If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Wharton, NJ
Last Address Brockton, PA
Casualty Date Apr 18, 1944
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii
Wall/Plot Coordinates Court 1 (cenotaph)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On 4 April 1944, USS Gudgeon (SS-211) set out from Pearl Harbor to begin her twelfth war patrol. She topped off her fuel tanks at Johnston Island three days later and was never heard from again. After a postwar examination of Japanese records, officials concluded that Gudgeon was probably lost on 18 April after being spotted by a Japanese aircraft on anti-submarine patrol about 170 miles southeast of Iwo Jima. After observing the boat coming to the surface the pilot dropped two bombs. "The first bomb hit a bow, the second bomb direct on bridge," the report states. "The center of the submarine burst open and oil pillars rose." She sank quickly and the pilot observed evidence of a massive underwater explosion. S1c Piller was among the crew and his body was never recovered.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 7102400
Submarine combat patrols:
USS Nautilus (SS-168) - 6th and 7th
USS Gudgeon (SS-211) - 12th
The information contained in this profile was compiled from various internet sources.
