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USS Growler (SS-215)

7 February 1943 when GROWLER stealthily approached a gunboat for a night surface attack. The small fast ship suddenly turned to ram, Comdr. Gilmore then took the only move to save his ship; he brought GROWLER left full rudder and rammed the enemy amidships at 17 knots. Machine gun fire raked the bridge at point blank range. The courageous sub seemed lost. Comdr. Gilmore cleared the bridge except for himself. Desperately wounded, he realized that he could not get below in time if his ship were to be saved. "Take her down" he ordered; and, as he floated in the sea, he wrote another stirring tale of inspirational naval history. For his heroic sacrifice to ship and crew, Comdr. Gilmore was awarded the Medal of Honor, one of six submariners to receive this medal of valor.

Lost in the 7 Feb 43 engagement.

CDR Howard Gilmore

F1 W. F. Kelley

ENS W. W. William

GROWLER's 11th and final war patrol began out of Fremantle 20 October in a wolfpack with HAKE and HARDHEAD. On 8 November the wolfpack, headed by GROWLER, closed a convoy for attack, with GROWLER on the opposite side of the enemy from HAKE and HARDHEAD. The order to commence attacking was the last communication ever received from GROWLER. After the attack was underway, HAKE and HARDHEAD heard what sounded like a torpedo explosion and then a series of depth charges on GROWLER's side of the convoy, and then nothing. All efforts to contact GROWLER for the next 3 days proved futile, and the gallant submarine, veteran of seven successful war patrols, was listed as lost in action against the enemy, cause unknown.

TM1 John H. Abel

EM2 Howard W. Archer

S1 Herman C Baker

GM3 Troy M Beatty

EM1 William V Bergfeld

S2 Harold H Blackston

TM2 William D Booker

MoMMC Charles R Boone

RM2 Robert S Bridge

ENS William K Carr

QM2 Robert L Chamblin Jr.

MoMm3 LaVerne C Clark

SM3 Bennie Cleveland

F1 Gordon B Dallman

MoMM1 John A Darby

FC2 Gilbert P Daughtrey

EM1 Ferdinand E Dawson

F1 Alex L Durand Jr.

F1 Roland D Erikson

MoMMC Alexander Ferrario

SM2 Willie Flippens

MoMM1 Clarence E Fredman Jr.

EM2 Albert J Fryer

F1 Harry A George

LTjg Walter M Gregory

TM2 Robert E Hakanson

TM3 Robert Harris

S1 Harry F Heald

SC2 Warren E Hedrick

MoMM2 William C Hickey Jr.

TM2 Ralph E Hope

EM3 Albert M Jacobs

LTjg Gordon W Jewett

LTjg Lloyd S Johnson

YN3 Harry A Kaczmarek

MoMM1 Donald J Kuba

RT2 Roy S Laderman

RM1 Robert E Lane Jr.

MM1 Melvin P Leveille

S1 Ernest P Lorio

S1 Gerrett Lynch

TM1 John H Maddux

EMC Lloyd B Maness

MoMM2 Wallance S Manning

LT(XO) Richard K Mason Jr.

QM3 John J McLaughlin

TM2 Louis R McMullen

MoMM2 Curtis M Melancon

FC3 Alfred Metzler

GM3 Dale C Miller

F1 Arthur J Minkle

EM2 William Morrison

RT2 Bernard Natov

LT N.W Naylor

F1 Charles F Nixon

CDR(CO) Thomas B Oakley Jr.

SC1 Louis Orth

RM2 Albert D Owen

S2 Johnnie Padilla

S2 Henry R Parus Jr.

MoMM3 Raymond J Picard

TM3 Eugene W Post

MoMM3 Charles H Ratnecht

MoMMC Edgar P Read

S1 Henry E Rhodes

RM3 Eugene W Rothenberger

YN2 Kurt G Schulz

TM3 Paul Sebestyen Jr.

S1 Clark O Shay

RT2 David G Simmons

LTjg W.D Smith

TMC Walter L Smith

QM3 Nicola L. Stevanovich

S1 Steven L Stoiner

MoMM2 Joel A Tanner

F1 Donald T Thigpen

LT Francis P Thomas

PhM1 ? Thompson

F1 Rena B Tullier

EM2 Paul F Vail

EM3 Ralph Vecere

EM2 Roy D Welch Jr.

S1 Richard L Weterings

MoMM3 Carl A Workman