Comments/Citation:
Herbert Joseph Arvan was born May 1, 1924 in New Iberia, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, son of Delton and Albertia Arvan. His family lived in New Iberia, where his father worked as a brakeman for the Missouri Pacific Lines steam railroad. Herbert had one brother, Fulton, who served with the Army during WWII. He had a grade school education.
Soon after Pearl Harbor, on December 16, 1941, Herbert entered the Naval Reserves at New Orleans, Louisiana. His basic training was at the US Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia. As a Mess Attendant, he served aboard USS O-4 (SS-65), USS S-48 (SS-159) and USS S-20 (SS-125), before reporting aboard USS Grunion (SS-216) on May 23, 1942.
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) to be Grunion.
Herbert J. Arvan’s name appears on the Courts of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii. A memorial stone is in Dayton National Cemetery, Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio.
References:
1930; Census Place: New Iberia, Iberia, Louisiana; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0012
1940; Census Place: New Iberia, Iberia, Louisiana; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 23-10
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
https://www.oneternalpatrol.com/arvan-h-j.htm
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56114265/herbert-joseph-arvan
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103690626/herbert-joseph-arvan
Ancestry.com. U.S., Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941
US Submarine Losses WWII
United States Submarine Veterans of WWII, V.2,Taylor Pub., Texas, 1987
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949
The DeQuincy News, DeQuincy, LA: Oct. 9, 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.
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