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13,000 words

“we’ll carry on…”

Catherine Eleanor Eaton, was born on November 29, 1899, in Middleboro,

Massachusetts. On her father’s side, she was descended from Samuel Eaton of the

Mayflower. Jim’s mother Lou Tupper Abele also descended from the Eaton line, thus

Jim and Catherine, later “Kay,” were distant cousins. Catherine graduated from

Middleboro High School in 1917, and Bridgewater Normal School two years later. Her

first teaching job was in Quincy, where she boarded for a year with Jim’s mother Lou

Tupper Abele. In 1924, after teaching music several years at the Bartlett Training School

in Lowell, she enrolled at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York to

continue her music studies. [graduation picture with violin]

In the summer of 1942, while living temporarily in Tiverton, RI, she used her gas

ration to drive thirty-five miles to Middelboro to attend her twenty-fifth high school

reunion. In the mimeographed reunion booklet, she recorded the details of her education,

professional life, and family life—marriage to Jim in 1927 and the birth of three sons, as

well as numerous service postings—Bremerton, Washington, Honolulu, Hawaii,

Washington, D. C. and New London, Connecticut. Summing up, she wrote “My husband

is a naval officer…(and) is now in command of one of the big submarines. [I] have lived

a navy life since 1927…family seems to be main interest now – while we still have it.”

Kay was serious, purposeful and practical. That summer, her letters to Jim were

encouraging and supportive. She filled them with news about the boys and their

activities, and always signed “with heaps of love.” Family would always be her focus.

A month after Grunion’s departure from New London, Kay had packed up the

boys and headed for a farm in Tiverton, RI that belonged to her sister Fran’s family. Her

summer home was a recently converted barn and carriage house, with ample space for six

active children—Bruce, Brad, and John, and Fran’s kids, Catherine, Betty, and Bill—all

between the ages of 5 and 15. Lofts, with beds—not hay, for sleeping, and on the

“threshing floor,” a very long table, long enough to seat the extended family and

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numerous visitors. Kay spent many hours cooking, washing and ironing, sewing

slipcovers for chairs, and caring for the active crew of children. She was glad for the

large victory garden, as there was little local produce available; she picked blueberries,

and canned peas, beans and tomatoes. [picture – Kay ready to pick blueberries]

Fishing and building a raft to float on Nonquit Pond, swimming at Fogland

Beach, hunting woodchucks in the fields, chores, and working in the garden kept the

children busy. They published a newspaper, the Nonquit Leak, with news of their

activities that they “put out every rainy day.” It sold for a few pennies.

Although the boys had seen a prototype television at the New York Worlds Fair, such

distractions were unimagined and many years away. Kay encouraged the boys to be

active and make their own entertainment. Bruce, assuming his father’s role, created all

manner of contraptions including a wooden “chariot” to carry his brothers and cousins

around the yard. [pictures]

A “Postal Telegraph” sent from Honolulu on June 27 had confirmed Jim’s arrival

in the Pacific: “Love and best wishes am feeling fine but miss you.” He could not say

anything about his orders in the few letters that followed. All Kay knew was that he was

in the Pacific. On June 30th, she wrote “Our only fireworks this 4th will be those you

send or the fireflies.” And for Jim’s birthday on July 11, she wrote “we have been

toasting you all weekend and hoping you are having some especially good luck to

celebrate your birthday…”

The shadow of war was always present. Both Bruce and Brad were acutely aware

of their father’s mission, John age 5 remembers nothing. July 14th, Brad wrote “I am

learning the navy version of the marines hymn…It is funny I have known the first part of

the first verse of marines hymn for a long time then I sang the navy verson once or twice

looking in the book and now I know it by heart.” Both boys worked out some of their

anxiety holding commando drills. On a scrap of paper in an undated note, Bruce wrote:

“Regularly we have commando training. We have all the wepons and parefenila…Hope

you have sunk some more Japanese ships.” Their spelling was imperfect, but reading

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between the lines, their deep concerns and sensitivities are unmistakable. [picture of

commando training] In a letter written July 16, Kay told Jim that Bruce had said

“wouldn’t it be wonderful if Jim would surprise us all and walk in.” Later in the month,

there was news of the sinking of two Japanese ships in Aleutians. Whether or not they

knew specific the details – one of the ships was DD Arare sunk by the fleet sub Growler,

captained by Jim’s Annapolis classmate Howard Gilmore.

On August 5th Kay wrote with “big news.” She was excited that she had found a

house to rent in the Boston suburb of Newton Highlands, just in time to settle in and be

ready for the coming school year. Weeks Junior High School for Bruce, and the Hyde

Grammar School for Brad and John, were in easy walking distance of the house, and the

rent at $70 per month was better than in any of the surrounding communities.

She described the house, which still stands at 31 Mountfort Road, as a brown-

shingled Colonial with a screen porch on the side. She eagerly drew a rough floor plan—

living room, dining room and an eat-in kitchen on the first floor, four bedrooms and a

bath on the second floor. She was delighted that the basement had space for a workshop

and a ping-pong table, and with the yard and well-kept gardens. “Every thing is clean &

much better condition than our other houses…There, does it seem like we are lucky

again” she wrote. “I only hope that you can come home & enjoy it a little before your

next transfer.” (check quotes) Always positive, she ended “I certainly wished you were

here a million times but we’ll carry on and I believe do it happily…”

Kay did carry on. She stretched herself to care for her family, and she reached

out to the families of Grunion’s crew, setting in place efforts that have grown in ways

she could not have imagined on September 30, 1942 when she received the first of two

Western Union telegrams:

The Navy Department deeply regrets to inform you that your husband

Lieutenant Commander Mannert Lincoln Abele United State Navy is missing following

action in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country. The

Department appreciates your great anxiety but details not now available and delay in

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receipt thereof must necessarily be expected. To prevent possible aid to our enemies

please do not divulge the name of his ship or station.

In his seventies, Brad looked back and remembered that day:

It was an early fall, sunny afternoon and my brothers and I were playing with a

football in the road out in front of our house in Newton Highlands, MA. My mother

came to the door and called us all in and while we stood in a sunbeam by her desk in

the front of the living room she read us the “first telegram.” Bruce reacted with some

exclamation but I remember being completely devoid of emotional feeling at hearing

the news….I have speculated that it was perhaps because my father had once told me

that a “soldier” never cries (or at least that is what I thought)….After hearing the

news and reflecting on its meaning for a short while, we returned to our activities out

front which we continued to pursue rather listlessly. I remember that my mother never

wanted to put any sort of a “gold star” in our window since she considered that the

Grunion was officially “missing in action” and not definitely lost – yet.

