Emil Samarzich
1921-1996
Photo shared by Vickie Graves Jones
Emil Samarzich was born Januaty 29, 1921 in Greenwood, Sebastian Co., Ar. to
Steve, Sr. & Agnes Karz Samarzich. His father immigrated
from Slavoni and his mother from Croatia. Emil's wife was Lucille C. Otting.
I have not found a marriage record. She is mentioned in his obituary below.
Emil registered for the military draft February 15, 1942 at St. Louis, Missouri.
He lists his sister who lives there as his contact name. November 10, 1942 he
enlisted in the US Navy. He served until November 24, 1945 with Submarine Div. 62.
More can be found on his muster reports below. He served with the Submarine
Division Sixty-Two Flag Allowance and Relief Crew. Most of his time was
spent on the USS Tuna and USS Bonefish. His last rank was Momm2 = Motor Machinist 2nd Class.
History of the USS Bonefish is at the bottom of this page, from the first
day he served on that submarine.
Emil Samarzich passed away December 26, 1996 at St. Louis, Missouri.
His burial was in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
Biography shared by Vickie Graves Jones
from Fighting Men of Arkansas
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
January 1, 1997
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USS Bonefish's third patrol, January – March 1944
Following refit and training, the submarine sailed from Fremantle on 12
January 1944 (this is the EXACT date Emil
joined that crew) to conduct
her third war patrol. While operating in the vicinity of Makassar Strait on
22 January, Bonefish encountered a large sailing vessel. The stranger's crew
of seven acted suspiciously as the submarine approached, and despite repeated
orders to do so, the crew refused to abandon ship. When Bonefish opened fire
with her machine guns, the natives leaped overboard. As the vessel began to
sink, Japanese troops emerged from below decks; Bonefish counted 39 men going
over the side.
On 6 February, the submarine sighted a convoy composed of at least 17 ships.
As she maneuvered into attack position, Bonefish selected a large oiler as her
primary target and launched four bow "fish" at it. She fired the other two bow
tubes at a cargo ship and then tried to swing her stern into position to fire
her after tubes. With escorts charging her, the boat suddenly lost depth control
and ducked her periscope below the water. Nine tons of water rushed into her
forward torpedo room before the proper valves were secured. Bonefish managed to
evade the escorts, and her crew heard explosions which they interpreted as at
least two hits on the oiler and one on the cargo ship. Nevertheless, it seems
that neither target sank.
The submarine next trained her torpedo tubes on a convoy of 13 ships which
she contacted on 9 February in Camranh Bay. Although detected by a Japanese
destroyer, Bonefish succeeded in firing five torpedoes at the ex-whale-factory
tanker Tonan Maru No. 2 before making an emergency dive in shallow water.
The submarine escaped damage from both the destroyer's depth charges and from
aerial bombs which enemy aircraft dropped, but they prevented her from observing
the results of her attack. (The Tonan Maru was hit but quickly repaired.)
Following this action, she continued to seek targets for more than a month
before returning to Fremantle on 15 March.
Fourth patrol, April – May 1944
Underway again on 13 April, Bonefish headed for the Celebes Sea and her fourth
war patrol. On 26 April, she intercepted a convoy of four ships steaming along
the Mindanao coast. The submarine maneuvered into a position suitable to attack
Tokiwa Maru, launched four torpedoes, and then turned to evade the escorts. Two
torpedoes struck the 806 ton passenger/cargo ship amidships and aft, sinking her.
The next day, Bonefish fired a spread of four torpedoes at a cargo ship headed
for Davao Gulf but, in spite of three hits, failed to sink the target.
While in the Sulu Sea on 3 May, Bonefish approached a convoy but was forced to
dive when an enemy plane dropped two depth bombs which exploded close aboard.
The boat sustained minor damage and surfaced to make repairs, but two Japanese
ships began to close in on her. Bonefish went deep once again and rigged for
the depth charges, 25 in all. When her pursuers left the area, so did Bonefish.
She moved to the northern approach to Basilan Strait. She attacked a convoy
in those waters on 7 May, firing four torpedoes at an escort vessel, but could
not observe the results.
On 14 May, Bonefish approached a convoy of three tankers and three escorting
destroyers, steaming off Tawitawi in the Philippines and headed for Sibutu
Passage. The submarine fired five torpedoes. One hit under the bridge of a
tanker and another struck under the stack, enveloping the ship in smoke and
flames. The destroyers converged on Bonefish for counterattack, but she escaped
into the depths. Postwar records show that, while her torpedoes only damaged
the tanker, they sank one of the escorting destroyers, Inazuma, which was known
for having rescued 376 survivors from HMS Exeter and 151 from USS Pope during
the Second Battle of the Java Sea.
Bonefish then set course for Sibutu Passage on a reconnaissance mission. She
sighted a Japanese task force consisting of three battleships, one aircraft
carrier, three heavy cruisers, and one light cruiser, screened by eight
destroyers. The submarine relayed the information, then continued her
reconnaissance. She again sighted and reported the same task force on the
17th, this time anchored in Tawitawi Bay. Upon completing this mission,
she headed for Australia and arrived at Fremantle on 30 May.
Fifth patrol, June – August 1944
Under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Lawrence L. Edge, the submarine began her
fifth war patrol on 25 June and headed again for the Celebes Sea. On 6 July,
she surfaced to destroy a wooden-hulled schooner by gunfire. She then cleared
the area and, the next day, engaged and destroyed another small ship with
gunfire. Later that same day, the boat fired eight torpedoes at a small
cargo ship, scoring several hits. On 8 July, she used her guns to touch
off a blazing fire in a small, inter-island steamer and, two days later,
sank a sampan with gunfire.
On 29 July, Bonefish commenced tracking a large, but empty, tanker with
escorts and, early the next morning, gained a favorable attack position.
She fired six torpedoes and scored four hits. The target, Kokuyo Maru,
immediately settled by the stern, and Bonefish headed for the traffic
lanes north of Sibutu and Tawitawi. On 3 August, she damaged a tanker
with one torpedo hit. She set course for Fremantle the next day, ending
her patrol there on 13 August.
USS Boneish was sunk in June of 1945.
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