USN
Submarine

Lost
April 22, 1943

Captain
Lt. Cmdr. J. A. Fitzgerald

Ship History
Commanded by Captain Lt. Cmdr. J. A. Fitzgerald.

Mission History
On the submarine's six patrol in Lem Voalan Strait in the northeast Indian Ocean.

On the night of April 20, 1943, Grenadier ventured out ten miles west to search for targets. Finding two ships, but before the sub could attack, they turned away. Figuring that they would come back to their original course in an hour and a half, Fitzgerald planned an attack to meet them at that time.

About 15 minutes before diving to attack, a plane aproached and the sub dived. While passing 120', a violent explosion shook the ship, and all lights and power were lost. She was brought to rest on the bottom at about 270'. The hull and hatches were leaking badly aft, and a fire in the control cubicle kept the ship without propulsion. A bucket brigade kept the motors dry, and later a jury rig pump was called into service to perform the task, while the electricians worked all day to restore propulsion. Heat and exertion prostrated several men, but the work continued.

Sinking History
Toward morning what appeared to be a destroyer, but was actually an 1800-ton merchantman and an escort vessel were seen on the horizon, and a plane was driven away by gunfire. The skipper decided to scuttle the ship on April 22, 1943, with all hands being taken prisoner by the merchant ship. The men were brutally treated but spirit were kept up by their Commanding Officer.

Treatment of POWs
Crewman Thomas R. Courtney described the two-year stay in captivity as a "living hell". The prisoners spent most of their time confined in small classrooms and cells in a convent in Malaysia, facing hunger and extremely harsh treatment. It was during their incarceration that the men scratched their names on two sections of a wall and one of the wooden doors. In 1982, surviving crew members began sending money to the convent to support its work.

Crew member Robert W. Palmer began writing to the school board chairman, Sister Francis de Sales. Sister Francis replied, "For many years 'the writing on the wall' which we regard with such reverence was, to a certain extent, shrouded in mystery. All we knew was that these brave men were the crew of an American submarine, who suffered cruel torture on our premises at the hands of the Japanese. Text excerpt from the USS Grenadier Website

References
USS Grenadier Website

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