ALBERT HOUSTON STEGALL
Radioman Second Class · Plankowner, USS Silversides (SS-236) · Silver Star · Chief Warrant Officer 2
| Born / Died | 10 Mar 1917, Kingston, TN / 27 Dec 2009 |
| Service no. | 295-28-92 |
| Commissioning rate | RM2c (15 Dec 1941) |
| Silversides tenure | 15 Dec 1941 – 8 May 1943 |
| Patrols aboard | 4 (12 ships credited, 63,387 t)² |
| Rate on leaving Silversides | CRM(A) |
| Final rate | CWO2 |
| Awards | Silver Star |
| Service | 17 Oct 1935 – 30 Jun 1957 (BIRLS) |
Prewar (1917–1941)
Albert Houston Stegall, who went by Houston, was born in Kingston, Tennessee, on 10 March 1917. In 1930 the family owned a $3,500 home with a radio on Spring Street, where his father Albert H. (47) ran a peach orchard. Houston (12) was one of nine children at home. The father was a figure in Roane County: Justice of the Peace from 1918, a Mason and Methodist, elected Mayor of Kingston in June 1937, and the brother of the man for whom Clifford Stegall Post 110 of the American Legion is named. Houston enlisted in the Navy on 17 October 1935, at eighteen.
On Silversides (Dec 1941 – May 1943)
Stegall commissioned aboard *Silversides* on 15 December 1941 as RM2c and made her first four war patrols, all under C.C. Burlingame. He left as a Chief Radioman (Acting) on 8 May 1943, before the fifth patrol sailed.
According to newspaper accounts, he held a bent spoon as a retractor in the wardroom while the boat’s pharmacist’s mate performed an appendectomy on a shipmate in Japanese waters, and the crew later watched a Japanese horse race from the surfaced boat off the shore. A Navy announcement of a Silver Star for “bravery aboard submarines on war patrol in action against the enemy” names him among three enlisted men, giving his residence as Kingston and his wife as Helene Ruth, of Ukiah, California.
| 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) |
| Total | 12 (63,387 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)
His service after May 1943 has not yet been traced. A Tennessee newspaper reported him on a visit home to Kingston, recalling his experiences in the Pacific.
Postwar (1945–2009)
The 1950 census finds him in Los Angeles, listed in the Armed Forces, with his wife Helene (33) and three young children. BIRLS gives his discharge as 30 June 1957. He died on 27 December 2009 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, where his headstone lists him as a Chief Warrant Officer 2 of World War II.
Research Notes
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Silver Star: the date, patrol and citation are not recorded. The clipping gives his age as 36, but a 1917 birth makes him 26.
verifyCheck the Navy announcement and the OMPF. -
The operation: the clipping credits “George M. Platter of Buffalo, NY” and the pharmacist’s mate in different sentences. The patient, the surgeon, the date and the patrol are not settled in the file, which places it in 1943. By dates, patrols 1 to 4 are the candidates.
verifyagainst the patrol report. Robert R. Danko was also named as a participant in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin of 15 Feb 1943, which points to patrol 4. -
Names: the first clipping reads “Albert H.” and the second reads “Houston Stegall, son of Mayor and Mrs. A. H. Stegall,” so both are the same man. The second clipping calls him Seaman, which is a reporter’s error.
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Navy time: the second clipping says eight years in the Navy, which fits an October 1935 enlistment and a visit home in late 1943.
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Father: the clipping from the Kingston newspaper is carried in full below, since it documents the family. The 1930 census counts nine children at home, and the biography counts ten.
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Tree: a detailed family tree is on Ancestry (linked from the original note).
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Open: OMPF, Silver Star citation, service after May 1943, the move to warrant officer.
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Source notes (carried over, verbatim):
1930 Census Kingston, TN. Albert H Stegall (47) and Martha M. (44). Catherine A (20), Jessie E (18), Richard H (16), Ethel E (14), Houston A (12), Viola M (10), Charles W (8), Martha M (5), David O (2). Albert owned and operated a peach orchard. They lived in a $3500 owned home with a radio.
