WWII FALLEN HERO Navy BM2C Richard Earl Mabie from Minnehaha County, South Dakota
WWII FALLEN HERO Navy BM2C Richard Earl Mabie from Minnehaha County, South Dakota – Navy Armed Guard Mabie’s Armed Guard unit was assigned to the SS Coamo chartered for troop transport by the U.S. Army. The men of the Armed Guard served as gunners, signal men, and radio operators on the troop ship. In early Dec. 1942, Coamo was west of Ireland when, on orders of the British Admiralty, she proceeded to sail independently from Gibraltar to New York. Coamo was North North East of the Azores on 2 Dec 1942 (actual day varies between sources), when German submarine U-604 fired at her with a single torpedo hitting her under the bridge. She sank in about 5 minutes. It is known that there were at least three life raft crews, but they were never seen again. They were likely killed in the gale that swept the area making survival in the north Atlantic all but impossible. Source: Findagrave There were no survivors. This was the greatest single loss of a merchant crew on any US Flag merchant vess