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Casualty Info
Home Town Annapolis, MD
Last Address Washington, DC
Casualty Date Jul 26, 1944
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
Wall/Plot Coordinates (memorial marker)
Military Service Number 74 869
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
LCDR Kimmel, was the Commanding Officer of the USS Robalo (SS-273) when it was sunk on July 26, 1944. Unsubstatiated reports state that he survived the sinking and was taken prisoner by the Japanese; however, there are no official records to support the claim. He was listed as missing in action and later declared dead.
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Treasury-Bougainville Operation
From Month/Year
October / 1943
To Month/Year
December / 1943
Description The Bougainville campaign (Operation Cherry Blossom) was fought by the Allies in the South Pacific during World War II to regain control of the island of Bougainville from the Japanese forces who had occupied it in 1942. During their occupation the Japanese constructed naval aircraft bases in the north, east, and south of the island; but none in the west. They developed a naval anchorage at Tonolei Harbor near Buin, their largest base, on the southern coastal plain of Bougainville. On the nearby Treasury and Shortland Islands they built airfields, naval bases and anchorages. These bases helped protect Rabaul, the major Japanese garrison and naval base in Papua New Guinea, while allowing continued expansion to the south-east, down the Solomon Islands chain, to Guadalcanal.
The Allied campaign, which had two distinct phases, began on 1 November 1943 and ended on 21 August 1945, with the surrender of the Japanese.
Before the war, Bougainville had been administered as part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea, even though, geographically, Bougainville is part of the Solomon Islands chain. The United Kingdom and Germany had traded it for another islands territory which became British rather than German. As a result, the campaign is referred to as part of both the New Guinea and the Solomon Islands campaigns.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
October / 1943
To Month/Year
October / 1943
Last Updated: Jul 26, 2022
Personal Memories
Memories Aboard USS Raton (SS-270) during first war patrol Occupation and Defense of Cape Torokina (11/1 - 12/15/1943
