war, and because Japanese records released after the war show Japanese sailors sank a submarine in
the area where the Lagarto disappeared. "We believe the wreck to be the Lagarto," said Jamie Macleod, who, with the U.S. Navy's permission, dove down to look at the outside of the vessel. Macleod and Stewart Oehl of the MV Trident dive boat in Thailand discovered the missing submarine. Author Clive Cussler has spoken with the men about a documentary on the Lagarto, as well as their discovery. U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) has called on the U.S. Navy to confirm the submarine's identity. After talking with the family, Macleod took Kenney-Augustine and her brother, John Kenney Jr., off the shores of Thailand last week to read letters and poems from family members in the first burial ceremony the missing men have had. On July 31, a diver tucked a dozen white roses into the conning tower, or attack center, of the USS Lagarto. Minutes later, the flowers had disappeared.
For 60 years, Mabin's daughter, Nancy Kenney of Lake Leelanau, Mich.,
wondered if her fatherhad somehow come out of the war alive. She waited for him to be released
from a prisoner-of-war
camp or to appear on a remote island or to pop through the front door
after a top-secret mission.
She knows the families of the other 85 men on board the submarine must
have wondered the
same things.
"From the letters between my mother and the other wives, I can see there
was great confusion,"
Kenney said. "They were hoping their husbands were in prison camp. Imagine
that--seeing that as
the best-case scenario."
Kenney was 2 when her father was lost. She said her mother, Margaret
Chambers of Glen Arbor,
Mich., was pleased to hear her husband's resting place had been found. "He
was the love of her
life," Kenney said. "She's been shaken by this."
The USS Lagarto was one of 28 submarines built in Manitowac, Wis., and the
Wisconsin
Maritime Museum has adopted the submarine and created a memorial to it.
According to the
museum, the submarine was tested in Lake Michigan. It left Subic Bay in the Philippines on April 12, 1945, for the Siam Gulf, now the Gulf of Thailand, for its second trip.USS Baya officers reported at the time that they were to rendezvous with the Lagarto to discuss plans to attack a Japanese convoy on May 3, 1945. At 1 a.m. May 4, 1945, the Japanese convoy
drove off the Baya, but nothing was ever heard again from the Lagarto. It
was supposed to dock in
Australia at the end of May, but it never arrived. In June 1945, Mabin's family received a letter saying he was missing in action. A year later, another letter arrived describing him as "presumed dead." "This will give you a real glimpse into World War II," Kenney said. "This is what I grew up with. That's the last correspondence any of the families had with the Navy." |
||
|
09/28/2005 P-I article brings Lynn family news of lost loved one - Story about Richmond submariner helped family learn what happened to Glen Halstead
LYNN, Ind. -- Sondra Sue (Halstead) Hill remembers the day the shiny dark green car kicked up stones and gravel as it sped down the lane of her family's farm west of Lynn. The year was 1945 and Hill was an 8-year-old girl loving the simple life of working in the field with her grandfather, Lewis Halstead, not knowing that life as she knew it would soon change. The men in the car, with their shiny buttons and high military hats, were there to tell Lewis Halstead and his wife, Millie, that their son and Sondra's uncle, Glen Halstead, was missing in action in the South Pacific and presumed dead. "We were in the field making hay, but as soon as my grandfather saw them he knew," Hill said. "Both he and my grandmother knew." Glen Halstead, a 19-year-old 1943 Lynn High School graduate, was a radioman aboard the USS Lagarto, a U.S. submarine sunk April 4, 1945 in the Gulf of Thailand. "Our grandfather was a man of faith, and when he saw them he just got down on his knees and prayed right there in the field," Hill said. "My grandmother fainted right out. I was a child and it scared me. I thought she was dying." The Lagarto was discovered in mid-August by private divers in 220 feet of salt water off the coast of Thailand. Of the eighty-six sailors aboard the Lagarto, two were from this area. Bill Moss, a 20-year-old 1943 Richmond High School graduate, was Seaman First Class on that submarine. Hill and her husband, Charles "Pete" Hill, had searched for years for information about the Lagarto. They learned of Glen Halstead's fate when they read a Sept. 15th Palladium-Item story about Moss. "We just hit a stone wall each time," Pete Hill said. "Everything has always failed and now to see this." "You have all those feelings that have been pushed below the surface all these years," Sondra Hill said. "I looked up to my uncle Glen. We were very, very close. It's just amazing that we know this now." The Halstead family, a close farming family, was devastated by the news of Glen's death. "We lived near each other, we farmed together, went to church together, spent a lot of time together," she said. "My grandparents never got over it. I saw their health deteriorate before my eyes." Barbara Kolp of Lynn went to school with Glen Halstead "from third grade on, and we were always good friends." "He was short and just cute as a button," Kolp said. "We were just kids and I always had a big crush on him, but we never dated. It was just awful not knowing what happened to him. "It is comforting to know they have found the submarine," Kolp said. "It's good to know because I know it's closure for the family." Today, there is a marker to Glen Halstead in the New Liberty Cemetery near the corner of County Road 800 and Bloomingsport Road in Randolph County. "His death was a family tragedy. Now we can put the date he died on the stone," Sondra Hill said. "That's comforting." Bill Engle, Pal-Item, Richmond, IN |
||
|
In April or May, 2006, the families of the USS Lagarto gathered at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum at the location where the Lagarto was built and launched. The Halsteads, an Indiana family, was on hand for the celebration. It was their brother Glen of Lynn, Indiana in Randolph County that was on the Lagarto. |
||
| Page last revised 02/07/2007 |
