SODEN 

Military Notes

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION William J. Soden, Jr. Ship's Clerk, Second Class, U.S. Navy 03286178 United States Navy Entered the Service from: Wisconsen Died: December 15, 1945 Missing in Action or Buried at Sea Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery Manila, Philippines Awards: Purple Heart

 

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION Billy Gene Soden Ceres, California Born January 6, 1929 Aviation Electronics Technician Second Class, U.S. Navy Non-hostile Death Died August 6, 1952 in Korea Aviation Electronics Technician Soden was assigned to Unit Able, VC-35 aboard the carrier "USS BOXER." Having completed all missions as radar-radio operator, he was awaiting orders to return to the United States, when he was killed by a fire and explosion aboard the carrier.

 

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION Herbert N. Soden       Kings, New York              Born 1929 Private First Class, U.S. Army                                    Killed in Action Died January 3, 1951 in Korea Private First Class Soden was a member of the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on January 3, 1951.

The Vancouver Columbian, May 15, 1945

BLAST FATAL--

   Killed in a ship explosion in the Portland, Maine, harbor, was Edwin F. Mathys, chief MM. He had been in the navy since enlisting in 1922, and was a member of the 65-man crew of which only 14 survived the blast.

        (Edwin F. Mathys,  grandson of Thomas & Kate Soden.  Records later show he actually died April 23, 1945 when the boat was sunk "due to Captain's error."  He had been a submarine man his entire career when he had a choice of being on this small boat or an aircraft carrier. PMB)

The Vancouver Columbian, May 8, 1945

FOUR MORE ON CASUALTY ROLL

     The names of three more Clark county men were contained in today's casualty list from the Office of War Information and one casualty was reported by relatives. In the OWI release are two wounded and one missing.

     Edwin F. Mathys , Chief MM USN, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Mathys, 300 W. Forty-second street, was recently killed when the ship on which he was stationed exploded in the Portland, Maine harbor, it was announced by his relatives today.

     Mathys enlisted in the navy in 1922, it was reported. News of the explosion declared that of the complement of 65 men, only 14 survivors were listed.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, PORTLAND, MAINE, Wednesday Morning, May 9, 1945

(This is the story about the sinking of the boat on which Edwin Frederick Mathys was assigned when he died. He was the son of Sarah Soden & Frederick Mathys and the grandson of Thomas and Kate Soden)

49 Lose Lives as Patrol Ship Sinks Off Coast
13 Survive Explosion on PE-56 April 23
CRAFT SPLIT BY BLAST; TWO BODIES FOUND;
NO REPORT YET BY NAVAL COURT
     The Navy Department Tuesday announced the sinking by explosion of an Eagle-type patrol vessel, three miles off Cape Elizabeth, and said that 49 of the ship's crew of 62 either were known dead or "missing in action."
     Thirteen survivors, including one officer, were taken from the icy water by Navy rescue ships and brought to the U.S. Naval Station, Grand Trunk Pier.
     Lt. James G. Early, USNR, of Aulander, NC, the ship's commander, was listed as missing.
     Officials said the sinking was the "worst" naval disaster in New England waters since the start of the war.
     The ship, the PE-56, attached to the Brunswick Naval Air Station, "blew up" at 12:14 p.m., April 23, 1945, as the craft was cruising in an inactive period south, southeast of Portland Light, the Navy reported.
     Bodies of only two of the 49 men listed as missing were recovered. The Navy identified them as George William Neugen, machinist's mate, 1/c, USNR, of Summersfield, NC, and Paul Jaron Knapp, s 1.c, USNR, of Lake Mahopac, NY. Names of the other 47 were not released, although the Navy said nearest of kin have been notified.

