James M. Fitzgerald - World War II
- S.S. Fitzgerald
- 6 days ago
- 10 min read
Occasionally through time, generations, the reality of war stories get lost. I never had the pleasure of meeting my paternal grandfather. I only knew him through stories provided by my father. Yet these stories, were second hand from his own childhood as my father was born after the end of World War II.
I wanted to document my grandfather's true story the best I could. As a child, I was told my grandfather served on the USS Bowfin, a famous submarine currently on display in Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii. I found a book documenting the service of The USS Bowfin, and purchased it to learn more about my grandfather. In the back of the book, all those who served on the submarine during World War II were listed. To my shock, my grandfather was not there!
I am sure there was an issue with how I received the story, and the method (giant game of telephone). Thankfully, The National Archives and their department of National Personnel Records Center have a service to request records for family members. I reached out, sent a request, and did not hear back for more than 7 months in 2023. I thought for sure they either ignored me or could not verify my family lineage. To my surprise, nearly 13 months after I requested the records, I received more than 200 pages of my grandfather's service.
I want to share information here and paint a picture of one man in the millions who served in a terrible global conflict. I want to show how stories are misconstrued or lost in time. In an effort to combat this loss of history, I catalogued my grandfather's service here.
This work started 12/8/2024. I went through pages, removing duplicates, organizing, and removing information that were too personal to share.
Please note that in names of vessels, awards, or rates, they are as shown on the record. There is no standard in capitalization or how punctuation is used, or there was no effort to correct these mistakes. I wanted these shown "as is" to reflect the source documents. You will also see changes in how the date format is reflected (numbers vs using the month). This is also how the documents are reflected, and I kept that in my own documentation below.
Summary of Service
Singed A.C Iles, CHSCLK, USN - Personnel Officer
Vessel or Station | From | To | Rate |
USNTS San Diego, Calif. | 13 May 1938 | 17 August 1938 | AS |
U.S.S. Trenton | 27 Aug. 1938 | 17 September 1940 | Flc |
U.S.S. Arizona (FFT) | 30 Sept. 1940 | 14 Oct. 1940 | Flc |
U.S.S. Henley | 14 Oct. 1940 | 12 Apr. 1943 | MM1c |
U.S.S. Phoenix | 12 April 1943 | 15 Apr. 1943 | MM1c |
U.S.S. Fulton | 15 April 1943 | 28 April 1943 | MM1c |
U.S.S. Henley | 28 April 1943 | 10 June 1943 | MM1c |
Rec. Sta. EPIC | 10 June 1943 | 30 July 1943 | MM1c |
S/M Base NLCT | 30 July 1943 | 28 Dec. 1943 | MM1c |
U.S.S. Euryale | 28 Dec. 1943 | 7 March 1943 | MoMM1c |
USS Bashaw (CSD 182 Rel Crew) | 7 March 1943 | 9 May 1943 | MoMM1c |
USS bream (SS243) | 5-11-44 | 2-24-45 | MOMM1, CMOMM |
SubDiv 181 (R.C) | 2-24-45 | 10-1-45 | CMOMM |
SubDiv 131 | 10-1-45 | 12-10-45 | CMOMM |
USS Apogon (SS308) | 1-10-46 | 1-15-46 | CMOMM |
RecSta., TI, San Pedro, Cal. | 1-30-46 | 1-30-46 | CMOMM |
USS Redfish (SS395) | 4-5-46 | 5-9-46 | CMOMM |
NavHos, San Diego, Calif. | 5-9-46 | 5-14-46 | CMOMM |
USS Redfish (SS395) | 5-14-46 | 8-26-46 | CMOMM |
RecSta., San Diego, Calif. | 8-26-46 | 9-12-46 | CMOMM |
USS Typhon (ARL28) | 10-3-46 | 4-4-47 | CMOMM |
USS Stentor (ARL26) | 4-22-47 | 12-23-47 | CMOMM |
Subgrpthree, SDG, PA CrestFLT | 12-23-47 | 2-26-48 | CMOMM |
USS Bowfin (SS287) | 3-21-52 | 7-18-53 | ENC |
USS Nereus (AS17) | 7-30-53 | 29 Sep 1953 | ENC |
USS Bugara (SS331) | 30 Sep 1953 | 12-30-54 | ENC |
The above is a snapshot of the end of my grandfather's service. All typographs are duplicates from the original, so I'm sorry for any lines that don't make perfect sense. Part of what my father told me here is correct, my grandfather, James M. Fitzgerald was a Chief. As far as I can tell, CMOMM stands for Chief Motor Machinist's Mate.
According to the above, my grandfather was at Pearl Harbor!
