05/13/2026
: Today we pause to remember the USS Pickerel (SS-177) and her crew.
Commanded by LCDR Augustus H. Alston, Jr., the Pickerel departed Midway on March 22, 1943, for her seventh war patrol off the eastern coast of northern Honshu. Tragically, she was never heard from again, becoming the first U.S. submarine lost in the Central Pacific area during WWII.
When she failed to make her scheduled radio report in early May, extensive searches were launched, but nothing was found. After the war, Japanese records revealed an anti-submarine depth charge attack on April 3, 1943, off Shiranuka Lighthouse. Because no other American submarines were in that specific area, historians believe this was likely the Pickerel's final battle.
Before her loss, the Pickerel was a formidable force in the Pacific, completing six patrols where she sank five enemy ships and damaged ten others. (Note: Occasional wartime rumors claiming her sunken vessel was discovered and the crew rescued are entirely fictitious).
We honor the brave men of the USS Pickerel who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation.