1950 Census Los Angeles, CA. Albert H Stegall (33), Helene R (33). Albert H (4), Marilyn (3) and Judith A (2). Albert is in the armed forces. Living at 9239 Palm.
KINGSTON MAN AWARDED SILVER STAR FOR VALOR - “The silver star has been awarded three enlisted men for bravery aboard submarines on war patrol in action against the enemy, the navy announced today: Among them was Albert H. Stegall, 36, Kingston, Tenn.; wife, Mrs. Helene Ruth Stegall, Ukiah. Calif.”
East Tennessee Lad Aids Operation Aboard Submarine - “Kingston, Tenn.—AP—Remember the stories about the American submarine crew’s daring surgical operation at sea and how the sub’s crew watched a Japanese horse race? An East Tennessee youth, Stegall, recalled some of his experiences today in far Pacific waters after returning home for a visit. He is Houston Stegall, son of Mayor and Mrs. A. H. Stegall of Kingston. The Seaman, who came here from San Francisco, assisted in the appendectomy aboard the submersible in the Japanese-infested waters. While the pharmacist’s mate performed the operation, Stegall used a bent spoon as a retractor. The successful surgery was performed by George M. Platter of Buffalo, NY. Stegall, recently recommended for a Silver Star award, has been in the US Navy for 8 years. He watched—from a submarine surfaced just off shore—a Japanese horse race several months ago.”
Article about his father—“Stegall, Albert Hood, born in Roane County, Sept 16, 1883; Mayor of Kingston; sells school equipment; German-English descent; son of Samuel Oscar and Anabelle Hood Stegall; paternal grandparents: Wm. Stegall and Malissa Howard Stegall; maternal grandparents: James Hood and Anne Bailey Hood. Attended public schools of Roane County, and Roane College. A member of the Methodist Church, Mason, Odd Fellows, K.P., Shriner, Democrate. Mr. Stegall was elected Mayor of Kingston in June, 1937. He has served as Justice of the Peace since 1918 and still holds this office. During his early life he was interested in livestock and real estate. He engaged in extensive orchard business in 1920. He has, for the past three years, represented a concern which manufactures school supplies. During his term of office as member of the county court of Roane County he has consistently worked for the interest of the public schools. His public service has earned him the respect of the entire county. Clifford Stegall Post # 110 of the American Legion is so named for a brother. Mr. Stegall is the father of 10 children. Mrs. Anna Murray Walker; Mrs. Katherine Williams; Mrs. Jessie Allen; Mrs. Ethel Hurst; Richard H.; Albert H., (US Navy); May Stegall; Chas Wm.; Martha Mae; and David. Mr. Stegall’s hobby is bird hunting. His father was a soldier in the Civil War serving with the Federal forces. He volunteered at the age of approximately 15 years.”Research Notes
Albert Houston Stegall. CWO2 on headstone. WWII. 10MAR17 - 27DEC09. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery. From Tennessee. One of 9 children in Albert H Stegall’s household on Spring Street in Kingston. An owned home ($3500) with a radio in 1930. Albert H 47 and Martha M 44. Catherine A 20, Jessie E 18, Richard H 16, Ethel E 14, Houston A 12, Viola M 10, Charles W 8, Martha M 5, and David O 2. His father was the operator of a peach orchard. 1950 he is married and living in Los Angeles. Married to Helene R 33, Albert H 4, Marilyn 3, and Judith A 2. Lists Armed forces for his occupation. This is the man who was holding a bent spoon as a retractor in the wardroom of the Silversides in 1943. Highly detailed tree here.
Sources: 1930 and 1950 census; BIRLS; Find a Grave; newspaper clippings (“Kingston Man Awarded Silver Star for Valor”; AP, “East Tennessee Lad Aids Operation Aboard Submarine”); Silversides muster; Silversides patrol indexes 1–4.