This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Wilks, Ferris Washington, TM1.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Olympia,WA
Last Address Olympia,WA
Casualty Date Feb 04, 1945
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Lost At Sea-Unrecovered
Location Pacific Ocean
Location of Interment Manila American Cemetery - Taguig City, Philippines
Wall/Plot Coordinates Tablets of the Missing (cenotaph)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On 3 February BARBEL sent a message to GABILAN, USS TUNA (SS-203), and USS BLACKFIN (SS-322) stating that she had been bombed by enemy aircraft three times that day and would transmit again the following night with more information. But no transmission came. On 6 February, TUNA indicated that she had been unable to raise BARBEL for 48 hours and requested a rendezvous with her sister sub on the following day. BARBEL didn’t show. The navy declared her overdue and presumed lost on 16 February, the day on which she was scheduled to leave her patrol area.
Japanese records examined after the war state that on 4 February a plane dropped two bombs on a surfaced sub, scoring one hit near the bridge. The crew of the aircraft watched the sub, on fire, plunge beneath the waves. It did not return to the surface. It is almost certain that the sub was BARBEL.
Eighty-one men were lost with their boat, the recipient of three battle stars for her World War II service
Image
Navy Good Conduct Medal - 1943
Name of Award Navy Good Conduct Medal
Year Awarded 1943
Last Updated: Feb 6, 2015
This ribbon will display Multiple Award devices automatically based on the total number of awards listed
