World War II Honoree

John Joseph Zidziunas

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Newark, New Jersey

Honored By

U.S. Submarine Veteran

He was killed with the loss of 83 Officers and men on board USS SHARK (SS-314) on 24 October 1944 Between Hainan and Bashi Channel at coordinates Latitude 20° 41'N, Longitude 118° 27'E. Decorations: Purple Heart. USS SHARK under the command of Commander E. N. Blakely left Pearl Harbor on 23 September 1944, with USS SEADRAGON and USS BLACKFISH and proceeded to Saipan to begin her third war patrol. The three vessels left the latter island on 3 October to conduct a coordinated patrol in the vicinity of Luzon Strait. Commander Blakely had command of this coordinated attack group, called Blakely's Behemoths. On 13 November 1944, a dispatch originated by Commander Naval Unit, Fourteenth Air Force, stated that a Japanese ship en-route from Manila to Japan, with 1,800 American prisoners of war had been sunk on 24 October by an American submarine in a torpedo attack. No other submarine reported the attack, and since SHARK had given SEADRAGON a contact report only a few hours before the sinking, and could not be raised by radio after it, it can only be assumed that SHARK made the attack described and perished during or after it.