MARSH, William F.

WILLIAM FRANK MARSH

Fireman Third Class · Plankowner, USS Silversides (SS-236)

Born / Died	27 Feb 1920 / 13 Mar 1983
Service no.	393-36-39
Commissioning rate	F3c (15 Dec 1941)
Silversides tenure	15 Dec 1941 – 5 Feb 1944
Patrols aboard	8 (20 ships credited, 113,962 t)²
Service	11 Jun 1940 – 10 Jun 1946; 10 Dec 1951 – 4 Jan 1955 (BIRLS)

Prewar (1920–1941)

William Marsh was born on 27 February 1920. In 1940 he was twenty and living in Mosier, Oregon, in an owned $1,500 home with his parents, William A. (56), a carpenter, and Elsie (54). He worked as a farm laborer. He enlisted in the Navy on 11 June 1940.

On Silversides (Dec 1941 – Feb 1944)

Marsh commissioned aboard *Silversides* on 15 December 1941 as F3c. On his dates he made her first eight war patrols and left on 5 February 1944. Three other plankowners left the same day: Patrick A. Carswell, Arthur W. Clark Jr. and Roy C. Riser.

Patrol	Dates	CO	Credited sunk	Credited damaged
1	30 Apr – 21 Jun 1942	Burlingame	5 (25,627 t)¹	1 (10,100 t)
2	15 Jul – 8 Sep 1942	Burlingame	4 (15,250 t)	2 (5,750 t)
3	2 Oct – 25 Nov 1942	Burlingame	2 (12,500 t)²	0
4	17 Dec 1942 – 31 Jan 1943	Burlingame	1 (10,010 t)	3 (14,360 t)
5	17 May – 1 Jul 1943	Burlingame	1 (10,000 t)	0
6	21 Jul – 12 Sep 1943	Coye	0	0
7	5 Oct – 8 Nov 1943	Coye	4 (22,075 t)	1 (5,000 t)
8	4 Dec 1943 – 15 Jan 1944	Coye	3 (18,500 t)	2 (8,000 t)
Total			20 (113,962 t)	9 (43,210 t)

¹ Tonnage as credited in endorsements. Patrol 1 includes a submarine credit that was likely a log or other debris.
² Patrol 3 figures come from the ship’s history, not a patrol report. The total therefore mixes bases.

Later War (1944–1945)

His service after leaving Silversides has not yet been traced.

Postwar (1946–1983)

BIRLS gives his discharge as 10 June 1946 and a second period of service from 10 December 1951 to 4 January 1955. The 1950 census finds him in Columbus, Georgia, listed in the Armed Forces, with his wife Phyllis (19). On 17 December 1958 he married Dolorous Emily (Evans) Lewis; he was then a rancher and carpenter in Mosier, Oregon. He died on 13 March 1983.

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Research Notes

• Service gap: BIRLS shows no service between June 1946 and December 1951, but the 1950 census lists him in the Armed Forces. This may reflect reserve or fleet reserve duty.

• Patrol count: silversides_patrols was blank; eight comes from the dates. verify against the muster.

• Name: the full name “William Frank” comes from the earlier stub heading. The note spells the town “Moiser”; the census has Mosier, and the profile follows it. The bride’s given name is as recorded.

• Departure: the destination and rate on leaving are not recorded.

• Patrol 3: secondary_source (ship’s history, not located on Fold3).

• Source notes (carried over, verbatim):

  1940 Census William A Marsh (56) amd Elsie P (54). W. Franklin (20). Living in an owned $1500 home in Mosier, OR. His father was a carpenter. William Franklin was a farm laborer.
  1950 Census Wm F Marsh (30) and Phyllis D (19). Living in Columbus, GA and in the Armed Forces.
  Married Dolorous Emily (Evans) Lewis on 17 Dec 1958. At the time he was a rancher and a carpenter in Moiser, OR.

Sources: 1940 and 1950 census; BIRLS; marriage record; Silversides muster and ROC; Silversides patrol indexes 1–8.