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Casualty Info
Home Town Santa Rita, NM
Last Address 518 N 25 St Corvallis, Oregon (Wife~Elizabeth Willard Cox)
Casualty Date Oct 03, 1944
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Lost At Sea-Unrecovered
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Manila American Cemetery - Taguig City, Philippines
Wall/Plot Coordinates Walls of the Missing (Cenotaph)
Seawolf left Brisbane on 21 September 1944 beginning her 15th patrol, and arrived at Manus on 29 September. Leaving Manus on the same day, Seawolf was directed to carry certain stores and Army personnel to the east coast of Samar.
On 3 October Seawolf and Narwhal exchanged SJ [Surface search radar for submarines] radar recognition signals at 0756. Later the same day an enemy submarine attack was made at 2°-32'N, 129°-18'E, which resulted in the sinking of U.S.S. Shelton (DE407). Since there were four friendly submarines in the vicinity of this attack, they were directed to give their positions, and the other three did, but Seawolf was not heard from. On 4 October, Seawolf again was directed to report her position, and again she failed to.
U.S.S. Rowell (DE403) and an aircraft attacked a submarine in the vicinity of the attack on Shelton, having at that time no knowledge of any friendly submarines in the area, and it was thought that Seawolf must be held down by these antisubmarine activities. It is possible that Seawolf was the submarine attacked.
The report from Rowell indicates that an apparently lethal attack was conducted in conjunction with a plane which marked the spot with dye. Rowell established sound contact on the submarine, which then sent long dashes and dots whichRowell stated bore no resemblance to the existing recognition signals. After one of the several hedgehog attacks a small amount of debris and a large air bubble were seen. It has been established that the Japanese submarine RO-41 sankShelton on 3 October, and was able to return to Japan.
In view of the above facts, and the fact that there is no attack listed in the Japanese report of antisubmarine attacks which could account for the loss of Seawolf, it is possible that Seawolf was sunk by friendly forces in an antisubmarine attack on 3 October 1944, in the vicinity of 02°-32'N, 129°-18'E.
It is also possible that she was lost due to an operational casualty or as a result of an unrecorded enemy attack.