Pearl Harbor - U.S.S. Henley (DD-391)
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, Henley was moored in East Loch with battle stations manned, a green sailor having sounded general quarters instead of quarters for muster. This fortunate mistake gave Henley under the command of Lieutenant Francis Edward Fleck, Jr., the opportunity to fire the first destroyer shots as the initial wave of enemy planes swooped in. A bomb exploded 150 yards off her port bow as she slipped her chain from the buoy, and, as she cleared, she received a signal that a submarine was in the harbor. Henley maneuvered through the smoke, fire, and confusion and sped out of the channel. Her gunners shot down one dive bomber with her .50 cal. guns and shared credit for another. Conned by Fleck—both her commanding officer and executive officer were ashore when the attack began—Henley dropped depth charges on a sonar contact, possibly a midget submarine, outside the harbor, and continued to blaze away at the enemy with her guns. In the following weeks Henley operated with the task forces to reinforce Wake Island and conducted patrol for the protection of Midway and convoy lanes.
USS Bream
For his role on USS Bream (SS243) records show he was assigned to fill a vacancy on the submarine. This was a quick transfer as the document is dated 9 May 1944 which my grandfather reported on 11 May 1944. Reading about the USS Bream, this transfer must have taken place in Australia as the ship was docked there 8 May 1944. How or why my grandfather found himself in this situation is not made clear in the records.
USS Bream - War Patrol 1
On 1 June 1944, Bream got underway for her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the vicinity of Halmahera Island. She made several contacts with Japanese vessels in Morotai Strait, but conditions prevented her from taking any offensive action. Her luck changed on 8 June 1944, however, when she spotted a Japanese convoy, selected a transport as a target, and unleashed a six-torpedo spread. Members of Bream′s crew heard one loud explosion before she went deep. Several depth charges detonated nearby, but she survived unscathed. Postwar study of Japanese records failed to confirm a kill.
USS Bream - War Patrol 2
Following repairs, refitting, and training, Bream began her second war patrol on 21 July 1944, when she got underway for a patrol area in waters off the southern Philippine Islands. On 29 July 1944, she had almost reached the entrance to Davao Gulf when flames broke out in her maneuvering room. Centered over the port main motor, the fire ignited cork and auxiliary cable insulation in the overhead. Fifteen minutes after it broke out, the blaze was extinguished. The damage was not serious enough to force Bream to terminate her patrol, and she proceeded to the coast of Mindanao.
USS Bream - War Patrol 3
Bream underwent a refit by Euryale before beginning her third war patrol, getting underway for Darwin, Australia, on 2 October 1944. She paused at Darwin on 9 October for minor repairs and refueling before continuing on to her patrol area off the Philippine Islands between the northern end of Palawan Passage and Manila. On 16 October 1944, she sighted a two-masted barge with an escort but decided to let them pass to avoid alerting more valuable targets of her presence.
On 23 October 1944, three large ships — two Imperial Japanese Navy light cruisers and one heavy cruiser — appeared on Bream’s radar scope. One of the Japanese warships approached to within 800 yards (730 m) on Bream′s port quarter before Bream fired six torpedoes. Soon thereafter, Bream’s crew heard three loud explosions and believed that they had sunk a Japanese cruiser. A study of Japanese records after the war revealed that Bream had damaged the Japanese heavy cruiser Aoba severely enough to keep her from participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf of 23–26 October 1944. Bream endured intermittent depth charging over the next five hours but suffered no damage.
On 24 October 1944, Bream picked up six survivors of a Japanese ship sunk several days before by the submarine USS Bluegill (SS-242). On 25 October, she moved into position for an attempt to intercept the Japanese fleet retiring from Philippine waters after Japan's defeat in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On 30 October 1944, she spotted a Japanese convoy, fired a six-torpedo spread at a large transport, and went deep to avoid depth charges. Her torpedoes damaged the transport, but it was able to continue under its own power.
On 4 November 1944, Bream fired four torpedoes at another Japanese transport, but all missed. After weathering a total of eight depth charges, she eluded her pursuers and resumed her patrol. On 6 November, she came upon two Japanese cruisers and began closing for an attack on the leading ship. After careful maneuvering to avoid the cruiser’s escorts, she fired four torpedoes. Some Bream crewmen reported three explosions, but no damage to any Japanese ship seems to have resulted. Bream then shaped a course for Fremantle, where she arrived on 22 November 1944.
On 7 August 1944, Bream moved to an area off Davao Gulf in an attempt to intercept traffic coming from the Palau Islands. She encountered Japanese ships but expended no torpedoes. On the morning of 26 August 1944, as she retired toward Fremantle, Australia, Bream spotted a Japanese airplane. The plane dropped a bomb which exploded near her as she dived, raised her stern about 20 feet (6.1 m), and shook her severely. A second bomb also detonated nearby and inflicted considerable damage. Nevertheless, Bream put into Brisbane safely on 6 September 1944.
