Thew, Richard Ridley, FC1c

Fallen
 
 Service Photo   Service Details
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Last Rate
Fire Controlman 1st Class
Last Primary NEC
FC-0000-Fire Controlman
Last Rating/NEC Group
Fire Controlman
Primary Unit
1940-1942, FC-0000, USS Shark (SS-174)
Service Years
1938 - 1942
FC-Fire Controlman

 Last Photo   Personal Details 

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Home State
California
California
Year of Birth
1917
 
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Casualty Info
Home Town
Los Angeles, CA
Last Address
1819 North Cogswell Rd
District of Columbia

Casualty Date
Feb 11, 1942
 
Cause
KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason
Other Explosive Device
Location
Pacific Ocean
Conflict
World War II
Location of Interment
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial - Manila, Philippines
Wall/Plot Coordinates
(cenotaph)

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 Additional Information
Last Known Activity:


The USS Shark (SS-174) departed Manila on 9 December 1941, was ordered back on 19 December. She embarked again reported on 7 February 1942 that she was pursuing a Japanese cargo ship. She was never heard from again. She was presumed lost on 7 March 1942. Fire Controlman, First Class Thew was listed as missing in action and later declared dead 16 February 1943.

   
Comments/Citation:

Richard Ridley Thew was born October 18, 1917 in Los Angeles, California, son of Richard Henry and Esther Grace (Prior) Thew. He had one brother, Richard, who served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during WWII on USS Houston, and was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese. He also had a sister, Mary. In 1920 the family lived in Catuenga, in Los Angeles county, where his father worked as a lineman for the telephone company. He was baptized February 6, 1927 at Glendale, California. By 1929 his family had moved to Langell Valley, Klamath county, Oregon, where his father farmed. Richard was confirmed on May 12, 1929 in the protestant Episcopal Church at Klamath Falls. He attended Bonanza High School in Klamath county. He would later marry Helen Marie McCarthy.
 
On October 15, 1938 Richard entered the Navy at San Pedro, California. From 1938 to 1939 he served aboard USS Colorado (BB-45) as Fire Controlman 2nd class. From 1939 to 1940 he served aboard USS Cuttlefish (SS-171) as Fire Controlman 1st class.
 
November 23, 1940 he reported aboard USS Shark (SS-174). Following operations in the Hawaii area, Shark set sail from Pearl Harbor on 3 December 1940 to join the Asiatic Fleet based at Manila, where she engaged in fleet tactics and exercises until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Departing Manila on 9 December 1941 she was at sea during the Japanese bombing raids on Manila the next day. For the next week, Shark patrolled Tayabas Bay until ordered back to Manila on 19 December to embark Admiral Thomas C. Hart, Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, for transportation to Soerabaja, Java.
 
On 6 January 1942, Shark was almost hit with a torpedo from an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine. A few days later, she was ordered to Ambon Island, where an enemy invasion was expected. On 27 January, she was directed to join the submarines patrolling in Strait of Malacca, then to cover the passage east of Lifamatola and Bangka Strait. On 2 February, Shark reported to her base at Soerabaja that she had been depth-charged 10 mi (16 km) off Tifore Island and had failed to sink a Japanese ship during a torpedo attack. Five days later, she reported chasing an empty cargo ship headed northwest. No further messages were received from Shark. On 8 February, she was told to proceed to Makassar Strait and later was told to report information. Nothing was heard and, on 7 March, Shark was reported as presumed lost, the victim of unknown causes, the first American submarine lost to enemy anti-submarine warfare. A Japanese report of anti-submarine attacks available now records at least three attacks, which might have been on Shark.
 
Richardâ??s parents were notified of him being missing in action, and of his brother being MIA, within four days of each other. His father wrote to the recruiting officer in the Los Angeles District, volunteering his services. [My sons] â??gave their all, but it was not enough. We still have a war to fight.â?? He offered to work in the office, without pay. In August 1942, using his own funds and contributions from the Telephone Pioneers, he organized and supplied a wood working program in the occupational therapy department at the US Naval Hospital at Corona, California.
 
FC1 Richard R. Thewâ??s name appears on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Philippines and on the USS Shark (SS-174) Memorial in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
 
References:
Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905-1995
1920; Census Place: Cahuenga, Los Angeles, California; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 33
1930; Census Place: Langell Valley, Klamath, Oregon; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0039
Ancestry.com. Oregon, U.S., Church and Cemetery Records, 1840-1965
https://www.oneternalpatrol.com/thew-r-r.htm
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10303537/richard-ridley-thew
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56758055/richard-ridley-thew
Ancestry.com. U.S., Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941
https://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-shark-174-loss.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shark_(SS-174)
U.S. Submarine Losses World War II, NAVPERS 15,784, 1949 ISSUE
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949
The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA: Mar, 22,1942, p.29; April 27, 1942, p.20; Aug. 7, 1942, p.18
The Klamath News, Klamath Falls, OR: Mar. 20, 1942, p.1
 
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.
 
If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at sgould557@gmail.com.
 
