DARRELL ROBINSON
Seaman Second Class · Plankowner, USS Silversides (SS-236) · Plankowner, USS Cobia (SS-245)
| Born / Died | 1 Jun 1918, Crestline (TX per death certificate; KS per Find a Grave) / 30 Nov 2005 |
| Service no. | 356-38-76 |
| Commissioning rate | Sea2c (15 Dec 1941) |
| Silversides tenure | From 15 Dec 1941; departure not yet recorded |
| Patrols aboard | Not yet established |
| Final rate | CSC(SS) |
| Other vessels | Cobia (SS-245, plankowner) |
| Service | BIRLS: 5 Nov 1946 – 29 Oct 1951 |
Prewar (1918–1941)
Darrell Robinson was born on 1 June 1918. In 1930 the family rented a farm at Spring Valley, Kansas. His father Roy (41) was the farmer, his mother Anne was 36, and Darrell (11) had a brother Lawrence (14). By 1940 he was a lodger in the household of Walter and Lilly Hynes at Spring Valley, working as a cook in a restaurant. His draft registration was with Tulsa County Board No. 2, and describes a man 5 ft 8 in and 150 lb with light complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.
On Silversides (Dec 1941 – )
Robinson commissioned aboard *Silversides* on 15 December 1941 as Sea2c. The enlisted records do not yet show when he left or how many patrols he made.
Patrol table pending: departure date and patrols aboard not yet established.
Later War (1944–1945)
He was a plankowner of USS Cobia (SS-245), the Gato-class boat now preserved as a museum ship at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, when she commissioned on 29 March 1944 as SC1c.
Postwar (1945–2005)
BIRLS gives a Navy period from 5 November 1946 to 29 October 1951. The 1950 census finds him in Key West, Florida, in the Armed Forces, with his wife Reba (26) and two young children. He reached Chief Commissary Steward and died on 30 November 2005.
Research Notes
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Continuity table: a 1942-12 GAP flag survived the generator fix, so he is absent from the Dec 1942 quarter. It is a real candidate for a hospital stay, a transfer or a missed line.
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Birthplace: the death certificate says Crestline, Texas, and Find a Grave says Crestline, Kansas. His 1930 and 1940 census records are in Spring Valley, Kansas.
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Son’s name: a son born about 1946 carries the first name Creed, which may honor the boat’s first commanding officer, Creed C. Burlingame.
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BIRLS: the dates cover only a later period of service, so BIRLS misses most of his career.
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NOK: a sister.
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Open: OMPF, departure ROC, retirement date.
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Source notes (carried over, verbatim):
1930 Census Spring Valley, KS. Roy B. Robinson (41) and Anne G (36) Lawrence W (14) and Darrell (11). Roy was a farmer and they were renting.
1940 Census Spring Valley, KS. Darrell Robinson is a lodger in the house of Walter and Lilly Hynes. Darrell was a cook in a restaurant.
1950 Census Key West, FL. Darrell Robinson (31) and Reba M (26). 2 children, Creed (4) and Didre (1). Darrell was listed as in the armed forces. Son born in 1946 carries the name Creed, which could be in honor of Silversides first skipper, Creed C. Burlingame.
Sources: 1930, 1940 and 1950 census; draft registration; BIRLS; Find a Grave; Silversides muster; Cobia commissioning ROC.