Memorials › S1 Robert Arthur Mosher

S1 Robert Arthur Mosher

17 Jan 1919 – 13 Nov 1942

Birth	17 Jan 1919
Death	13 Nov 1942
Cemetery	Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila , Capital District , National Capital Region , Philippines
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56784399

Bio

MOSHER, ROBERT ARTHUR, Seaman First Class, Service no. 3167037, USS Juneau (CL-52), US Navy, †13/11/1942 Father, Mr. Robert J. Mosher, 802 Center St., W., Madison, SD KIA off the Solomon Islands when USS Juneau was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine ---------------- USS JUNEAU (CL-52) The USS Juneau participated in a number of naval engagements during the months-long Guadalcanal Campaign beginning in August 1942. Early in the morning of November 13, 1942, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Juneau was struck by a Japanese torpedo and forced to withdraw. Later that day, as it was leaving the Solomon Islands' area for the Allied rear-area base at Espiritu Santo with other surviving US warships from battle, the Juneau was struck again, this time by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-26. The torpedo likely hit the thinly armored light cruiser at or near the ammunition magazines and the ship exploded and quickly sank. Captain Gilbert C. Hoover, commanding officer of the light cruiser USS Helena, and the senior officer present afloat (SOPA) of the battle-damaged US task force, was skeptical that anyone had survived the sinking of Juneau and believed it would be reckless to look for survivors, thereby exposing his wounded ships to a still-lurking Japanese submarine. Therefore, he ordered his ships to continue on towards Espiritu Santo. Helena signaled a nearby US B-17 bomber on patrol to notify Allied headquarters to send aircraft or ships to search for survivors. But in fact, approximately 100 of Juneau's crew had survived the torpedo attack and the sinking of their ship and were left in the water. The B-17 bomber crew, under orders not to break radio silence, did not pass the message about searching for survivors to their headquarters until they had landed several hours later. The crew's report of the location of possible survivors was mixed in with other pending paperwork actions and went unnoticed for several days. It was not until days later that headquarters staff realized that a search had never been mounted and belatedly ordered aircraft to begin searching the area. In the meantime, Juneau's survivors, many of whom were seriously wounded, had to fend for themselves in the open ocean for eight days before rescue aircraft belatedly arrived. While awaiting rescue, all but 10 died from the elements and repeated shark attacks. Eight days after the sinking, ten survivors were found by a PBY Catalina search aircraft and retrieved from the water. Wikipedia ∼ MOSHER, ROBERT ARTHUR, Seaman First Class, US Navy, assigned to the USS Juneau during WWII. Robert A. Mosher was born in Lake County on January 17, 1919, to Robert and Martha (Bolk) Mosher. Robert was the youngest of seven offspring. He had three brothers, whose names were Norris, Jack, and Lynn. He also had three sisters named Stella, Eunice, and Julia. Robert enlisted in the Navy in October of 1940. Robert was deployed to the Pacific theater of operations. Navy S 1C Robert Mosher was stationed aboard the USS Juneau and was reported as missing in action on November 14, 1942, after the Juneau was hit by a torpedo near the Solomon Islands during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Robert Mosher was only twenty-three years old at the time of his death. A marker was placed in the family plot in Madison as a memorial to Robert Mosher. His name is also on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. This entry was respectfully submitted to the FALLEN SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF SOUTH DAKOTA Project by Charles Hersrud, 8th Grade West, Spearfish Middle School, Spearfish, South Dakota, May 12, 1999. Information for this entry was provided by Dale and Sandy Mosher of Rapid City, South Dakota, relatives of S 1C Mosher. Contributor: DB6654 (48558131) A Cenotaph here

Inscription

MOSHER ROBERT ARTHUR - SEAMAN 1C - USN - SOUTH DAKOTA

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