Service number: 3808943
Submarine war patrols: USS Shark (SS-174) - 1st
 

   
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  1940-1942, FC-0000, USS Shark (SS-174)

FC-Fire Controlman

From Month/Year
November / 1940

To Month/Year
February / 1942

Unit
USS Shark (SS-174) Unit Page

Rank
Fire Controlman 1st Class

NEC
FC-0000-Fire Controlman

Base, Station or City
Not Specified

State/Country
Not Specified
 
 
 Patch
 USS Shark (SS-174) Details

USS Shark (SS-174)
Hull number SS-174

Type
Sub-Surface Vessel
 

Parent Unit
Submarines

Strength
Submarine

Created/Owned By
Not Specified
   

Last Updated: Sep 19, 2022
   
   
Yearbook
 
My Photos For This Unit
USS Shark (SS-174)
61 Members Also There at Same Time
USS Shark (SS-174)

Wilson, Robert Archibald, PO1, (1936-1945) FC FC-0000 Fire Controlman 1st Class
Shane, Louis, LCDR, (1926-1942) 00 00X Lieutenant Commander
Cassidy, Earl William, LT, (1937-1942) 00 00X Lieutenant
Coye, John Starr, RADM, (1933-1968) OFF 00X Lieutenant
Denby, Edwin, LT, (1935-1942) 00 00X Lieutenant
Dillen, Roscoe Franklin, LT, (1935-1942) 00 00X Lieutenant
Moran, Arthur Patrick, ENS, (1932-1942) 00 00X Ensign
Philabert, Frank Florestine, ENS, (1940-1942) OFF 00X Ensign
Smith, John Howell, CPO, (1933-1942) EM EM-0000 Chief Petty Officer
Blanchard, Walter Raleigh, CPO, (1920-1942) TM TM-0000 Chief Petty Officer
Gilman, Merrill Ray, CPO, (1937-1942) MM MM-0000 Chief Petty Officer
Jeffreys, Romie Lloyd, CPO, (1930-1942) MM MM-0000 Chief Petty Officer
Pettit, Robert Lee, CPO, (1933-1942) MM MM-0000 Chief Petty Officer
Pilgram, Walter Edward, CPO, (1938-1942) EM EM-0000 Chief Petty Officer
Ejaype, Paulino, PO1, (1938-1942) OS OS-0000 Petty Officer First Class
Hamilton, John, LTJG, (1923-1946) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer First Class
Bolton, John Alden, PO1, (1930-1942) RM RM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Byus, Grady G., PO1, (1934-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Croft, Albert Edward, PO1, (1939-1942) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Estes, Roland Ashby, PO1, (1935-1942) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Evans, Truman Floyd, PO1, (1936-1942) TM TM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Farrell, Fred Howell, PO1, (1936-1942) TM TM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Fruit, Albert David, PO1, (1935-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Gimenez, Pedro, PO1, (1933-1942) SC SC-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Jones, Clifford Earl, PO1, (1939-1942) TM TM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Lund, Arnold Raymond, PO1, (1935-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Morris, Fred Joseph, PO1, (1930-1942) SM SM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Striegler, Herman Frederick, PO1, (1936-1942) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
Turoczy, John Alfred, PO1, (1933-1942) SC SC-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
White, James Kenneth, PO1, (1938-1942) GM GM-0000 Petty Officer 1st Class
McKinney, Kenneth Ernest, PO2, (1939-1942) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer Second Class
Yanks, Charles Robert, PO2, (1938-1942) SM SM-0000 Petty Officer Second Class
Cooley, John Paul, PO2, (1938-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Dawson, William Thomas, PO2, (1936-1942) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Evans, Ferdinand Alois, PO2, (1937-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Laughlin, Thomas Phillip, PO2, (1933-1942) 00 TM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Lester, Jesse Augustus, PO2, (1939-1942) PhM PhM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Lidgerding, William Charles, PO2, (1939-1942) RM RM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
McElroy, Rex Edgar, PO2, (1939-1942) EM EM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Myer, Warren Hasting, PO2, (1938-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Pechacek, Ermin Jospeh, PO2, (1938-1942) SM SM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Porter, Willis Woodrow, CPO, (1936-1944) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Sandmann, Karl Lother, PO2, (1937-1942) YN YN-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Schmitt, Henry Louis, PO2, (1935-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Warren, Roland Henry, PO2, (1934-1942) MM MM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Zeorlin, Harold Reynold, PO2, (1939-1942) TM TM-0000 Petty Officer 2nd Class
Fabra, Agapito, PO3, (1935-1942) OS OS-0000 Petty Officer Third Class
Hansen, Louis, CPO TM TM-0000 Petty Officer Third Class
Worsham, John Murry, PO3, (1940-1942) TM TM-0000 Petty Officer Third Class
Spilman, Thomas Ponchard, PO3, (1938-1942) RM RM-0000 Petty Officer 3rd Class
Brannan, Thomas Leo, S1c, (1939-1942) S1c S1c-0000 Seaman First Class
Glass, Lawrence Carlton, S1c, (1940-1942) S1c S1c-0000 Seaman First Class
Perkins, Avery Evander, S1c, (1940-1942) S1c S1c-0000 Seaman First Class
Stephens, Robert Houston, S1c, (1936-1942) S1c S1c-0000 Seaman First Class
Iverson, James Andrew, F1c, (1938-1942) F1c F1c-0000 Fireman First Class
Crawford, Billy Brant, F3c, (1940-1942) F3c F3c-0000 Fireman 3rd Class
Johnston, James Edward, F2c, (1940-1942) F2c F2c-0000 Fireman Second Class
Markin, Loran Robert, F2c, (1940-1942) F2c F2c-0000 Fireman Second Class
Miller, Robert Francis, F2c, (1940-1942) F2c F2c-0000 Fireman Second Class

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