No Maine Victims
     None of the 13 survivors was a Maine man, although some had taken up temporary homes here with their wives and families. One of them, Lt. (jg) John P. Scagnelli, 25, is a former captain of swimming at New York university and swam frequently and had competed in a meet the past winter at the Portland Boys' Club.
     Survivors said the 200-foot ship split in two and sank within a few minutes of the terrific explosion.
     Many of those listed as missing were trapped in below deck compart-ments.
     A Naval Court of Inquiry, headed by Capt. E. J. Freeman, USNR, commanding officer of the Portland Naval Station, convened almost immediately. The court has not yet reported its findings.
     They held knowledge that the ship recently came from repair docks after a "complete" 10-day overhauling.
     Naval craft and naval planes, which scouted the disaster area, failed to uncover a single additional body or any wreckage, other than a few pieces of timber, empty oil barrels and general debris.
     One life jacket was found later on the water but none of the survivors reported having used one to keep afloat.
     Navy officials said the water temperature at the time of the accident was 42 degrees Fahrenheit.  Normally it is recorded at 48 degrees.
Rescue Lasts 17 Minutes
     Last of the 13 survivors was picked up about 17 minutes after personnel aboard a nearby destroyer and lightship had witnessed the explosion.
     The Navy said a steady geyser of water poured high into the air as the ship split amidships.
     The suddenness of the explosion, quick sinking of the ship and immediate rescue of survivors left few tales of heroism.
     Survivors remained afloat by grasping floating timber, empty oil barrels and other wreckage. Some of those who perished went to the bottom when numbness, brought on by the cold water, forced them to relinquish holds on floating objects, survivors related.
     Only two of the 14 suffered injuries serious enough to require hospital bed treatment. Others escaped with minor cuts and bruises. All were given blood plasma and morphine injections for shock and exposure.

     Listed as survivors:

•  Lt. (jg) John P. Scagnelli, 25, USNR, of New York City.

• John L. Breeze Jr., 22, machinist mate 2/c of Concord, NH.

• Oscar F. Davis, 23, machinist mate 3/c of Illno, MO.

• Lawrence L. Edwards, 20, gunners mate 3/c of Greer, SC.

• Cletus J. Frane, 31, machinist mate 3/c of Convoy, OH.

• Daniel E. Jaronik, 19, seaman 1/c of South Bend, IN.

• Edward G. Lockhart, 28, machinist mate 1/c of Brooklyn, NY.

• John E. Lutterell, 20, seaman 1/c of St. Louis, MO.

• Harold H. Petersen, 23, machinist mate 2/c of Henrietta, NY.

• William T. Thompson, 31, fireman 1/c of Framingham, MA.

• John A. Wisniewski, 35, radioman 3/c of Garfield Heights, OH.

• John A. Happoldt, 20, seaman 2/c of Morgantown, NC.

• Joseph C. Priestas, 23, watertender 3/c of Latrobe, PA.

    
     Breeze, Luttrell and Petersen maintained apartments in Portland, ME, for their families.
Breeze lived at 70 Morning Street, Luttrell at 7 Richland Street, South Portland and Petersen at 164 Danforth Street.

Sea Was Choppy
     The Navy disclosed that the sea was moderate, although choppy, and visibility was unlimited at the time of the explosion.
     Several crew members were not aboard ship when it sailed from the Portland pier on the fatal Monday trip.
     The 12 enlisted men, who survived the ordeal, were in crew quarters, aft below the deck.
Lieutenant Scagnelli, only officer to survive, was in the forward section. He said eight men, including five officers, were on deck before the explosion. All were reported missing and are
presumed dead.
     The survivors, interviewed at the Navy Dispensary here less than 24 hours after the disaster, revealed varied accounts of the manner in which each was able to free himself from below deck quarters.
     Lieutenant Scagnelli, who suffered head and hand in juries, said he was in his cabin just aft the wardroom when "a terrific explosion knocked me out of bed and against a bulkhead."
     "I was thrown just as if someone had picked me up and tossed me," he recalled.
     In a dazed condition, Lieutenant Scagnelli headed for a passageway "filled with smoke, low pressure steam and debris."
     His head swathed in bandages, Lieutenant Scagnelli continued: "The ship had listed badly. I managed to reach the Chief Petty Officer's office, where a ladder reached to the main
deck.

