Did you know that Como Park houses a WWII memorial? I didn't until today. One of her unspent "fish" is on display with a plaque of those who were lost on her when she sank. Below is a brief history of her. Enjoy.USS SWORDFISH I (SS-193), under the command of Cdr. K.E. Montross, left Pearl Harbor on 22 December 1944, to carry on her thirteenth patrol in the vicinity of Nansei Shoto. She topped off with fuel at Midway on 26 December and left that day for her area. In addition to her regular patrol, SWORDFISH was to conduct photographice reconnaissance of Okinawa, for preparation of the Okinawa Campaign.
On 2 January, SWORDFISH was ordered to delay carrying out her assigned tasks in order to keep her clear of the Nansei Shoto area until completion of carried based air strikes which were scheduled. She was directed to patrol the general vicinity of 30!N;132!E until further orders were received. In the last communications received from SWORDFISH, she acknowledged receipt of these orders on 3 January.
On 9 January 1945, SWORDFISH was directed to proceed to the vicinity of Okinawa to carry out her special mission. It was estimated that the task would not take more than seven days after arrival on station, which she should have reached on 11 January. Upon completion of her mission, SWORDFISH was to proceed to Saipan, or to Midway if she was unable to transmit by radio. Since neither place had seen her by 15 February, and repeated attempts to raise her by radio had failed, she was reported as presumed lost, the victim of unknown causes.
On 2 January, SWORDFISH was ordered to delay carrying out her assigned tasks in order to keep her clear of the Nansei Shoto area until completion of carried based air strikes which were scheduled. She was directed to patrol the general vicinity of 30!N;132!E until further orders were received. In the last communications received from SWORDFISH, she acknowledged receipt of these orders on 3 January.
On 9 January 1945, SWORDFISH was directed to proceed to the vicinity of Okinawa to carry out her special mission. It was estimated that the task would not take more than seven days after arrival on station, which she should have reached on 11 January. Upon completion of her mission, SWORDFISH was to proceed to Saipan, or to Midway if she was unable to transmit by radio. Since neither place had seen her by 15 February, and repeated attempts to raise her by radio had failed, she was reported as presumed lost, the victim of unknown causes.
3 comments:
I'd always seen this but never really stopped over to learn about it. thanks for the history lesson!! i'm not so keen on the name of the boat though.... Swordfish just doesn't sound really 'military' to me. it's like saying "operation cold sandwich". mmmmm, sandwich.... time for lunch!
Lord I miss you. We really need to have dinner soon!!!
Thank you, dear Lucas, for writing about the USS Swordfish. My Uncle Marshall Cox, Jr., was listed on the Swordfish when it was reported missing. He was from Rodessa, Louisiana, and was my mother's older brother. He was the oldest sibling and Mom, Betty, was the second oldest. Few things touched Mom as deeply as losing "Junior". She was a bit of a tomboy and I suspect it was Junior who was responsible for much of that because she worked so hard to keep up with him. Mom died a few years ago - I think they've done some catching up on things. Anyhow, if you find yourself at Como Park at the Swordfish memorial, and if you have time, will you find the name Marshall E Cox, Jr., and remember that his sister, Betty, and all his family appreciated him, loved him, and missed him greatly.
Thank you,
Sheila
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