6/4/2015 Found DAT Seawolf Ed McGrath

[Dan Arnes]

06/04/2015

**07** Finally able to confirm DAT Seawolf Edward Humphrey McGRATH, AOC, Maintenance, Vung Tau, 4/14/1968 to 4/11/1969.
He had already been on Richard King’s & Jack Williamson’s old DAT Lists, but had no data or dates associated. I found that he passed away 6/25/1989 in El Centro, CA.

To my knowledge, he retired as AOC with 30 years. (Ed joined the Navy in Jan 1943, and a photo I found as an AOC, shows he had 6 hashmarks (at least 24 years service), dating the photo after 1967. He left us for NAS Agana, Guam in May 1969 (which is a 3 yr tour if accompanied), so he must have still been in the Navy in 1972, and probably went to El Centro after that tour to retire around 1973 for 30 years (SWAG).)

He was married to a Japanese woman named Fumie "Toni" (Fujioka) McGrath (also in the photo I found below) who passed away in 1995, and appears they had no children. Both his parents passed away and Ed was buried at sea, making it very hard to find a record of him without a grave, obituary, or living relative.



TWS Shadowbox

Find A Grave Memorial

Dan

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Of 2,552 confirmed Seawolf names, 337 Navy Seawolves still remain to be found, which includes 26 Plank Owners, and 7 prior Association Members we’ve lost contact with.
Sadly, we have 523 confirmed DAT (Died After Tour), (20.49%).

[Jim Hayes]

excellent work Dan..........

[Stephen Valentine]

I woeked for AOC McGrath at Vung Tau.  I was an AO2 in the AO Shop.  I really liked the Chief.  He told me once that out of his 25 or 26 years service that aouut 20 was sea duty.  I'm just glAD HE TOOK TIME TO TALK WITH ME.  i only had about 2 1/2 hald years in at the time.  I was lucky.  While at Vung tau we had 4 AOC's , Casey, Ghromley, Fields and McGrath.   Oh yea.also a AOC name of Hopkins I believe.  He went to DET after a short time.  Back to McGRath, he was so senior and me so lunior I am just glad he would take time to converse with me.

[Dan Arnes]

Stephen,
I have since been in contact with Ed's 1st Cousin Maureen and a nephew also named Ed McGrath.
Maureen said the photo I had found was him and his wife staying at her grandparents home for 2-3 days in Keene, MA, on leave because of car trouble. Her husband had served 31 yrs in the Air Force and was the last Base Commander at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee MA, and he and "Buddy" talked to each other the entire time they were there until they left.  Said the two of them had a lot in common with their military careers.

She said he was known in the family as “Buddy” and everyone called him that.  She also said that his Navy friends called him “Mickey”. She said that when he was upset or angry he said “Mickey Mouse” instead of cursing.
She said he spent 30 years in the Navy and he never really came back home to live after he had enlisted shortly after Pearl Harbor.

Dan