Naval action on July 12, 1945

We have a special spot in our local cemetery for memorials for those soldiers and sailors who were lost in action and didn't come home. One memorial is for a seaman (a former neighbor) who was lost on July 12, 1945 in the Philippines. Not having any luck finding what might have happened. Were there any ships that sunk on this day? Thanks.

 

No naval ships were reported lost on that date.
A wild guess.

[SIZE=10pt]William Lecil Jossi[/SIZE]
Torpedoman's Mate, 1st Class, William L. Jossi was born to William J. and Mary Bobo Jossi on February 14, 1908, in Tracy City. His father, who was of Swiss ancestry, ran a butcher shop and was a salesman. William was lost at sea Thursday, July 12, 1945. He was memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines, but also has a marker at the Tracy City Cemetery. He received the Purple Heart. Nellie M. Jossi Anderson, wife of John A. Anderson, was William's sister and only sibling.
ID # 02951900
(Source: US military records, William Ray Turner, Anna Goforth)

 

The only ship I can even find damaged in the PI on 7/12/45 is PC-582 which grounded off Balangiga in the northern Leyte Gulf. Remember of course, all seamen weren't shipborne.
Bill

 

Sorry, I didn't give much information--I'll get correct spelling for his name and whatever else I can. I glanced at the memorial as I passed by and remembered we had neighbors with that name and they lost a son in the Pacific. The memorial show he was a radioman but didn't show a Purple Heart. He may have been on shore, or like Jeff suggested, fell overboard. Sometimes the date a person is declared as lost may not be the same date as when he was killed. Thanks
The post by Pacifist is interesting as it shows seaman Jossi was lost on the same day and "lost at sea". He must have been a submariner.

 

I checked the Defense POW & Missing Personnel Office website and only found one USN serviceman on 7 July 1945 -- F2 Leon E. Rosenberg from NY. But, as you said, the date on the marker may not be date he actually went missing.

 

Went back and wrote his name to get it correct:

Emil Anthony Cavalero
10/1/21-- 7/12/45
Philippine Theatre
USN (and the Navy symbol for radioman)
Pro Patpia

Not much to go on I'm afraid. Thought I'd see "USS So And So, a Navy Destroyer, was sunk off the coast of Whereever on July 12th..."
Then I could get the ship's manifest and check it out. But thanks for the effort guys,
Dave

 

I found him on the DPMO listing, but it has his "Date of Loss" as 9 Aug 1942. Assuming this is not a typo or another missing radioman named Emil A. Cavalero, that date would correspond with the Battle of Savo Island.


Here's his Memorial Page at Find-A-Grave: Emil Anthony Cavalero

 

From Fold3.com, he is listed on the WWII Navy, Marine, Coast Guard Casualty List:


View attachment 20852

 

He is also listed on the Muster Rolls for the USS Jarvis (DD-393). Here is the last MR available dated 30 June 1942:

View attachment 20853


The USS Jarivs was sunk by the Japanese on 9 August 1942 near Guadalcanal. There were no survivors.

USS Jarvis (DD-393) on Pacific Wrecks.

 

Tommy, this is wonderful--you leave nothing left to do. Thank you so much.
Think I'll talk to Otto about that raise

 

Well, OK. But my salute along with yours should be worth at least one atta-boy.

 

One of the advantages to getting paid nothing is that it's tax-free... even at nothing and a half.

Atta-boy's, on the other hand, have to be reported to the IRS.

 

Not to worry--I'm sure there will be at least one Ah-Sh## before April 15th. Only one will wipe out a bunch of atta-boy's.

 

Not voting one way or the other, but it does highlight the fact that information on memorials and grave markers are not always accurate or, perhaps in some cases, not communicating what we think they are communicating. Like anything else, they should have corroborating evidence before one considers them "carved in stone". (Sorry. Couldn't help the pun.)

 

That's a big miss on the date. Glad you were able to find him Slipdigit. It's . . . harrowing to think about. I was reading loss reports from Savo Island the other day and man, you forget how fast and how terribly bloody that battle was. Condolences are perhaps not so meaningful seventy odd years on, but my thoughts and my deepest respect goes out to all the men who fought there that day. Thank you for posting this Buten, and thank you for solving it Slipdigit. Thought provoking stuff.

 

In this case, the seemingly incorrect date of death appears to be the date on which the missing serviceman was officially reported dead by the Navy.

On another site, I found the following info about another Jarvis crewman:

NAME: Arturo Gastelo Jacobo (May have gone by the name Arthur Jacobo)
ASN#: 680-02-87
RANK:S2C
REPORTED MISSING: September 22, 1943 [Typo? Probably should read 1942]
REPORTED DEATH: July 2, 1945

http://www.destroyersonline.com/usndd/dd393/dd393crw.htm