A second telegram arrived a day later. It reiterated that Lt. Cmdr. Abele was

missing, adding, “no proof has been received that it was the result of enemy action.”

Grunion’s loss became front-page news across the country on October 5th.

Navy insiders knew that Grunion was on war patrol somewhere in the Aleutians, but

no one knew, or at the time could have known, what caused the loss. USS Grunion

had vanished; there would be rumors, but absolutely no information for the families

for more than sixty years. With so few details, Kay and many other wives and

mothers refused to believe the finality of this event and clung to the hope that

somehow their loved ones, perhaps made prisoners of war, would return when the war

ended.

Kay’s letter to Trudy Kornharens, wife of one of the officers, was one several sent

to her Navy friends soon after the first telegram arrived. Trudy and Bill were married

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November 16, 1941. Trudy gave birth to her daughter Nancy on September 11, 1942, a

little over three months after Bill’s departure and just three weeks before the telegram

announcing Grunion’s loss. Assuming a leadership roll, Kay began to offer help and

support to wives with whom she would share this fierce and terrible bond.

Oct. 1Dear Trudy –

Your sweet note came with the darling snap of Nancy just a few hours before I received a wire saying Jim was missing. I suppose you must have received one too and you know how we both are feeling. But I haven’t given up at all and I know that Jim has a extra amount of resourcefulness and a wonderful bunch of officers. Let’s all stand together dear and try to be as brave as they were and I believe, are.

Meanwhile, if there is any help I can give you — any information I can get for you — please don’t hesitate.

This is a mixed up note I’m sure but its very late and — well, you know.

Lovingly,Kay Abele

Kay’s first letter to Fran McMahon does not survive, but in her answer sent

special delivery on Oct. 2, Fran pours out her own grief. “War has always seemed

dreadful, but to have it strike right to the heart of your life & your love.” Fran’s letters

are passionate in comparison to Kay’s quiet, but deeply felt letters. In dramatic and

emotional telling, they reflect the supportive nature of the Naval community, as well as

the painfully clear issues confronting war widows as they began the task of remaking

their lives.

Fran had deep ties to the Naval community. Her brother, John C. Wylie

Annapolis, ‘32, invited her to a navy “hop” at Annapolis where she met her husband,

John McMahon, class of ‘34. Married in 1938, Fran and John had two boys, Jim and

Michael. After the loss of Grunion, she remained in contact with high-ranking officers

who were able to provide shreds of information more clearly understood now in light of

details from the previous chapter describing Grunion’s war patrol—information that was

highly secret at the time. The records cited were the now-declassified Dutch Harbor War

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Diary reports for July 1942, which then as now only tell a few details of where and when,

but not how or why the Grunion disappeared without a trace.

[pictures of Fran and two boys, John and two boys][note – make *footnotes for names in Fran’s letters]

The words spill from Fran’s letters—love, aguish, dark humor and Navy lingo—

underlined, punctuated by dashes, rarely stopping for periods. Several, quoted in full,

pick up the narration of this story.

Dear Kay,

If only I could see you to talk with you — as you say it’s difficult to write but still there is so much I want to say to you. I was down in Annapolis visiting the Fahys when the message came here & Dad phoned Ed & Ed [Edward Joseph Fahy, Annapolis ‘34] had to break it to me. Oh Kay, it is so awful — it can’t be our boys to whom this had happened. War has always seemed dreadful, but to have it strike right to the heart of your life & your love. I was glad – no, I wasn’t glad – will we ever be glad again – but anyway it seemed a little easier to me to be with the Fahys as they are our best friend in the Navy or in the world as that has been our world. Mac & Ed were classmates & shipmates for years & best friends – we always live side by side – in San Diego, Manila, Shanghai, Tsingtao [China],– we were god parents to each other’s children – even at a time like this it is better to be with friends & family. Kay, I just can’t believe it! Anyway I was over in Washington the next day, & by pure good fortune, chanced to run into Katherine Russell. She of course knew the news as George is Flag Secretary to “Comich” [Commander in Charge of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll] – she is a very wonderful person. I always put Ruth Bacon, & Katherine Russell & you in the same “Special Class” – anyway Katherine said, “ Fran I think George wants to see you & maybe you want to see him. Of course it was the best “in” possible to every scrap of news the Navy Dept. knows about the Grunion. George came in town that night & took me out to their house in Falls Church & we had a long talk. But Kay, actually they know so little. George said he was out on the West coast with “ Comich” Sept. 5th & 6th & at a conference Admiral Nimitz reported that the Grunion was unreported then. Apparently they were to have had a rendezvous with some other ship August 18th & failed to appear so a few days later the Navy Dept. (or whoever its is) ordered them to break radio silence & report position. They never reported. I am not too sure but rather gathered that they were operating in the South Pacific. I was so distrait I couldn’t get wits enough to ask that obvious question but I think I could still find out for certain if it means anything. I asked George if he thought it was enemy action…(this was before I had that second telegram) & he said of course he had no way of knowing but they assumed the Japs would have claimed a sinking if they knew of it…but that…many regions of the Pacific (& that’s where I got the South Pacific idea I guess) were uncharted, some spots are very

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deep & some unexpectedly shallow so that the enemy might have laid mine fields which apparently cannot be detected by our sound devices. I asked George for an honest answer – did he think there was any hope – & he was not too encouraging – in fact frankly, he gave almost not hope – but don’t worry I have hope a-plenty. I told him “Navy wives never give up hoping and praying.

Kay, I guess this isn’t any good news for you at all – but I felt that you too would want to know every scrap of news available. The Growler was the ship that sunk those three Jap destroyers “before breakfast” a while back, & the Guardfish sunk a good tonnage of merchant shipping. So Kay no mater what, we know that our boys accomplished something worthwhile – but that is a trifle compared to keeping believing in your heart that this country is worth the tremendous sacrifice our boys are making. We must teach our sons to believe that too – they must believe it was worthwhile & that their fathers believed it so much they were willing & ready to accept that last final sacrifice. I don’t mean to go melodramatic, Kay – I don’t feel that way – there is a difference though between sentiment & pure sentimentality. I was so touched when I read what Bruce said about Jim – Kay, how proud you must feel to have a son like that – in our sons we will always have our husbands. I wish my boys could always remember Mac like your boys can – Mikie remembers now of course – but three is to young for a lifetime impression – But I hope I can tell them – although that is my most bitter regret – Kay I am praying so hard – & so many others are too – look at all of us who are heart broken together – Trudy [Kornaharens]with her newly born daughter that she never shared with Primo – although if the worst has happened, he knows & is proud. And Dottie [Cuthbertson] carrying Red’s child – And Betty [Thomas] with little Pete…Oh Kay, I wonder if Mac & Jim enjoyed their birthdays – Mac’s was the 15th of July – he was 30 – I remember Jim’s was right in that week I think.