Didn't Have to Jump
     "The magazine, I knew, hadn't gone. From the main deck there were two exits. I got past a galley on the starboard side and found myself in water up to my chest. I didn't have to jump overboard," he related.
     Once in the water the officer sighted Joseph Lydon, a radioman 2/c from Philadelphia.
     "His head was bleeding and I did not see another person. I could see the ship had split in two and I was 50 yards away when the aft section disappeared. The forward section settled and became upright, perpendicular to the water. It then sank when its compartments filled.
     "I told Lydon to follow me when I saw some floating on a metal tank by Lydon went down. I reached the oil tank to find two men on it, Luttrell and Breeze (both survivors).
     We held on for four or five minutes before it sank and then I grabbed onto some floating shores (timber) and soon a destroyer picked me up."
     Scagnelli said most of the men were on the port side at the time of the explosion, although he was on the starboard side.
     He estimated that no more than 40 seconds elapsed from the time he was knocked from his bunk until he reached open water.
     "When I was knocked out of bed, I saw no sign of life and heard no one calling for help," he said.
     He believed more than 20 men were trapped in the CPO quarters, radio shack, wardroom, officers' stateroom and officers' galley.
     Scagnelli, like other survivors, injected opinions as to the cause of the blast.

Have Varied Opinions
     Some survivors reported having seen a submarine, others likened the blast to that of a depth charge and some were in complete disagreement.
     Scagnelli said that when he boarded the rescue destroyer, he was told it had made contact with something and had dropped some depth bombs.
     The officer praised Petersen, who "gave up his wooden shores to another man, who did not survive."
     "Petersen picked up floating debris and swam it to me and to others," Scagnelli related.
     Edwards conceded to an interviewer that he had shouted to others in the water that "there's a submarine or something like it over there."
     Davis was one who heard the comment and he added, "I saw exhaust smoke coming from a sub."
     Thompson was another who "saw smoke."
     Luttrell, who had gone below from a watch, said when he left the bridge, about five minutes before the blast, "We had no contact with a sub-marine."

Doubts Torpedoing
     Lockhart, confined to bed by abdominal and hip injuries, injected himself into the discussion between reporters, survivors and naval officers to say that "I have seen quite a few ships hit by torpedoes, but wouldn't say this was one."
     Lockhart, who had served four years in the Mediterranean, said the explosion "was the direct opposite to a depth charge."
     "This was straight up in the air," he recalled.
     Priestas said the explosion, which knocked "my hat off" seemed as if "a depth charge had dropped in real close or we had struck a floating mine.'
     The ship was sinking when Wisniewski came on topside, he said. The radioman third-class said Edwards, Davis and Lockhart were "just ahead of me as we hit the water."
     Some of the men in the compartment failed to get out, Wisniewski recalled.
     Davis said the explosion blew a ladder from its hook in the aft compartment near the escape hatch, which forced him to wade through debris to find another exit.
     "Breeze was just ahead of me and kept urging me to stay calm," Davis said.
     Both Davis and Edwards recalled that hurried attempts to find life jackets failed. Davis said the water was too high for him to reach one.
     Edwards followed Lockhart into the water, after climbing through an escape hatch to the topside.
     "I grabbed onto a metal tank and held onto it until rescued," he said.
     Petersen, with a few minor scars on his face, said all bunks in the aft compartment were overturned and "one of them hit me."

Blast Shook Ship
     The explosion vibrated the entire ship and to Petersen sounded like a depth charge, he said.
     "It seemed like an explosion on the starboard side and in `15 seconds I was on deck and water was up to my ankles," he added.
     Once in the water, Petersen grabbed onto a piece of the practice target with Davis and Nugent, a machinist listed as missing.
     "Nugent's leg was broken and after a few minutes he lost his grip and went down," Petersen said.
     Thompson said the explosion knocked "me through a hatch opening." He lost a shoe and sock before hitting the water." 
     Breeze recalled that he was on a metal tank with Luttrell. "I saw something in front of the ship and thought it was the bow," he said.
     Jaronik summed up his experience in these words, "It was a terrible concussion on the starboard side. Once in the water, I grabbed part of the target buoy. I saw Breeze floating around and heard Luttrell shout to him to head to an oil tank. Scagnelli came upon it (the tank) and the three men floated around.
     "I reached a tank on which Edwards, Gross, Goe and Knapp (the last three listed as dead) were floating. I grabbed on. One by one Goss, Goe and Knapp disappeared."
     An empty wooden "coke" case was credited by Frane as "saving my life." He said the ship already was listing when he and Jaronik leaped over the side. "I was going under. The pressure of the ship's suction was terrific. I was looking for some floating object when a `coke' case hit me on the shoulder. I grabbed it and later grabbed a four by four."
     The ill-fated patrol vessel was one of the 60 PE ships built at the Henry Ford River Rouge Plant in Detroit in 1917-18. It was listed at 430 tons, 200 feet nine inches long, 25 feet nine inch beam and was rated at 18 knots. Her peacetime guns, the Navy said, consisted of two four-inch guns and one three-inch anti-aircraft gun. Its peacetime complement included 63 enlisted men and four officers.

