This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Van Woggelum, Marshall F., EN3.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Perth Amboy
Casualty Date Jul 30, 1942
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Lost At Sea-Unrecovered
Location Alaska
Location of Interment Buried at Sea, Pacific Ocean
Aleutians Islands Campaign (1942-43)/Invasion & Occupation on Kiska
From Month/Year
June / 1943
To Month/Year
June / 1943
Description The final step in recovery of the Aleutian Islands
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
June / 1943
To Month/Year
June / 1943
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Departing Hawaii on 30 June after ten days of intensive training, Grunion touched Midway Island before heading toward the Aleutian Islands for her first war patrol. Her first report, made as she patrolled north of Kiska Island, stated she had been attacked by a Japanese destroyer and had fired at her with inconclusive results. She operated off Kiska throughout July and sank two enemy patrol boats while in search for enemy shipping. On 30 July the submarine reported intensive antisubmarine activity, and she was ordered back to Dutch Harbor.
Grunion was never heard from nor seen again. Air searches off Kiska were fruitless; and on 5 October Grunion was reported overdue from patrol and assumed lost with all hands. Her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 November 1942. Captured Japanese records show no antisubmarine attacks in the Kiska area, and the fate of Grunion remained a mystery for 65 years until discovery in the Bering Sea in August 2007 of a wreck believed to be the boat. In October 2008, the U.S. Navy verified that the wreck is the Grunion.[6] The reason for her sinking is still not known, though there are two possible explanations.