Kay, no matter what befell the Grunion, I am sure that Jim was the best possible skipper – he was so faithful & competent & resourceful around New London that if the situation they faced allowed any human skill then he met the emergency in the best possible way. Mac & Jim’s other officers felt every confidence both in his professional skill and his moral integrity & character. Remember what I told you Mac wrote me in one of his last letters – “the Captain is so darned fine, I hope we won’t let him down.”

Kay, keep on praying & hoping – and being proud of Jim – as I am of Mac – We’re lucky to have our children – & children have to be cheerful & pray for the miracle –

Love, Fran

A week later, on the 12th of October Fran wrote…

Kay dear—

A letter from [Captain] George Russell today forwarded from home.

The bare facts are that there were four contact and three actions on the patrol; that in one action three destroyers were sunk, the duplicating the Growler’s success; and

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that the last word from the Grunion was received on July 30. The rest, except for the details of the actions, and some exchange of dispatches, is a matter of speculation. Nobody knows, but the probabilities seem to be that she hit a mine or was sunk by an enemy submarine.

Kay, it wouldn’t matter to us in our intense pride of our husbands whether or not the Grunion had actually fired a shot, but you know it would mean a lot to Jim & Mac to feel they had accomplished something—your boys will be proud too. I think about Bruce so much—he seemed such a sensitive lad & with such a deep feeling of responsibility for his family—it makes an added heartache for you to try not to let his childhood slip entirely away in these tragic times. How much you must count on him!

Another item that George Russell answered—I had asked him whether he thought six weeks training in fog-bound New London in spring was not woefully short. I wouldn’t say that to anybody else of course. “In my opinion, the fact that there had been so little time for training made no difference. It doesn’t take long to make veterans out of recruits on that kind of patrol.”

The Captain worked so hard, so long & so faithfully in that scant time he had for training his crew that I honestly feel they were well prepared. They did their best – no man can do more. This is a point that I felt like you would think about too—I rather doubt that the other girls would consider it—except somebody like to the wife of the Chief of the boat—I forget her name. [Merritt Graham’s wife Anna]

Russell also said “there’s quite a bit I can’t put in a letter—the next time I see you, I’ll amplify.” Maybe on our way back North, I can gather up the other scraps which we all size upon so desperately. He seems to have made such a point of avoiding mention of the area in which they were operating—I judge that to be still secret.

Kay, I don’t know how you feel—but to me it is a great comfort to be convinced that the limitation of submarines being what they are, our fine boys could not possibly be prisoners of war. We love them far too much for that—how anyone could ever sleep a night or swallow a mouthful of food with that horror gnawing at them I do not know. At least the ocean is clean. Our husbands loved the sea, & certainly they loved that Grunion – ship, and above all the believed our country is worth it. We can’t fail them in doing our part now—and I don’t mean a common place like rolling up a few roll of bandages for the Red Cross. You have already done such a grand job in the training of your three lovely sons—Jim was so proud of them—and you.

I feel so hopelessly inadequate to the job ahead. The life that I can now offer Mikie & Jimmie seems so pale compared to the rich, vital childhood we had hope for them with a couple or three more little brothers & sisters and a gay happy father stamping home at night to make the home complete.

One day at a time is all we dare face now.

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I cut a picture (office Navy photos) of the Captain out of the local South Carolina paper—I want to keep it for my boys to tell them about the grand skipper their Daddy went to sea with on the Grunion…

Your description of you frantic endeavors to get the three boys off to school reminded me of a time when I worked in a high school supt’s office while I was in college. A wild-eyes mother burst in right in the midst of a “grave grave” conference to implore the Supt to please send some of her children to the same school – “I haven’t got seven umbrellas!”

Don’t’ think I have entirely given up hope—far from it—but we have to face life cruel as it is. I gathered up my two Indians & came…to stay a month or so with my aunt to try to pull myself together—it couldn’t be done at home with my mother weeping over me night & day.

It is a wonderful comfort to know what good men our husbands were, & to feel our Lord had a place awaiting them in Heaven.

Love, Fran

Oct. 19, 1942Kay dear –

A classmate of Mac’s who is attending the P.C.O [Prospective Commanding Officer] school at New London wrote that according to the Grunion reports the ship was sent to Kiska to look the situation over and report back so the U. S. forces could move in. They secured the information, and then sank the three Jap destroyers. I guess this information is still “confidential,” but you have probably already heard it. That puts the locale in the Aleutian area just as we had all suspected all summer—only when this happened, we hoped for a kinder climate as in the south Pacific—but Kay, I guess it doesn’t really matter—the road to Heaven is still direct.

Mac always hated that ocean up around the Aleutians—the rough weather, the eternal fogs—I worried all summer. Oh Kay, those grim weeks of waiting for the letter that doesn’t come, and the telegram that might—and then that dread “It is with deep regret.” But with waiting, there is always hope—now it seems we will have to face the facts. I still can’t believe it. Our brave, alive, smiling boys!...

I feel sure many of the wives and families of the crew have written you for further information. Several have written me. Ledford’s family—they live up here in Asheville, North Carolina—he was a nice boy, wasn’t he. Remember how conscientiously he’d turnout out on those practice blackouts. Van Waggelom’s [sic] mother wrote me too—he [Marshall Van Woggelum] was one of Mac’s engineers—it’s a name you couldn’t forget. None of them realize that the Navy Dept. only sends us that brutal, routine announcement. I share what information I have – not what I am writing you today though – that must be “confidential” or George Russell would not have stated it. This

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“aid and comfort to the enemy” has always been more than I could understand, but if our boys can give their lives, we can keep quiet….

I can’t think about the future. One day at a time seems a large does to swallow. I know what I should do – finish my law course that I was taking at night school in Washington when Mac came along. That LLB degree might come in very well when this war is over, and our boys are bigger. Now the boys are my big job – maybe I could find a night law course around home. I just can’t get up a flicker of interest in anything – the world just seems so lonesome and bleak.

