As a result of our "Lest We Forget-Vet Special", we at the Mt Zion Historical Society have had the pleasure
to meet Mary Bentz- niece of Carmine (Carmen) Parziale who was one of our special WW2 veterans of Bennnett's Valley
featured in this section. Through Mary we have learned much of USS Grunion(SS-216), its crew including Carmine, the
search for USS Grunion, and the special sub-ladies. What follows is a special series of articles written by Mary
Bentz about USS Grunion(216) and the sub-ladies. We thank Mary for her special efforts as a sub-lady for both the
entire crew of USS Grunion and for the Mt Zion Historical Society. Check back often for new articles to be added.
Seventy men aboard USS Grunion (SS-216) were alive one minute, and then without a second for prayer or a goodbye
thought, they were gone!
By Mary Parziale Bentz, USS Grunion Family Search Team
USS Grunion, a Gato class submarine, originally designed to carry a complement of 4 officers and 54 enlisted men
for a total crew of 58, left New London, Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, May 24, 1942 carrying a complement of 6
officers and 64 men for a total crew of 70.
On that day, Torpedoman's Mate 3rd Class, Carmine Anthony Parziale of Weedville was one of 6 men from the state of
Pennsylvania to sail with Lieutenant Commander Mannert L. Abele bound for Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal.
Carmine (Carmen) enlisted in the Navy on June 18, 1940. He was received on board USS Barracuda at US Navy Yard,
Portsmouth, NH as Seaman Apprentice. In October, 1940 he was promoted to rank of Seaman 2nd class and in
August, 1941 he became Seaman 1st class. On November 15, 1941, Carmen left Barracuda for the Navy Torpedo
Station. Newport, R.I. for training.
He was received on board USS Grunion April 11, 1942 as Torpedoman's Mate Third Class. Grunion was a new submarine
and there was a waiting list of those who wished to sail on this new sub with Lt. Commander Abele.
On 24 May 1942, Grunion left New London for Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal. The boat arrived there on 20 June;
and on June 30, she left Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol near the western Aleutian Islands, then occupied by
the Japanese. Grunion reported heavy anti-submarine activity in the area. When all U.S. subs were ordered to return
to Dutch Harbor, Grunion was the only submarine that failed to return. A Pearl Harbor survivor who was on USS
Finback in the Aleutians writes that on August 3, 1942 they were instructed to contact Grunion during darkness,
asking for her position. There was no response. On August 4, a final broadcast to Grunion went unanswered.
For 65 years USS Grunion was listed on official Navy records as "missing, cause unknown."
To be continued.
The Sub Ladies By Mary Bentz 4-18-09
Sub lady is an affectionate name given to three women who were relentless in their mission to locate and contact a
family member for each of the 70 men lost on USS Grunion (SS-216), July 30, 1942, in the Aleutian Islands. They are Rhonda
Raye of Cartersville, Georgia, Vickie Rodgers of Mayfield, Kentucky and me, Mary Bentz of Bethesda, Maryland.
These three women, who have never met, have worked side by side since 2006 locating family members for each of the
crew from all over the United States.
We were successful in accomplishing our goal the morning after the submarine was found. After a radio broadcast
on a talk show in Detroit early that morning, we received a call from the cousin of Bryon Allen Traviss. Our search
was complete!
But the real credit goes to the wife of Grunion's Lt. Commander Mannert L. Abele. Catherine Abele was truly the
very first sub lady. She went to the effort of obtaining names and addresses from Washington of the next of kin
of all the crew of the Grunion, and then wrote personal letters to each one of them, expressing her concern and
encouragement to be strong in the days ahead. This writer tries to imagine how much courage it took for Catherine
to be concerned for others while she, herself, was trying to deal with the loss. She had her young family to care
for. These letters were reciprocated by a tremendous outpouring of letters of thanks and appreciation; along with
many sad and frantic appeals about loved ones looking for any and all information that might come her way. She
continued corresponding until she died. Catherine was an extraordinary woman.
Catherine's daughter-in-law, Susan Abele, can be considered another sub lady, as well. Realizing the importance of
these letters and the impact they would have on generations to come, she has kept them in perfect order and carefully
protected. These are shared with families today who are comforted touching a letter written long ago by a
parent, wife, or a friend. After all of these years, when we read them, it seems as though no time has passed at all.
Both ladies are an inspiration.
Rhonda, Vickie and I have worked together very closely, sharing all of our information. We each have different
methods of going about a search.
We called churches, newspapers, radio stations, schools, funeral homes, cemeteries - just to name a few. We used
every possible tool available on the web; such as, Google searches, ancestry sites, Social Security Death Index,
old court cases. I even went so far as to use the 'find the neighbors' on White Pages.com. These are just a few
examples. Know that we would be very excited when we thought we were close, only to learn we were in a blind alley.
At that point, we'd take another route, and eventually we'd find the family. We left no stone unturned.
Most importantly, we never gave up. And it was the combination of all of these things that made this search a huge
success."
Of this we are certain, without the internet, it just would not have been possible.
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