WASHINGTON –
The U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs held a special ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial Visitors Center in Washington, D.C., May 15, for submariners of the USS Wahoo (SS-238), lost during World War II, during which soil, water, and video from the site where the Wahoo sank, as well as a model of the Wahoo, was given to the U.S. by Russia.
The Wahoo was submerged when it was hit and sank by Japanese anti-submarine fire on Oct. 11, 1943, while traversing the La Perouse Straight.
For U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas Logue, having soil and water from the Wahoo’s final resting place given to the United States is deeply personal. His uncle, Fire Controlman 1st Class Robert Logue, was on the submarine when it sank.
“For more than 80 years, my family has lived with the story of his loss—especially his brother, my Uncle George, who devoted so much of his life to keeping Bob’s memory and the memory of Wahoo alive,” Logue said. “My Aunt Rita, Uncle Bob’s only surviving sibling, is now 100 years old. For her, and for all of us, having soil, water, and other samples from the wreck site transferred to the American side is profoundly moving.”
The Wahoo, one of the most celebrated Navy ships in World War II, was found by the Russian research ship Iskra in 2006 after years of exhaustive searching, started by Logue’s uncle George in 1947.
“These samples are more than physical artifacts,” said Logue. “They are a tangible connection to Uncle Bob, to [Wahoo] Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton, and to the entire crew of Wahoo. They represent the place where those brave men remain on eternal patrol. For a family that spent decades wondering, searching, remembering, and hoping, that connection means more than words can easily express.”
The Russian Federation Ambassador to the United States, H. E. Alexander Darchiev, presented the containers of soil and water, the video, and the model to retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Robert “Doc” Fogelsong, the United States Side Chairman of the USRJC, who accepted on behalf of the United States and families of the USS Wahoo submariners.
“I have the honor to hand over to the American Side and the family members of the perished submariners a capsule with water and soil from the seabed where the USS Wahoo now lies,” Darchiev said before giving the gifts to Fogelsong.
Fogelsong said this was just an example of how we can work together with the Russians to help families of the missing find answers.
“This was important because it demonstrates the commitment on both sides, the U.S. Side and the Russian Side, to the mission of this commission, which is to bring as much closure as we can to family members, veterans organizations, and to family groups who have waited for many, many years to try to ascertain what happened to their loved ones,” Fogelsong said.
All of the items given to the U.S. during the ceremony will be provided to the Naval History and Heritage Command for memorialization.