On 13 June 1944, while Bream tracked another Japanese convoy, a depth-charge barrage forced her to break off pursuit before she could maneuver into position for an attack. Her luck improved again on 16 June 1944 when she next encountered a Japanese convoy. She fired torpedoes at two transports, and breaking-up noises reverberated throughout the submarine shortly thereafter as the 5,704-gross register ton Japanese cargo ship Yuki Maru disintegrated and went to the bottom. Several days after that attack, damage to a hatch gasket in Bream′s conning tower while she was submerged allowed water to flood into her pump room and knock out all electrical power in the room. This forced Bream to head for Seeadler Harbor, where she arrived on 29 June 1944. Work to correct the damage began shortly thereafter.
USS Bream - War Patrol 4
Following refit and training, Bream commenced her fourth war patrol on 19 December 1944. She entered Exmouth Gulf on the coast of Western Australia on 22 December 1944 and refueled there that same day. She continued on through Lombok Strait northbound, entered the Java Sea, spotted a sailboat on 31 December, and decided to attack it with her 4-inch (102 mm) gun. During the action, a Japanese plane approached, forcing Bream to cease fire and dive.
On 9 January 1945, Bream began patrolling the western approaches to Balabac Strait. After four uneventful days, she moved to the northern end of the strait but again made no contacts and so shifted to Miri on the coast of Borneo for reconnaissance work. She sighted a large Japanese vessel on 24 January, but the contact proved to be a hospital ship. Bream transited Lombok Strait southbound on 4 February 1945, paused at Onslow, Australia, for refueling on 6 February, and finally arrived at Fremantle on 10 February 1945.
The USS Bream would go on to have two more war patrols, but they would be without my grandfather.
In separate documents, not listed above, he was assigned to the USS Euryale (AS-22) from 1 October 1945 until his station to USS Apogon (SS308) nine days later. I have to assume this was not listed above as it was only a method of transfer. Of interest here, the USS Apogon in January 1946, sailed for Pearl Harbor where she was to undergo preliminary work and tests in preparation to be used as a target in atomic bomb testing. Following completion of this refitting, Apogon arrived at Bikini Atoll on 31 May. She was sunk at Bikini Atoll during atomic bomb test "Baker" on 25 July 1946. That would make my grandfather one of the last sailors to man the ship before being destroyed by a nuclear blast.
You'll notice my grandfather was on the USS Bowfin, but not during the World War II. This time frame would put him on war patrol near the end of the Korean War. Which would explain why he was not listed in the official WWII records for the USS Bowfin. Following his service on the USS Bowfin, James went onto recruiting duty in San Francisco.
Known Awards
American Theatre - No Stars
American Defensive - 1 Star
Asiatic Pacific - 4 Stars
Submarine Combat Insignia - No Stars
Victory Medal - N/A
Good Conduct Medal - N/A
From the records, I know my grandfather was in a naval hospital starting 9 May 1946, but the records do not indicate why.
His medical examination at one point indicates several scars across his body, but the examine only notes their location not the reason for the scars.
Date 8/26/1946
Transferred out of Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet due to personnel shortages in the Pacific Fleet.
Signed O.M. Butler, CDR, USN, Commanding
I included this final transfer to give context, as most other documents only show dates, times, and rates without context. This can be confusing as later I discovered a denial of re-enlistment in 1958. I thought that was the end of his career, but it appears a transfer to reserves is listed as a denial as my grandfather continued to serve in the Navy into 1960.
Personal things I learned
I only have a single black and white photo of my grandfather. I know my father claimed my grandfather's hair turned black at some point in his life. I know from official records that when he was 26 years old his hair was listed as "brown" and his eye color as "blue." He weighed 150lbs which is how much I weighed at that age (not anymore, ha!), and he stood 5 foot 6 inches, which is also the same height as myself.
My grandfather was born in Greenville, Texas. I knew my family had roots in Texas at one time, but I didn't know it was as recent as my grandfather.
The Fog of War
My grandfather's records gave me a great insight into who he was, and where he was during World War II. I still maintain the entire paper record, most of which I will not share here due to privacy concerns. These includes his pay, training record (generally unremarkable with satisfactory results), and brief comments regarding his time as a recruiter in 1956 which he continued to do until his retirement on March 1st, 1968. As great as these records are, there will remain moments lost in time. As far as I know, my grandfather didn't keep a journal, or if he did, I do not have access to it. Those moments, the intimate thoughts and experiences will forever be lost in time.
