Walter Glen "Bud" McCoy – Lost Aboard Submarine USS Seawolf

Bud McCoy was born in Eldon, Iowa, on September 29, 1914. From the 1930 U. S. Census, we learn that his father, also Walter, 42, worked as laborer. His mother, Mary Chalotte, 34, had four sons living at home in 1940, Walter, 15, Ralph, 12, Eugene, 4 and Claude, a newborn. The family lived at 505 Church Street in Eldon, Wapello County, Iowa.

Maus joined the Navy on 1932. First records that this researcher found was a muster aboard the battleship Oklahoma (BB-37) on September 30, 1939.

USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was a Nevada-class battleship built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation for the United States Navy, notable for being the first American class of oil-burning dreadnoughts.

On 7 December 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, several torpedoes from torpedo-bomber airplanes hit the Oklahoma's hull and the ship capsized. A total of 429 crew died; survivors jumped off the ship 50 feet (15 m) into burning hot water or crawled across mooring lines that connected Oklahoma and Maryland. Some sailors inside escaped when rescuers drilled holes and opened hatches to rescue them. In 1943, Oklahoma was righted and salvaged. Unlike most of the other battleships that were recovered following Pearl Harbor, Oklahoma was too damaged to return to duty. Her wreck was eventually stripped of her remaining armament and superstructure before being sold for scrap in 1946. The hulk sank in a storm in 1947, while being towed from Oahu, Hawaii, to a breakers yard in San Francisco Bay.

Commissioned in 1916, Oklahoma served in World War I as a part of Battleship Division Six, protecting Allied convoys on their way across the Atlantic. After the war, she served in both the United States Battle Fleet and Scouting Fleet. Oklahoma was modernized between 1927 and 1929. In 1936, she rescued American citizens and refugees from the Spanish Civil War. On returning to the West Coast in August of the same year, Oklahoma spent the rest of her service in the Pacific.

indicate him as being assigned to the USS Seawolf (SS-197) on March 31, 1943. He served aboard this submarine during four war patrols into the South Pacific as indicated by various muster lists. Charles attained the rate of Signalman, Second Class and his service number was 283 70 50.

Next, Bud mustered to the USS S-41 (SS-146) in July of 1940 . This boat was a first-group (S-1 or "Holland") S-class submarine of the United States Navy. She was launched on 21 February 1921 sponsored by Mrs. John F. Conners, and commissioned on 15 January 1924 with Lieutenant Alfred H. Donahue in command.

In 1940, S-41’s China deployment was shortened to two months. At the end of June, she returned to the Philippines, where she conducted familiarization cruises into 1941. That year was spent at Cavite and Olongapo for overhauls; in the South China Sea for fleet exercises; and in the waters off Luzon on patrol.

World War II

First war patrol, December 1941

On 8 December 1941, S-41 was in Manila Bay. After hearing of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, she patrolled off Looc Bay, Tablas Island, in an attempt to impede the Japanese offensive. But the Japanese thrust continued.

Being an experienced submariner, Bud was assigned to the USS Seawolf (SS-197) on September 30, 1941. He participated in at least four WWII war patrols in the South Pacific according to Navy Muster Rolls. He attained the rate/rank of Chief Motor Machinist’s Mate with a service number of 321 30 07.

Between patrols, Bud found time to get married to Aldlna C Campanaro. The wedding took place in 1944 in Eldon, Iowa.

Bud McCoy was aboard the USS Seawolf, with 86 other sailors and 16 US Army soldiers, upon departure for the boat’s fifteenth Pacific Patrol from Brisbane, Australia. Tragically, he died, along with the rest of the crew and soldiers on October 3, 1944, when the submarine was probably sunk by an American destroyer. He was awarded a Purple Heart posthumously. A memorial grave stone was placed at the American Memorial and Cemetery at Fort William McKinley, Manila, the Philippines. As a result of his death, according to the Iowa, World War II Bonus Case Files for Beneficiaries, his mother applied for compensation.

A team of 16 Army soldiers were aboard the USS Seawolf for a secret landing on the Island of Samar, Sumatra. The soldiers were to establish underground radio communications with the Philippines as part of the 978th Signal Services Company. Ten of these Army men were born in the Philippines, and were U.S. Citizens.

The following was compiled by Paul W. Wittmer and Charles R. Hinman, originally from: U.S. Submarine Losses World War II, NAVPERS 15,784, 1949 ISSUE:

SEAWOLF (LCDR A. L. Bontier) left Brisbane on 21 September 1944 beginning her 15th patrol, and arrived at Manus on 29 September. Leaving Manus on the same day, SEAWOLF was directed to carry certain stores and Army personnel to the east coast of Samar.

On 3 October SEAWOLF and NARWHAL exchanged SJ radar recognition signals at 0756. Later the same day an enemy submarine attack was made at 2° 32'N, 129° 18'E, which resulted in the sinking of U.S.S. SHELTON (DE-407). Since there were four friendly submarines in the vicinity of this attack, they were directed to give their positions and the other three did, but SEAWOLF was not heard from. On 4 October, SEAWOLF again was directed to report her position, and again she failed to.

U.S.S. ROWELL (DE-403) and an aircraft attacked a submarine in the vicinity of the attack on SHELTON, having at that time no knowledge of any friendly submarines in the area, and it was thought that SEAWOLF must be held down by these anti-submarine activities. ++It is possible that SEAWOLF was the submarine attacked.++

The report from ROWELL indicates that an apparently lethal attack was conducted in conjunction with a plane, which marked the spot with dye. ROWELL established sound contact on the submarine, which then sent long dashes and dots_ (Editor's note: Rowell's War Diary characterizes the signal as "a continuous dash") _which ROWELL stated bore no resemblance to the existing recognition signals. After one of the several hedgehog attacks a small amount of debris and a large air bubble were seen. It has been established that the Japanese submarine RO-41 sank SHELTON on 3 October, and was able to return to Japan.

In view of the above facts, and the fact that there is no attack listed in the Japanese report of anti-submarine attacks which could account for the loss of SEAWOLF, it is possible that SEAWOLF was sunk by friendly forces in an anti-submarine attack on 3 October 1944, in the vicinity of 02° 32'N, 129° 18'E. It is also possible that she was lost due to an operational casualty or as a result of an unrecorded enemy attack.

During her first fourteen patrols, SEAWOLF sank 27 enemy ships, and damaged 13. This gave her total tonnage for ships sunk and damaged of 108,600 and 69,600, respectively.

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 here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Resources:

https://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-seawolf-197.htm

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61186&h=9327&tid=&pid=&queryId=55e3412d4d1d585bb8cda6a97d72bce9&usePUB=true&_phsrc=tqd2491&_phstart=successSource

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/32022704:6224?indiv=1&tid=&pid=&queryId=ff662bec54b793e930bc9a588f2871ba&usePUB=true&_phsrc=tqd2494&_phstart=successSource

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/321918655:62116?indiv=try&o_vc=Record%3aOtherRecord&rhSource=6224

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/44744083:1143?indiv=1&tid=&pid=&queryId=25ed1297a1cef691ad4df22df2465722&usePUB=true&_phsrc=tqd2500&_phstart=successSource

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oklahoma_(BB-37)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_S-41_(SS-146)

McCoy, Walter Glen, CMoMM