NORMAN SODEN

1915-1999

COMPANY H, 20TH INF. 6TH DIV.

    Norman Soden was inducted into the Army on 7-3-1941 at Fort Crook, Nebraska.  His military occupation was Heavy Machine Gunner.

    After induction, Norman arrived in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. in 1941.  The 6th Division had maneuvers in Tennessee on 9-11-1942.  Upon arriving back in Fort Leonard Wood, the 6th division were reassigned to CP Young, California on 11-29-41 to participate in Desert Training with Armored Corps until 2-22-1943.  The 6th Division was prepared to fight in the desert.  Fighting broke out heavy in the jungles of the Philippines and New Guinea.  The military, after having the 6th division trained in desert combat, decided they were needed in the jungle.  The division was sent to Hawaii on 7-29-1943.  From Hawaii they were shipped out to New Guinea.

    The 6th division arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea on 1-31-1944.  Initial elements arrived at Toem in the Hollandia-Aitape area, followed by the 20th Infantry on 6-11-1944.  On 6-20-1944 the 20th Infantry began its attack toward LONE TREE HILL from Tirfoam River, but was slowed by heavy fire from a defile between it and Mt. Saskin, and was unable to gain the crest until 6-22-1944, after which it was subjected to fierce Japanese counter attacks.  It was at this time Norman Soden was wounded. Norman's unit was pinned down with heavy fire.  Norman was hit in the left elbow while reaching for a full machine belt of ammo.  Norman's left elbow was blown away.

    Norman spent the next two years at military hospitals and then received his discharge while at O'Reilly General Hospital on 1-26-1946. When Norman was discharged he lost permanent use of his left arm.

    Norman's decorations and citations include:

Combat Infantry Badge;  Good Conduct Ribbon; Asiatic - Pacific Ribbon with one bronze star;  American Defense Ribbon;  American Theatre Ribbon; Victory Medal;  and Purple Heart.  

    Norman was a member of American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled Veterans.    (Written by his son, Terry Soden)

New Jersey Civil War Participants

Special Schedules, Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Widows

World War I Draft Registration

Lawmen and Outlaws
Oklahoma and Indian Territory
and the State of Oklahoma

Sorry, I couldn't decide where to put this one!  

Nebraska Civil War Veterans List

SNDX Name                        Location          Record type       Note
 

S350 Soden, J. H. ................. Wisner ........... 1893 Vet Census .... New York

MEMBERS OF THE BENTON COUNTY, IOWA VETERANS ASSOCIATION, 1910
31ST ANNUAL REUNION AUG. 5 AND 6, 1909 BENTON CO. VETERANS ASSOCIATION

COMPANY E (SHELLSBURG, PALO AND ATKINS) Bigley, J.L., captain: Hatfield, William, lieutenant Barton, O.B., orderly SHELLSBURG:

Soden, William R. Co. L 50th N.Y. Eng.

1880 REUNION OF BENTON COUNTY VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR Held at Vinton, Iowa, September 14-15, 1880, NEW YORK VETERANS

Soden, C. E. Co. B 50th Engineers

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyontari/ONTVETS.HTM

Cuming County Nebraska, WWI Draft Lists 

1917 Listing

Blaine

Sode, Frank E.
Soden, William H.

Name: Frank Ormond Soden Country: Canada Rank: Captain Service: Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force Units: 41, 60 Victories: 27 Born: 3 November 1895 Place of Birth: Petitcodiac, New Brunswick Died: 12 February 1961 Place of Death: London, England

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

"A bold and skilful officer who has accounted for three enemy aeroplanes and two balloons during recent operations." DFC citation, London Gazette, 8 February 1919