Golet departed Manitowoc 19 December 1943 via the
Mississippi River for
New Orleans, Louisiana, arriving 28 December. After shakedown training at
Panama and final battle practice in
Hawaiian waters Golet departed
Pearl Harbor on 18 March 1944 for her maiden war patrol.
First Patrol: 18 March 1944
Golet departed
Pearl Harbor on 18 March 1944 for her maiden war patrol off the
Kurile Islands chain, Southern
Hokkaidō and Eastern
Honshū,
Japan. Severe combinations of fog, rain, and ice were encountered and only one ship worth a torpedo came into view. This enemy proved too fast for Golet to close to torpedo range; she returned to
Midway Island on 3 May 1944.
Second Patrol: 28 May 1944
Lieutenant Commander James S. Clark took command of Golet, departed
Midway Island on 28 May 1944 to patrol off northern
Honshū,
Japan, and was never heard from again.
Golet had been scheduled to depart her area on 5 July and was expected at
Midway Island about 12 July or 13 July. She failed to acknowledge a message sent her on 9 July and was presumed lost 26 July 1944.
Fate: 14 June 1944
Japanese antisubmarine records available after the war revealed that Golet was the probable victim of a Japanese antisubmarine attack made 14 June 1944. These records mention that the attack brought up cork, rafts, and other debris and a heavy pool of oil, all evidence of the sinking of a submarine.
Commemoration
Commissioning Crew: 30 November 1943
A plaque at the
Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, lists the members of Golet′s commissioning crew on 30 November 1943 and provides a brief history of Golet′s career.
Memorial: 9 March 2013
A memorial to Golet and her crew is located in
Metairie, Louisiana. Its inscription reads:
U.S.S. Golet SS-361 A submarine built by Manitowoc shipbuilding Co of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Funds for this boat were raised by the citizens of Caddo Parish Louisiana. Launched one August 1943, her second patrol under the command of LCDR. James S. Clark was sunk by enemy depth charges on 14 June 1944. All hands were lost – 82 men. May God rest their souls.
The memorial also lists her crew at the time of her sinking, all of whom were lost, as follows:
^
abcdefBauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 271–273.
ISBN0-313-26202-0.