We are fortunate to have our children. Children have to be cheerful. I am glad for every minute of my life that I had with Mac – I know you feel the same way – I think perhaps it is even harder for you – the longer you have them, the harder it is. Oh war, why does it have to take the finest and the best.

Love, Fran

December 19, 1942

….Kay, remember one time way back when you said you thought Mac & Jim had many of the same qualities. I’ve thought about it a lot, & do you know what I think is the most outstanding quality they both possessed – a very rare trait of character too – & more to be prized perhaps because of its uniqueness. They were both humble men. Now you think about it. Most men, particularly successful men, are cocky & self assured. I don’t mean that either Mac or Jim doubted their abilities – they both possess a quiet strength born of knowledge of their own abilities. True humility is so rare – & such an endearing quality.

Kay, no matter what – we were one of the fortunate ones of the world – and we have so much to be proud of & to live up to – for always. Fran

[PS] I’ll bet no other skipper’s wife ever made as kind & thoughtful gesture as you did writing all those letters to all the next of kin. In never saw any other notice like that in the Army Navy Register [see notice ANR 12 Dec. 1942, p. 4]

The Letters:

With in days of receiving the two telegrams Kay had asked Jim’s Uncle Arthur to

request addresses for each crewmember’s next of kin. The list, which she received on

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October 20th, with her notations of letters sent seems as fresh as if they had been written

yesterday. The letters she received in return pull you fully into the story and lay bare the

heart of a nation – in grief, in pride and with faith. In appreciation for Kay’s unique

effort to comfort those left behind, “Red” Doell’s mother Gladys wrote

in no other country would the wife of a ship’s captain bother about the families of enlisted men. Again we realize the blessings of being an American. Thank you very much, Mrs. Abele for your encouraging letter and I hope you will write to me again. (Nov. 10, 1942)

Between October 20 and the December 12th notice in the Army and Navy Register,

Kay wrote to all the next of kin, and many more. Three months later, March 11, 1943,

she received notification that Jim would receive the Navy Cross, the Navy’s second

highest medal of honor and she wrote again, knowing that Jim would want to share this

award with his crew. In that letter, she also included a copy of George Drew’s letter about

Grunion’s rescue of the men from the USAT Jack. And the next of kin wrote back to

Kay. Their letters fill four thick binders—letters, which in 2006 and 7 became an crucial

resource, allowing this generation to finish the work that Kay had begun, to give comfort

to those left behind. Besides the notice in the Army and Navy Register, these efforts were

recognized in the local press and on December 14, 1942, the Boston Traveler presented

Catherine E. Abele, with an award “For distinguished Public Service.” (Boston Traveler,

14 Dec 1942) [picture – award card]

[rework this paragraph – punctuation!]

United in expressions of grief, each letter is unique. Every letter Kay received

told poignant stories—stories of mothers who sent their sons to war, of wives who

married in the few short moths before departure, of young children who would never

know their fathers, of depression era families left behind, whose sons sent their

paychecks home to help. And stories of the crew— patriotic boys from mid-western

farms who had never seen the ocean and wanted to serve their country; newly minted

officers from Annapolis; career enlisted men who worked to build Grunion and re-

enlisted to take her to war.

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In this day of transient electronic communication, the letters stand out as original

historical documents, evocative in the carefully hand-written form, some in pencil on

lined paper, others on fine stationery, all with equally heart felt messages. Kay would

write in more detail to wives of offices and men that she knew personally, but to those

she did not know she wrote with care and respect. Kay’s sons speak of stoicism – perhaps

that is how she managed, but her “way” is nuanced. Fran’s letters reflect the torrent of

emotion and the efforts to go forward; Kay’s words are modulated but deeply felt. Her

familiar penmanship projects a clear and quite confidence, and echo the line from her last

letter to Jim – “we will carry on.”

On October 28 Kay wrote the following letter to the father of 25-year-old

Torpedo Man’s Mate third class, Charlie Hutchinson. Mona Hutchinson Kime, Charlie’s

half sister, returned it to Bruce Abele in 2006

Dear Mr. Hutchinson,

As the wife of the captain of the Grunion I have been thinking very much these days of the families of the men aboard. I know how very anxious we all are for any bit of news.

Officially I have heard nothing, but unofficially, I have heard that the Grunion made a very commendable record before she was reported missing. This is a comfort to me for I know it would have been of great satisfaction to the men to have had the chance to make a real contribution to their country.

My sons and I still have hopes of their safe return, but in any case may God grant us all the courage to carry on as bravely as they would wish.

With deepest sympathy,Catherine E. Abele(Mrs. M. L. Abele)

So many answered with affirmation of regard for the Captain and looked to the

Captain’s wife for answers. As Fran said, so many thought the Captain’s wife or an

offices wife might know more, but sadly they all shared the loss equally and without

comfort other than what they could give to each other. The few letters quoted here, pick

up the story again.

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[photo of one or two letters]

DoellNovember 10, 1942

Dear Mrs. Abele:

I received your letter several days ago but have delayed answering because I feared I would be unable to match the courageous sprit shown in your message.

My son, Louis has a very high regard for your husband, both personally and as an officer, and I am sure that he must be a fine man to merit such fierce loyalty from the members of his crew.

Both my husband and Louis’s wife, Eve, share my belief that some time, somehow that sailor we love so very much will be returned to us. You see Louis is an only child, and I believe doubly precious to us because we have known since he was two years old that he would always be just that. He was married a year ago to a neighbor girl, whom if I had the choice of all the girls I know, I should have been happiest to have called my daughter. She, with her steadfast faith in Louis return, has been and is of the greatest comfort to me.

My husband is a veteran of World War I and he realizes so keenly what the boys are going through, that he is becoming so very nervous, and as an outlet of this pent-up restlessness has erected a large scroll in our neighborhood park, an honor roll for our local boys and girls (nurses only) who are serving our Country. This roll containing more than two hundred names, is to be dedicated tomorrow (Armistice Day). [Re WWI - Armistice Day would have been Nov. 11)

We had taken in a radius of only three squares [miles] so you can see the man power the middle west is furnishing the armed forces. We are proud of these boys, more than ever because, having lived in this home, practically all of our married life, know most of them personally, having watched them grow up with our son.

