This afternoon we took an excursion to Pearl Harbor primarily to visit the Air Museum – but at the entrance to the museum we found a memorial to the 52 submarines lost in World War II, including the USS Harder commanded by Sam Dealey who also happens to be related to my mother. The submarine in the photo above is the USS Bowfin, also known as the “Pearl Harbor Avenger”. Each pedestal in the memorial honors one submarine and briefly describes its history and feats. The text for the Harder reads as follows:
Well aware that the Japanese Navy was critically short of destroyers, Harder’s skipper, Commander Samuel D. Dealey, chose to deliberately tangle with these deadly vessels. Destroyers were fast, heavily-armed, and specialized in anti-submarine warfare. In mid-1944, in what was hailed as one of the most brilliant submarine patrols of the war, Harder sank five enemy destroyers in five short-range torpedo attacks. For this unprecedented achievement, Commander Dealey was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by the President. Harder often achieved what others believed to be impossible. During her fourth patrol, Harder was called to rescue a naval pilot who had been shot down and washed ashore on the enemy-held island of Woleal. Commander Dealey maneuvered his ship as close to the reef as possible and three brave volunteers, risking fire from enemy troops in the jungle, rescued the pilot. Harder’s career came to a tragic close during her sixth patrol, when she and USS Hake were suddenly charged by a Japanese minesweeper. Harder heroically steered between Hake and the enemy, making herself the target. As she sank beneath the surface for the last time, Harder was pounded by 15 deadly depth charges. The entire Navy mourned her loss, for the exploits of Harder, the “Destroyer-Killer”, and her crew were legendary in the history of Naval warfare.