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For meritorious conduct as a member of the crew of the U.S.S. GRUNION which destroyed three enemy destroyers while engaged in a war patrol in enemy controlled waters. Despite severe and persistent anti-submarine measures resulting from these three successful attacks, the GRUNION was brought safely through the counter attacks and continued an aggressive war patrol. As a member of the crew of the GRUNION, your performance of duty was an important and material contribution to the prosecution of this war.
Comments/Citation:
Chester Lewis Bouvia was born October 3, 1902 in Savanna, Carroll county, Illinois, son of Elmer Lewis and Margaret (Habnick) Bouvia. He had one brother. His family resided in Old Mill Park, east of Savanna. Chester had three years of high school education.
He entered the Navy in 1923, and re-enlisted September 5, 1939. He married Helen Krumviede and they had one daughter. Over the years he served aboard many ships: USS Texas (BB-35); USS Ontario (AT-13); USS R-10 (SS-87); USS R-1 (SS-78); USS Wyoming (BB-32); USS Arkansas (BB-33); USS Ranger (CV-4); USS Shaw (DD-375); USS Chester (CA-27) and USS R-6 (SS-83).
Chester reported aboard USS Grunion (SS-216) on April 11, 1942 as a Machinist’s Mate 1st class. Grunion arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 20, 1942. The vessel completed pre-patrol training before departing on its first war patrol June 30. Grunion’s commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Abele, was ordered to proceed to the Aleutian Islands and patrol westward from Attu on routes between the Aleutians and the Japanese Empire. On July 10, Grunion was reassigned to the area north of Kiska. Over the next 20 days, the submarine reported firing on an enemy destroyer, sinking three destroyer-type vessels, and attacking unidentified enemy ships near Kiska.
Grunion’s last transmission was received on July 30, 1942. The submarine reported heavy antisubmarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes remaining forward. On the same day, Grunion was directed to return to Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base. There was no contact or sighting of the submarine after July 30, and on August 16, Grunion was reported lost.
After discovering information on the internet in 2002 that helped pinpoint USS Grunion’s possible location, the sons of Grunion’s commanding officer, Bruce, Brad, and John Abele, began working on a plan to find the submarine. In August 2006, a team of side scan sonar experts located a target near Kiska almost a mile below the ocean’s surface. A second expedition in August 2007 using a high definition camera on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) yielded video footage and high resolution photos of the wreckage of a U.S. fleet submarine, later confirmed by Commander, Submarine Forces Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) as Grunion.
MM1 Chester L. Bouvia’s name appears on the Courts of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii. A memorial marker is in Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island, Illinois.
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.
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1934-1934, MM-0000, Naval Air Station (NAS) Norfolk, VA
