A total of fifty-two U.S. submarines were lost during WW II with over 3,500 brave men. Another forty additional submariners were lost either from gunfire or tragic mishap.
During a surface attack on 26 February 1945 against a pair of enemy sea trucks while patrolling in the Java Sea, the COBIA lost its only crewman to hostile action during the course of the Second World War.
S1 Ralph C. Huston Jr., a nineteen year old from Parkersburg, WV, was struck by incoming direct fire from one of the sea trucks while standing at his station as a loader on the forward 20mm anti-aircraft gun. A hail of rounds struck the bridge and superstructure, nicking several other men, including F3 Tom Brotchie but Huston was seriously wounded by two shells that hit him in his upper left arm and mid-section.
A Heroic Effort
Huston was quickly taken below and laid in an upper bunk in the crews' quarters in the after battery compartment. PhM1 Herbert "Doc" Starmer immediately began treating his injured shipmate with oxygen and blood plasma and fought hard to stem the massive blood loss. But there was nothing that the exhausted Starmer could do. Huston died of his wounds less than twelve hours after the gun action.
Doc Starmer and S1 Bob Gast shrouded their fallen shipmate with mattress covers, weighed him down with firebricks from the galley and wrapped him in the American flag, preparing him for his burial at sea on 27 February. Using the door from the crew's head, the men of the COBIA committed the body of S1 Ralph Huston, Jr. to the ocean.
A plaque located at the very spot on the COBIA's forward gun platform where Huston was hit, commemorates his ultimate sacrifice and serves a reminder to the reality of combat.
"Sailor, rest your oar."