Memorial unveiled for WWII soldiers from torpedoed ship – Hawaii Tribune-Herald

The Hawaii Army National Guard on Wednesday unveiled a memorial to honor the Hawaii-born soldiers who were on the U.S. Army Transport Royal T. Frank when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on Jan. 28, 1942, in waters off North Kohala.

Family members of those soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, were in attendance at the Keaukaha Military Reservation in Hilo to observe the unveiling of the memorial.

According to an account in the National Archives, the Royal T. Frank’s final voyage occurred in a particularly tense time period in Hawaii. Japanese submarines were active in Hawaiian waters and had already sunk three ships.

A submarine had also surfaced to shell Maui’s Kahului Harbor, and others had fired at Hilo and Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai. As a precaution, on its final voyage, the Royal T. Frank was part of a three-ship convoy that included a Navy destroyer.

Aboard the Frank were 26 soldiers from Hawaii Island who had just completed boot camp at Schofield Barracks on Oahu.

According to declassified government documents, a Japanese submarine fired on the transport just after 7 o’clock on the morning of Jan. 28, 1942, an estimated 30 miles north of Upolu Point in the Alenuihaha Channel. Two earlier torpedoes had missed.

An official account given by one of the ship’s officers and published in mainland newspapers (which were not subject to Hawaii’s martial law), states that the third torpedo had moved deceptively slowly prior to impact.

“I saw a torpedo coming straight at us. It veered as it approached. It appeared to be moving very slowly and seemed to be running down. It struck opposite the starboard boiler. There was a terrific explosion. As soon as I had seen the wake (of the torpedo), I ran forward shouting ‘torpedo!’” said the unnamed officer in an official account released by U.S. Army authorities and reported by the New York Times on Feb. 11, 1942.

Those below deck were killed by the initial explosion. Above deck, shrapnel killed the ship’s captain and others, and the vessel sank in less than a minute.

According to the National Archives account, of the 60 people aboard the Frank, only 36 survived. Survivors of the explosion included nine of the Hawaii Island soldiers who had been above deck and 27 crew members. Some were thrown into the water, and others jumped in afterwards.

Covered in oil, the survivors spent hours in the ocean, many clinging to whatever debris they could, before they were picked up by the ammunition barge that had been the actual target of the Japanese submarine.

The nine Hawaii Island soldiers, all privates, who survived the attack were George Taketa, Yoshio Ogomori, John R. Souza, Takimaru Takamoto, Shizuo Toma, Shigeru Ushijima, Haruo Yarnashita, Susuma Yoshioka and Tsutomu “Mac” Wakimoto. They would become known as the “Torpedo Gang.”

Fourteen Hawaii Island soldiers and three from Oahu were killed in the attack. All were privates.

The 14 Hawaii Island men were: lwao Nakamura, Yoshito Nii, Larry M. Oku, Reginald M. Osato, John Perreira, John S. Rodrigues, Raymond H. Shirakawa, Yeishun A. Soken, Bushichi Tani, Pemal C. Torrijos, Alfred Veriato, Torao Yamamizu, Albert H. Yano and Yonezo Yonemura.

The three Oahu men were Shoii Okido, Shinichi Shigi and Hook Y. Young.