Mrs. Abele, I feel that you must know a great deal more about the activities of the Grunion than I will ever be able to learn. Later, when the horror through which we are passing has ended and you feel free to do so, won’t you please write to me more fully?

My constant Prayer is that our sailor will come over the horizon soon, but should God not will it so, and should they have gone, may their going not have been in vain.

Very sincerely yours,Gladys C. Doell(Mrs. Louis H. Doell)Cincinatti, Ohio

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Hall: Nov. 4, 1942

Dear Mrs. Abele:I want to let you know what a comfort your letter has been. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness.

The last letter we had from Kenneth he was very pleased that he was assigned to the Grunion since it was his choice and we have heard that the boys are carefully selected for submarine service we feel that his commanding office could have been nothing less than a wonderful man.

From everything we have heard and read of Commander Abele we are satisfied Kenneth’s life could not have been placed in better hands. We are hoping and praying for more and better news but if our hopes have no realization we want you to know we share your pride in their record.

I shall not offer you our sympathy since so far we don’t believe in our hearts that it is in order, so may we dare to hope that we will hear again from the very fine wife of a very fine man.

Sincerely,Mary A. Hall(Mrs. O. C. Hall)San Francisco, California

Cooksey: November 16, 1942

Dear Mrs. Abele,

My Dear Friend please permit me to call you thus for I feel like you are a very Dear friend to have thought of writing to me – it was a great comfort to me to receive you letter for indeed I am very grateful for every bit of news I can receive about the Grunion and the men on it for I have not received a word from my son since the 29th of June until I received the telegram he was missing so of course I do not know where he was so I will be so thankful to you if you will kindly let me know if you hear any thing concerning the Grunion and its crew. My son had only been married one year the first of October and his wife receive the message he was missing the 28th of September. I know it was a real sock to her poor thing, but she is like you and I, she still has hopes that the worst has not come to the men aboard. Again I thank you for writing me. So please write me again and often for you know how anxious as Mother can be…

Ella G. Cooksey (mother of Lee Dale Cooksey)Wilmington, California

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Cooksey: Jan. 26, 1943

Dear Mrs. Abele,

I guess I’d better introduce myself right here and now. My husband, L. D. Cooksey, was machinist mate 1/c on the Grunion. Mother Cooksey sent your letter on to me and I’ve been trying to find a chance to write you ever since. It was so nice of you to write Mother Cooksey. She appreciated it so very much.

Are you as completely in the dark as I am as to “what” and “where” of the Grunion? My last letter was written June 29. This knowing nothing is pretty bad, isn’t it? You have you boys, though, to give you incentive to go on. We weren’t fortunate enough to have any children. They do mean so much, don’t they?

Did you know any of the personnel of the Grunion? I met a few of the men but none of their families. Now I’m away from Navy circles and I never hear anything except on the radio and in the news papers. We do have an inshore patrol base and coast guard base here, but most of the boys are “boots’ and know less than I do. Are any of the families of the men on the Grunion down in this section of the country? [South Carolina]

Please, Mrs. Abele, if you should hear any news, will you send it on to me? If it is really important wire me collect. You, I imagine, will hear if there is anything to hear. And I will appreciate any news you might be able to pass on.

I took work here in Georgetown in September – am librarian in the high school here. Love my work and have a very nice set-up all around here. However, I’d much rather be “Navy” again. It wasn’t very long, but it was nice while it lasted. Lee and I were married October 1, 1941. I’m very thankful that I have work that keeps me busy and prevents my thinking.

I sincerely hope you may have good news real soon.

SincerelyOlive Cooksey (wife of L. D. Cooksey)(Mrs. L. D. Cooksey)

DeStoop

Page 1:Sunday, May 30, 1943

Dear Mrs. Abele:

Please do not think I am being presumptuous in writing to you. Altho [sic-ck this] I am a stranger to you, I assure you, I feel as tho I’ve known you for a long time. My name is Mary M. Channell. My home is in Revere. I am 22 years old. I was am engaged to a man

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aboard your husband’s ship. When he left, a year ago, he was a torpedo man, 1C. On June 22nd 1942 I got word that he had made Chief.

Well, his name is probably unknown to you. The crew was new and therefore the names would be unfamiliar. Albert Edward DeStoop C.T., age 26. Father and Mother both dead. Home, about a mile from mine. In November, 1942 his 2nd “hitch” was up.

You see, I had been “his girl” for five years and waited until his rating was positive. He worked hard and I didn’t want to hold him back with a marriage that would have divided his attention when he was so near his goal – or “first real rating.” So – we saved our money. Picked out our rings: He gave me a beautiful mahogany lowboy hope chest.Oh, we knew what we wanted. We had our bank books and bonds. We laid our plans. He was my parent’s “God son” – and with his own gone, he considered them as his “Mum” and “Pop” – (a nickname he had for Dad.)

Our marriage was not going to be a foolish one to be rushed or laid on little or no foundation. Then the date was set. Mama and Daddy were married 25 years on the 17th of June, 1942. Ours was going to be started. We prayed for delayed sailing, but, he went.Sept 30 I guess everyone got some word. Then nothing for a long time. After Jan. 15, I started to receive mail back that I had sent. Then in March it stopped. Not all of it came back. Then the second week of this month I saw the clipping about the Navy Cross.Please, please tell me – just what does it mean” Do they know something” Mrs. Abele, you know how I feel. I am not as “brave, and strong” as American Women are supposed to be. Yes, I go along. There is nothing else to do. But – I love Al. I am lost without him.Everyone says that I “am young and healthy” and all that: yet I can’t, you know, I can’t just take that and put it aside. Nothing is definite.

Mrs. Abele, please, if you can tell me anything; if you can’t or won’t write it, may I visit you? A year has gone by. I have counted the day. I won’t give up hope. May I hear from you. Hopefully I remain, Just Mary.

“Just Mary” is one person that you just cannot forget. Mary died July 4, 2003, just three years before we located the Grunion and we “re-discovered” her.

Excerpt --Mrs. McCutcheon October 13, 1942

Dear Mrs. Abele,

…The news of Richard being missing was about the last straw, as our older son Donald was reported missing in the Philippines Area, May 13. To lose two of the finest sons in the world in less than five months is surely trying our souls to the breaking point. But we feel as you do, that we won’t give up hope until the news is final.

…My heart has been Navy for the last seven years, and even if my boys are gone, I still think Navy. I try not to grieve as my sons wouldn’t want me to, but oh how I want them

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back. Again, thanks for your kindness in writing us, and may I say that you and your sons are very brave, and pray we have more Americans like you.

