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 U.S.S. Capelin (SS-289) - Seawolf Park - Galveston, TX Posted by:  jhuoni
N 29° 20.045 W 094° 46.739
15R E 327273 N 3246313
This memorial is located between the USS Cavalla and the USS Stewart at the Galveston Naval Museum. A large Compass Rose, 35 foot in diameter, is outlined with the names and information of the 52 submarines lost during World War II.
Waymark Code: WM127ET
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/20/2020
Views: 0
U.S.S. CAPELIN
(SS-289)
DECEMBER 1943
ALL HANDS LOST
NORTH COAST
AUSTRALIA
From On Eternal Patrol - The Loss of USS Capelin (SS-289)
Capelin (SS-289)
Compiled by Paul W. Wittmer and Charles R. Hinman, originally from:
U.S. Submarine Losses World War II, NAVPERS 15,784, 1949 ISSUE
Returning from her first war patrol after only 17 days out, CAPELIN (Cdr. E. E. Marshall) came into Darwin on 16 November 1943 with a defective conning tower hatch mechanism, excessively noisy bow planes, and a defective radar tube. These flaws were corrected to the satisfaction of the Commanding Officer, and the ship then departed for her second patrol on 17 November. Her area was in the Molucca and Celebes Seas, and she was to pay particular attention to Kaoe Bay, Moratai Strait, Davao Gulf and trade routes in the vicinity of Siaoe, Sangi, Talaud and Sarangani Islands. She was to leave her area at dark 6 December.
Nothing was positively heard from CAPELIN after her departure. However BONEFISH reported having seen a U. S. submarine at 1° 14'N, 123° 50'E on 2 December 1943. [Editor's note: According to Clay Blair in Silent Victory, the vessel was positively identified as Capelin. Bonefish sent her a message by sonar and received an acknowledgement.] This position is in the area assigned to CAPELIN at this time. An attempt to reach CAPELIN by radio, on 9 December 1943, elicited no response.
On 23 November an American submarine was attacked off Kaoe Bay, Halmahera, 1° 34'N, 123° 07'E. However the Japanese state that this attack was broken off, and the evidence of contact was rather thin. The only positive statement which can be made is that CAPELIN was lost in the Celebes Sea, or in Molucca Passage or the Molucca Sea, in December 1943. Enemy minefields are now known to have been placed in various positions along the north coast of Celebes in CAPELIN's area, and she may have been lost because of a mine explosion. In her 17 day first patrol, CAPELIN sank two Japanese medium freighters for 7,400 tons of merchant shipping. This first patrol was conducted among the islands immediately west of New Guinea.
The following men were lost while serving on USS Capelin (SS-289).
Buford Young Arney
Clarence Monroe Ball
Claude Iziah Beck, Jr.
Gerald Ralph Blair
Perry Carr Bragg
Richard Lindsay Britton
Ellis Samuel Brown, Jr.
Marcy Horner Butler
Foster Thomas Callahan
John Joseph Callahan, Jr.
Joseph Peter Cavanaugh
Earl Cheatham
Everett Ray Clifford
Charles William Colyer
Joe Lawrence Cross
James David Crowley
Charles Francis DeFreytas
William Francis Devine
William John Devine
Paul Lee Dill
Lester Theodore Eklund
Charles Lowell Everhart
John Francis Ganley, Jr.
Phillip Jearold Gillen
Peter Grabnickas
Melvin Jay Hicks
James Wilson Holt, Jr.
Dick Jacobs
Loyle Oliver Keaton
Denver Guy Kennedy, Jr.
Isidore Irving Klein
John Walter Koziol
Eugene James Krall
William Alfred Lafferty
Leo Allen Landres
Donald Wallace Lange
Edwin Jack Lester
William Mitchell Lewitt
John Leo Lutley
John Wesley Maddox
Alfred Madey
Elliot Eugene Marshall
William Barton Mason, Jr.
George Robert Melvin
Otto Frederick Moeller
Henry Frank Morgan
Elmer Andrew Norris
Cyril Robert Novotny
Melvin Bernard O'Donnell
Stanley Roderick Olsen
Thomas Earl O'Neal
Clinton Frank O'Neil
Finon Perry
Herman Elroy Pettigrew, Jr.
William Norwood Pilkinton
Richard Powell
William Edward Raminski
John Edgar Rhodes, Jr.
Claude William Roberts
Edward Dunbar Robertson
Walter Allen Sharer
Harry Simon
Leon Clinton Smith
Robert Lowell Smith
Edward John Smolenski
Norman William Snyder
Walter William Stasik
Erwin Henry Steege
Robert Glenn Stickle
Robert William Terrell
Jerry Louis Thibeault
Roy Charles Uhlmann
Curtis Lisbon Vassar, Jr.
Charles Wesley Vaughan
Ernest Eugene Wellman
Herman Henry Winkler, Jr.
The records of two men, R. C. Rhimann and D. T. Smith, have not been verified.
Property Permission: Private
Access instructions: Parking $6 per vehicle, entrance to museum $13 Adult, $10 Senior, $7 Veteran, $8 Child, Active Duty Free
Access times: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Website for Waymark: [Web Link]
Location of waymark:
Seawolf Park
Galveston, TX USA
77550
Commemoration: U.S.S. CAPELIN (SS-289)
Date of Dedication: Not listed
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