Marta and I will make a trek tomorrow to say thank you to one sailior from WWII On Eternal Patrol [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

I have to work Monday. A submariner killed in WWII by friendly fire is on our list. It is about a 1/2 hour drive one way. It will probably be overgrown with weeds. But we will go just the same, as we have for years. I hope to go see dad too. It has been 19 years since we lost a decorated soldier (PFC) in the Pacific theater from WWII. Mom joined him last August.

http://www.steveandmarta.com/graveyards/submarine/submarinel_history.html

Rev. Allis and his wife, Emeline Palmer Allis, are buried here in Wall Cemetery. He was active as a missionary with the Pawnee Indians here in 1834-1846, and was a missionary in the Nebraska area for over 40 years. This would make him one of the earliest of the travelers to come to Nebraska right after Lewis and Clark went through, and a definite pioneer who had a direct impact on our history. He died on December 12, 1883 in Fremont, Nebraska, but is supposedly buried here. The cemetery got its name from Civil War Union Army colonel and physician Dr. W. R. Wall, who moved to Iowa after the war and married one of Rev. Allis' daughters.

One of their direct descendants was Vernon Palmer Wall, who enlisted in the Navy within days of Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to the submarine Seawolf, which was lost at sea with all hands presumed dead on October 7, 1944. The Seawolf had been on a secret mission to the Japanese-held Phillipine Islands, delivering interpreters, radar equipment and supplies. After delivering their cargo, they were assumed to have been hit by the Japanese and left crippled. There is reason to believe now that they were hit by "friendly fire" as they lay crippled, a US destroyer unaware they were firing on a US sub. In any case, the Seawolf never returned from her mission. His grieving family put up a cenotaph marker which is dedicated to him.

Click here to see a photo of Vernon Palmer Wall, and read a bit about his service record, at the On Eternal Patrol website for lost submariners. My thanks to Charles Hinman for this link.



Much more info here: http://www.steveandmarta.com/graveyards/submarine/submarinel_main.html

OS