Sincerely,Margaret McCutcheon(Mrs. G. McCutcheon)

None of these women survived to hear of Grunion’s discovery in 2006. Caroline

Surofcheck, wife of the ship’s cook who came on board at Pearl Harbor did, and in 2007,

Caroline attended a Grunion family gathering in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts. At

that gathering, there was a sense of having come full circle. We gathered at the Newton

Highlands Woman’s Club House—a clubhouse where Kay would have come to meetings

and activities, all with in walking distance from her home. Pictures of Caroline, her

daughter, granddaughter, and great, granddaughters affirm the connections of love,

family, and continuity. How amazing, that so many could come together in this particular

place to acknowledge the loss and celebrate the memories that bound each of us into a

larger Grunion family.

[Kiska Petals - Shionoda family – put in epilogue]

In what can only be felt as “grace note” to the terrible dirge of war, we would

later find healing and forgiveness meeting 90-year-old Chiyo Shinoda, wife of Isamu

Shinoda whose sub-chaser was sunk by USS Grunion. In 2008, from a story called

“Kiska Petals” we learned how the lives of the Shinoda family and the Abele family

collided in a fateful moment of war in 1942. Reunited in sympathy, in life and in

death, we would find compassion and friendship. These are not empty words….

Life without Jim - Christening ML Abele

Grunion was gone. It had disappeared without a trace, the unknown worse than

the loss it self. In one respect, the war was over for the Abele family, but grief would be

a constant presence as it was for so many; the search for information and the mending of

hearts would be an ongoing challenge. Unexpected reconciliation with children of war

like themselves would come, but not for more than sixty years. Far from everyday life in

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Newton Highlands, the war in the Pacific ground on. The Midway battle had given the

Japanese their first defeat, but three more years of bloody battles and catastrophic

losses were still to come. The “Silent Service” would play a vital role in the final

defeat of Japan, but it would be almost a year before submarines in the Pacific

reached their potential, crippling the economy of the island nation and destroying

her once proud fleet. [can this be improved]

Across America, shipyards and industrial manufacturing centers engaged in a

mighty effort to produce ships, airplanes, armored vehicles, guns and munitions to fight a

war on land and sea, and on two world fronts. At Electric Boat Company in Groton,

Connecticut, where Grunion had been launch in April, the Labor Management

Committee posted a bulletin headed “Grunion” Lost in Action, and urged workers to

increase production to replace “this ship of ours.” A half hour more per day by each

employee for 200 day would equal 1,000,000 man-hours. According to the Labor

Management board, “1,000,000 man hours will build another submarine to replace the

“Grunion” in addition to our regular production schedule.”

At the Bath Iron Works in Maine workers laid the keel for a 2200 ton destroyer on

Debember 9th, 1943. Completed early in April 1944 –roughly 130 days from start to

finish, this destroyer would be one of three ships launched that week at Bath. On April

23rd Kay christened the new destroyer USS Mannert L. Abele (DD-733). Quincy papers

[Quincy Patriot Ledger, April 17, 1944] celebrated a native son with the headline “New

Destroyer to be named for Lt. Comdr. Abele, Quincy Hero.” Later, The Boston Daily

Globe claimed “Destroyer Named for Newton Hero.” While not entirely accurate as Jim

never saw the new family home in Newton, it is easy to see Kay as a hero in her

husband’s stead, and the headline as a worthy acknowledgment of the shared honor.

Commissioning of the USS Mannert L. Abele took place at the Boston Navy Yard

two months later. Kay also took part in that ceremony, presenting a gift as Commander

Alton E. Parker assumed command of the ship. Eleven months later, a Japanese

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Kamikaze sank the Abele while on picket-duty off Okinawa. Her sinking was the first

successful sinking executed by a rocket-propelled manned, so-called Baka bomb.

The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka (櫻花 Ōka?, "cherry blossom"; 桜花 in modern shinjitai orthography) was a purpose-built, rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping kamikaze attack plane employed byJapan towards the end of World War II. United States sailors gave the aircraft the nickname Baka,(Japanese for "fool" or "idiot").

(Baka, meaning “idiot” or “stupid,” was coined to describe this suicide bomb, a weapon

of desperation.) The Abele earned two battle stars in her brief service; seventy-two

crewmen were lost in the sinking. As the war consumed resources – men and ships,

American service men continued the fight.

[Kay at christening MLAbele – bad scan – good picture: see also http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/0573309.jpg]

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[picture of family at launching, Bruce growing taller; uncle Arthur(died sept 12, 1944)]

Families tried to pick up the pieces, each in their own way committed to honoring

those who were lost. Jim’s pride in Kay was not misplaced. Her seriousness of purpose is

evident in the publicity photograph at the launch of the M. L. Abele, her pride and grief

forging a new identity. Those standing with Kay at the christening included Jim’s Uncles,

Arthur and George, his brother Trescott, her sister Fran, their spouses, and of course her

children—Bruce, grown so very tall, Brad, somewhat shy, and John, serious and focused,

even at the age of seven. His stance is eerily similar to that of three-year-old John

Kennedy in the 1962 image of the child’s salute as his father’s casket passed by. Like

John Kennedy, John Abele was too young to remember his father. Alton Parker,

prospective captain of the M. L. Abele was also there, standing at the far left of the

photograph beside Uncle Arthur, both in Navy uniform. [adjust - perhaps this goes

in the photo caption]

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And Jim would have been proud of his sons. Bruce was so much like him, fixing,

tinkering, making do, and passing these skills on to his younger brothers. Looking back,

Bruce sees it this way….

Being the oldest of the three brothers, I am the only one alive who really remembers

much about Jim…Our dad could and did fix anything and everything, a confidence and

an ability that he inspired in his three sons. I remember very well at age eleven that we

had a dripping faucet. I was assigned to fix it, the only guidance being that Jim showed

me how to first turn off the water. I fumbled around for several hours but finally

succeeded. That confidence, that lack of fear of attempting to fix anything, has served us

well…As youngsters not loaded with money, we would often salvage stuff and repair it.

From our point of view, it would provide another Christmas present.

