World War II Honoree

Robert Gerald Haskell

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Beloit, Wisconsin

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Relationship

Friend

He enlisted into the United States Navy November 19, 1942, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Basic Military Training at the U.S. Naval Training Station Great Lakes, Illinois. Upon his graduation from Boot Camp and with additional training; he was transferred to the USS Herring Submarine I (SS-233) for duty. The USS Herring with her Shipmate’s were assigned duty with the Submarine Forces and located in the Pacific Theater of Operations. May 16, 1944, the USS Herring departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on her Eighth War Patrol, topping off with fuel and other provisions at the United States Naval Air Station, Midway Island. The USS Herring set sail to the Kurile Islands and located in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations. June 1, 1944, this battle-tested Submarine was moored, off the coastal shores of Matua Island and located in the Kurile Islands, Western Pacific Theater of Operations. The USS Herring was sunk, when Imperial Japanese coastal shore Artillery Battery’s Shelling scored two hits on the Sub’s Conning Tower. He was reported “Missing-in-Action” or Buried at Sea along with his gallant crew members, gone without a trace and will “Remain on Eternal Patrol”. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at Honolulu Memorial location: Honolulu, Hawaii. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph memorial has been placed at the East Lawn Cemetery, and located in Beloit, Wisconsin. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.