Elmer Harold Peterson - Killed Aboard USS Albacore - Sunk by a Mine

Elmer Harold Peterson was born in Snohomish, Washington on May 21, 1907.

According to the 1920 US Census, his father was James P Peterson, aged 57, worked as a as a knot sawyer at a shingle mill and was born in Denmark. His mother was Ida E Peterson, aged 41, and was born in Germany. Still at home, Elmer and four siblings were listed on this document as Lewis F, 27, Chipper Man, Walter E, 19, Shingle Packer, Ward W Peterson, 18, Hand Nailer, Elmer 12 and Sena H, 10. The family lived at Ludwig, Snohomish, Washington, at this time. The 1940 US Census recorded the family living on Werme Road in Lochsloy, Washington. His father James, now working as a farmer. Elmer, 22 at this time, worked as a chocker at a logging camp.

This researcher found a marriage record that may be Elmer Peterson. Elmer H Peterson married Fern R Pugh in the Washington, Marriage Records, 1854-2013. Date July 12, 1941 in Foy, King County, Washington. The 1930 Census lists a Fern Peugh (enumerator or transcriber may have misspelled her name) living in Washington, and born about 1916, which may be the same person.

Peterson joined the Navy in 1925, from Everett, Washington, with a Service Number of 385 61 67. He mustered aboard the USS Albacore on June 30, 1944. Elmer achieved the rating of Chief Torpedoman's Mate. He spent multiple years aboard the USS Albacore.

From the TOGETHER WE SERVED web site:

Enlisted/Officer Basic Training

1925, Recruit Training (Great Lakes, IL)

Unit Assignments/ Advancement Schools

USS Albacore (SS-218)

1942-1944, TM-0000, USS Albacore (SS-218)

Combat and Non-Combat Operations

1941-1945 Submarine War Patrols

1942-1942 Submarine War Patrols

1943-1943 Submarine War Patrols

1943-1944 Submarine War Patrols

1944-1944 Submarine War Patrols

1944-1944 World War II

“USS ALBACORE on ETERNAL PATROL” (from website)- The ALBACORE, with LCDR H. R. Rimmer in command, left Pearl Harbor on October 24, 1944, topped off with fuel at Midway on October 28, and departed there for her eleventh patrol the same day, never to be heard from again. Her area was northeast of Honshu and south of Hokkaido, and because of the danger of mineable waters, she was ordered to stay outside of waters less than 100 fathoms deep.

She was to depart her area at sunset on December 5, 1944, and was expected at Midway about 12 December. When she had not been seen, nor heard from by December 21 despite the sharpest of lookouts for her, she was reported as presumed lost.

Enemy information available now indicates that ALBACORE perished by hitting a mine. The explosion occurred on November 7, 1944, at Latitude 41° 49' N, Longitude 141° 11' E, while ALBACORE was submerged, and was witnessed by an enemy patrol craft. The craft reports having seen much heavy oil and bubbles, cork, bedding and various provisions after the explosion.

Albacore won nine battle stars for her service and the Presidential Unit Citation for her second, third, eighth, and ninth patrols during World War II.

Tragically, Elmer Peterson died, along with the rest of the crew, on November 7, 1944, when the submarine USS Albacore (SS-218) was sunk after striking a mine near Hokkaido, Japan. He was first listed as MIA and then declared ‘Dead while Missing.’ He was awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star posthumously.

Elmer Harold Peterson is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.

Albacore Found! "On Thursday, (February 16, 2023) Naval History and Heritage Command said its Underwater Archaeology Branch used imagery and information from Tamaki Uki, a University of Tokyo specialist in developing autonomous underwater vehicles to confirm the identity of a submarine discovered by the researchers as Albacore."

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-albacore-218.htm

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=6224&h=112617398&tid=&pid=&queryId=0387d9e8735f76e9287c94b7c33d76d5&usePUB=true&_phsrc=tqd834&_phstart=successSource

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=6061&h=13949294&tid=&pid=&queryId=0387d9e8735f76e9287c94b7c33d76d5&usePUB=true&_phsrc=tqd833&_phstart=successSource

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4547539_00734?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=0b4a9f8d6fd3c3dfc995eced9833f12d&usePUB=true&_phsrc=tqd1119&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.25337653.985173604.1598779441-967308582.1597536725&pId=112847473

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/20/wreck-of-wwii-submarine-uss-albacore-discovered-off-japan

Albacore (SS-218) “On Eternal Patrol” - Compiled by Paul W. Wittmer and Charles R. Hinman, originally from: U.S. Submarine Losses World War II, NAVPERS 15,784, 1949 ISSUE.

Peterson, Elmer Harold, TMC