Two years shore duty, ….?1936, and the year at Harvard, 1939-40 were treasured

opportunities for Jim to spend time with his children as by the end of 1940 he was

spending more and more time at sea. Brad was born in 1933; his memories are fewer,

but a child’s chair from Jim’s hand and stories of the dreaded hair clippers are evocative

reminders of his presence. [picture of chair hair clippers]

Although I was only nine years old when Jim left for the war, I can remember a

few things about him still. He was an exceptionally resourceful and excellent craftsman

and turned out numerous impressive works made of wood, using only the most basic of

tools. When he was not on duty, it seemed that what he loved most to do was to work

around the house or in his workshop area. It seemed as if he never enjoyed “relaxing”

in the traditional sense but would soon have to get up and start creating something…

The one amount of time he did allocate to each of his boys was when he would cut our

hair and tell us stories while doing so. I remember well that he used a hand clipper

that tended to pull the hair as he worked it, making the process rather uncomfortable for

us. (note: Jim Book, p. 21)

Jim and Kay were solid in their commitment to duty and to their family. Kay

carried on with the same positive, creative approach to life that they both shared.

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John’s predominant memories are of his mother.

I was five when I was infected with osteomyelitis in the same year that Jim was reported

missing. It was bad enough that I had multiple operations and spent long periods in the

hospital over a number of years. Mother had to juggle her busy schedule to visit and

several times had to make difficult decisions with several different doctors over the

least-worst options for her youngest son.

In between she taught violin, raised her kids and managed the limited

resources we had to deal with -- very well, I might add. She even helped us

start a company that made heavy-duty jigsaw puzzles for the Newton

[Massachusetts] School System when we were eight, twelve, and sixteen.

Her situation was not always recognized. There were three music teachers

in Newton, two male and mother. She was not happy when she learned that

the two males had been given raises because “they had families to

support.” And, of course, as wife of the Grunion’s commander she was

also mothering the grief-stricken loved ones of the other lost sailors on the

sub.

All the while, she had three sons who grew up building things and experimenting,

including playing with and developing our own explosives. Not many parents would

allow that today, but she trusted us to experiment carefully. And she was always there for

us. I’m embarrassed to say that I took it for granted. I thought that’s what mothers do.

Only much later, as I learned about what she had to do to hold things together, did I

begin to appreciate the enormity of the challenges she faced—challenges she managed

with understated grace and stoicism.

Teaching earned Kay a place in her community and many years later, when

Susan, Bruce’s wife, worked in the local historical society in Newton, people would call

and when they heard her name, would ask if she was related to Mrs. Abele who taught

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violin at the Hyde School. At first, Kay gave violin lesson at home and then in various

schools. The Hyde School String Ensemble, which she organized when she first began

teaching at Hyde in 1945, remained a signature achievement, prompting the comment

from a school administrator that the school’s reputation of being “the little conservatory

of the Newton schools” was in good measure due to her work. Concerning one of her

students, a parent wrote

We can’t ever begin to tell you how much we appreciate all you have done for Peter –

how much we appreciate your sincerity, your patience and all your hard work…I am

completely overwhelmed at your Hyde School Ensemble parties… the television

broadcast Saturday was a wonderful tribute to you and the work you are doing…Peter

respects and admires you and so do we… [Traynor, 1943]

Kay retired in June of 1968, after teaching for 23 years. Accepting her

resignation with sadness, James Remley, Director of Music for the Newton Schools,

offered “sincere thanks and gratitude” for her years of service. In his letter

acknowledging her resignation, he remarked thinly that what one does in retirement had

always been of interest to him. He hoped hers would be “enjoyable.” Love overcame

grief and she found enjoyment in family, in music, and in creative activities. It was not

the life she chose, but she made it worth living.

[Typescript re Hyde School String Ensemble, no author, no date

Edward and Rebecca Traynor to Mrs. Abele, June 7, 1953

James H. Remley to Mrs. MLA June 4, 1969]

During the years that she taught, Bruce, Brad, and John had gone to school,

graduated from high school and from college, married and begun families of their own;

predictably, seven grandchildren brought great joy. [picture] In retirement, she played in

a local orchestra and enjoyed going to Boston Symphony performances. She traveled

with friends, and continued to spend summers at the farm in Tiverton. She liked to paint,

she liked to go birding and she remained active until her sudden death at the age of 77 in

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October 1976. While in the throws of a fatal heart attack, she reminded us to look for

symphony tickets in her desk, and not let them go to waste.

[picture of barn painted by kay]

Condolence notes from Navy friends attested to lifelong bonds, forged in wartime

and renewed, especially at Christmas time. Fran McMahon reminiscing about their

friendship and about the challenges, marveled at just how little they had as they faced a

new uncharted life….[and what they accomplished – check her letter]

Dear Family of Kay Abele,

…I keep remembering all the difficult things Kay was called on to do as the skipper’s wife in ’42 when Grunion was lost – all the letters she wrote to every single next-of-kin of the crew…And how little money your Mom had: Just that darn $10,000 G.I. insurance. No other insurance as your father was deemed “uninsurable because of that awful S-boat battery explosion. And in early ’42 the Navy had no policy for crews carried as “missing”. (note about 1943 date) After a while, a long while they decided to pay full pay for a year and a day, then nothing…And do you know how much the G.I. insurance was? $55 a moth for twenty years, not exactly riches – but guess it kept us all in peanut butter. … though we saw each other seldom over the years, we shared an enduring and sustaining friendship…

(Fran’s allotment may have been $55, According to Brad, Kay’s allotment was $46.) double check this…

Kay never remarried. Fran did, but in both families lost ones were never far from

mind and memories could surface unexpectedly and with raw emotion. Susan first heard

about the Abele family and the loss of the Grunion in 1950 when she was ten years old.

Her Aunt Elsa Badger lived in Newton Highlands and had become friendly with Kay—

Mrs. Abele at that time. Thiers’s was another enduring friendship that ended only in

death. Although Susan did not meet Mrs. Abele or her sons for many years, she knew the

tragic story; she did not experience the raw grief until 1986.

Bruce and I married in 1966—to my Aunt Elsa’s great delight. We had two sons,

and a home in Newton, not far from the Mountfort Road house where Bruce had grown

up. On Sunday, December 7, 1986 Bruce, then 43, was watching the evening news, when

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the commentator began to report on the 44th anniversary the Japanese attack on Pearl

Harbor

Our sons Kurt, age 16 and Karl, almost 12, came to the table for supper. As we

sat down, Bruce, blurted out in a grim voice, strangled by emotion, that he remembered

the day of the attack; that his father had left the following day for the Pacific; and that he

never saw him again. Never one to show emotion, his words stunned us. I realized that

he had conflated the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7th with his father’s actual

departure from New London in May, six month’s later, but in the face of such anguish

was powerless to speak or give comfort. Bruce said nothing more. We ate in silence and

did not speak of that night for many years.

