HAROLD RAY SCHWARTZ
Seaman Second Class · Plankowner, USS Silversides (SS-236) · Retired Chief Torpedoman
| Born / Died | 7 Jun 1924 / 19 Feb 2006 |
| Service no. | 283-56-20 |
| Commissioning rate | Sea2c (15 Dec 1941) |
| Silversides tenure | 15 Dec 1941 – 18 Sep 1943 |
| Patrols aboard | 6 (13 ships credited, 73,387 t)² |
| Final rate | TMCA(SS), Chief since 1963 |
| Other vessels | Hammerhead (SS-364, plankowner) |
| Service | Enlisted June 1941; 24-year Navy career, WWII and Korea |
Prewar (1924–1941)
Harold Schwartz was born on 7 June 1924. In 1930 he lived in a 2,500 farm with William’s brother and two sisters, and the census gives his age as 17, two years older than his birth date implies. With his parents’ permission he enlisted in the Navy in June 1941, at seventeen.
On Silversides (Dec 1941 – Sep 1943)
Schwartz commissioned aboard *Silversides* on 15 December 1941 as Sea2c, six months after he enlisted. He made her first six war patrols, the first five under C.C. Burlingame and the sixth under J.S. Coye Jr., and left on 18 September 1943, six days after the sixth patrol ended. Robert Trumbull’s Silversides places him as the second loader on the deck gun in a surface action when machine-gun fire knocked the helmet off his head. His obituary also credits him with a Silver Star, a Purple Heart and a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, none of which has yet been documented.
| 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 |
| Total | 13 (73,387 t) | 6 (30,210 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 (1943–1945)
He became a torpedoman and commissioned USS Hammerhead (SS-364) as TM2c on 1 March 1944. He left her on 1 February 1945. His obituary says he made nine war patrols, six in Silversides and three in “Hardhead.”
Postwar (1945–2006)
Schwartz stayed in the Navy after the war and made Chief in 1963 after twenty-two years of service. The 1950 census finds him in Westlake, Ohio, in his aunt’s household, listed as a Navy torpedoman. His wife was Vivian, his father was divorced and a golf-course greenskeeper, and Schwartz’s home in 1949 was San Diego. He completed a 24-year naval career, then worked fifteen years at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, in the shipboard and nuclear test organizations, retiring in 1981. He was a life member and past chief of the Center Groton Fire Department, a member of the Submarine Veterans of World War II and a Freemason at Brainard Lodge in Niantic. His Holland Club induction recognized his fifty years as a qualified submariner. He died on 19 February 2006.
Research Notes
-
Obituary vs. record: the obituary says “Hardhead,” but the frontmatter and commissioning data say Hammerhead. It also credits him with the story of the only submarine ever to blow up a train (that was Barb), and nothing places him aboard her. The obituary appears to confuse Barb’s stories with his own.
verify -
Surface action: Trumbull’s passage is not tied to a patrol. If it is the 10 May 1942 action in which Mike Harbin was killed, it would belong to patrol 1.
acknowledged_speculation -
Age: the 1940 census says 17 but a 7 Jun 1924 birth implies 15. The 1930 census says 5, which fits 1924.
-
Chief: achieved 1963 (
remarks). Dolphins were awarded during WWII. -
Open: OMPF, awards, 1943–1945 postings, retirement date.
-
Source notes (carried over, verbatim):
1930 census: Dover Village, OH. $20 rental with William J Schwartz (33) and Marie R (22) Herold (5). William was a laborer for a golf course.
1940 census: Dover, OH. William and Harold are living with John Schwartz (54), William’s brother. They were living on a $2500 farm. The household appears to be all siblings and Harold. John (54), Louise (48) and Delia (52) both listed as sisters of John as well as William (44) and Harold (17).
1950 census: Westlake, OH. Harold is listed in Delia’s household. William is listed as divorced. Harold is married to Vivian (30). William is a greens keeper at the golf club and Harold is listed as a torpedo man in the Navy. Harold was a sample line and shows his home as San Diego in 1949. HE made $3200 in 1949 WWII veteran and current service both checked.
Findagrave
“He served his country in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War.
With his parents’ permission, he enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 in June of 1941. He made nine war patrols in the Pacific, six on the USS Silversides and three on the USS Hardhead.
He was very proud of his Naval career of 24 years and would tell each succeeding generation of the family the stories of life onboard submarines and of his experiences, especially those that occurred during World War II. The stories would include everything from what it felt like to be depth charged, to being a crewmember of the only submarine ever credited with blowing up a train.
Author Robert Trumbull noted one of the experiences in his book “Silversides.” It occurred while the boat was engaged in a battle while on the surface, and he wrote: “There was one more burst of machine gun fire. Harold Schwartz, the second loader, felt a shock at the top of his head, and his helmet flew off and arced into the sea”.
Among his many awards and medals, he was a recipient of the Silver Star, The Purple Heart and Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V.
Harold was part of what is so rightly called “The Greatest Generation.”
Following his Naval retirement, he was employed at Electric Boat in Groton, working in the Shipboard Test and Nuclear Test Organizations for 15 years and retiring in 1981.
Harold was a life member and past chief of the Center Groton Fire Department.
He was a life member of the Submarine Veterans of World War II and Submarine Veterans Inc. He was very proud of his induction into the SubVet’s Holland Club, which recognizes submariners who became qualified in submarines at least 50 years ago.
He was also a life member of the Fraternal Order of Freemasons, participating through the Brainard Masonic Lodge in Niantic.”Obituary appears to confuse stories about Barb with a life story of Harold’s experiences. No information placing him on Barb during the war, but he was clearly a man that loved to tell stories about his adventures.
Sources: 1930, 1940 and 1950 census; Find a Grave (obituary); Trumbull, Silversides; Silversides muster and ROC; Silversides patrol indexes 1–6.