The grim idea that men do not cry, that stoicism could protect one from the pain

of such loss, had become a way of life for Bruce. Deep emotion did not creep to the

surface again until we found the Grunion.

Brad and the Jim Book

Brad oversaw the settlement of Kay’s estate, Bruce, the sale of the house that had

been her home since the fateful summer of 1942. We all helped to clear out the house,

but were more or less unaware of the extent or content of the family papers that Kay had

saved. In the early 1990s, Brad began to go through these papers—documents

delineating Jim’s career in the Navy, correspondence between Jim and Kay, letters from

Grunion crew members families, photo albums and other paper ephemera that told their

story of Navy family life. Nevertheless, he still had questions. He mulled over the words

of the two telegrams notifying the family of the loss of USS Grunion and subsequent

official communications from then Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox. One states that

Jim’s death “is presumed to have occurred on 2 August 1943, which is the day following

the day of expiration of an absence of twelve months, ” and ended with the all too

familiar war-time condolences. [Knox to Mrs. MLA, 7 Sept. 1943]

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A month later, a second letter—absent of fact or mitigating circumstance, reiterates that

“In compliance with Sec.5 of Public Law 490, as amended, death is presumed to have

occurred on 2 August 1943; place Alaska – Pacific area, Cause: loss of ship – not enemy

actions.” Opaque bureaucratic words, “Cause: loss of ship – not enemy action” haunted

Brad, and he began his own search for answers. [pps 8-9 Jim book – get citation from

letter for bib 9 oct 43]

At the war ground on, writers began to record the history of wartime experience

in fact and in fiction. On a very personal note, one of the earliest, a fictionalized story -

“Rig for Depth Charges!” The Career of a Young Naval Office on Submarine Duty, was

written by Jim’s friend and colleague Edward E. Hazlett, Captain, U.S.N.(ret.) The main

character was modeled on Jim. In September 1945, Hazlett sent the first copy of his book

to the Abele family.

Dear Kay,

This story was finished, and half printed, more than two years ago. I bent over backwards to avoid confidential matters, but just the same I ran afoul of the censors, who would permit nothing ever pertaining to submarines to pass….

Naturally, the first author’s copy goes to your boys…in writing…I was handicapped by a very decided lump in my throat…

The dedication read “To an ace Submariner, a fine man and a true friend, Lieutenant Commander Mannert L. (Jim) Abele, United States Navy.”

Extensive reviews of US and Japanese Naval records made by the Navy after the

war became the foundation of several histories that attempted to give a full and account

of submarine warfare in the Pacific. Captain Richard G. Voge’s 1500 page “operational

history of submarines” became the classic history – United States Submarine Operations

in World War II by Theodore Roscoe, published in 1949. Roscoe recounts what was

know of Grunion’s loss, as does Clay Blair in Silent Victory, The U.S. Submarine War

Against Japan published in 1975. Both books are far ranging in their coverage regarding

the successes and failures of Naval operations, the torpedo scandal, and the best possible

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analysis of losses. Together they provide an in depth history of submarine operations in

WWII, but no further indication of how or why the Grunion disappeared.

Brad also read Samuel Eliot Morison’s History of United States Naval Operations

in World War II, which provided additional narrative detail, not found in the other books.

Volume 7 of Morison’s History (1951) was the first published source to connect Grunion

to an attack on a Japanese cargo ship, the Kano Maru. In his book, The Aleutian

Warriors (1990), John Cloe published a photo of the Kano Maru beached at Kiska, with

text crediting Commander Abele for the damage. Cloe’s source for this information was

Morison, Volume 7, but Brad had no way to evaluate the importance of that information.

In October 1996 Brad wrote a letter to the US Submarine Veterans of WWII,

which they published in their organization’s magazine Polaris. His questions were

primarily about operational details—details that might have caused internal failure of the

sub. The responses were wide ranging and thought provoking, especially one from Cmdr.

Edward L. Beach, U.S.N. (ret.). Beach provided a partial transcription of an unrecorded

report from USS Grunion, which Brad had never seen and which not recorded at Dutch

Harbor. In the description of Grunion’s first war patrol, we quote that message in full.

This tantalizing message only added to the mystery.

In his description of the message, Beach went on to say: She might even have been sunk

through a circular run of one of her own torpedoes. Statistically, I figure, we may have

lost a s many as eight of our boats to circularly running torpedoes (we had survivors

from seven lost boats, and two of those seven were sunk by their own torpedoes; I

personally have had three circular runs on me, and two exploded over head as we were

frantically clawing for more depth.

[ELB to BLA, 12 Feb. 1997, Abele papers etc]

[also article by ELB “Culpable Negligence.”]

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Another letter—from George Herold , one of two men who remembered Grunion

crewmember Al Ulman*, provided a first hand description of the war-time experience

from a sailor’s point of view:

20 Feb 1997

Dear Mr. Abele,

I’m sorry that I cannot shed any light on the loss of your Dad’s boat (GRUNION)

other than the fact that we (FINBACK) were in the same area at that time, probably

closer than 100 miles. The weather was rotten 80% of the time, fog, rain, mist, overcast,

the works. The coastal charts, information to Mariners and geodetic survey data were all

not up to date, maybe even five years old. I remember our navigator on the S-27 saying

this.

I lost a good friend on the GRUNION, Al Ullman. He and I were in submarine

School together (October 1941). I was 17 at the time and in awe of this guy. He was

maybe 20 and had a couple of years in the Navy. I was fresh out of Boot Camp, having

enlisted in May. He had just transferred from the battleship USS TENNESSEE.

…I will say this, though, when the weather was clear, summer in the Aleutians

was beautiful….

Mahalo,

Geroge Herold**

[*For Al Ullman, see citation for Sub Duty; **for George Herold’s story- see new book

by Reardon (Reardon, 68-75)]

Brad incorporated details from these letters in the first edition of his carefully

reasoned “Jim book,” which the family read in 2000-01. He reviewed questions and

posed several hypotheses for the loss, but still he could only speculate, as others did,

about the fate of the USS Grunion and he had little reason to consider the story of the

Kano Maru.

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999info.net grunion book for review/chapter 2 ...w… · web viewmacintosh hd...

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