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William A. Ummel was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on the 29th of May 1923 and died in Coeur d'Alene on the 17th of September 2005. Bill is survived by his wife June and children Jude, Jimi, Barry, and Bradley. He served on several submarines during World War II (eight war patrols) and the Korean War, including the USS Tiru SS416 as a 1st Class Radioman from March 1951 until June 1951 when he was transferred to the USS Tilefish SS307. Bill was a member of the US Submarine Veterans organization; he was one of the founding members of the Farragut Chapter. After his naval service he worked in the education field for over 35 years, retiring as a School Principal in Covina, California.
Bill's meeting and discussion of his submarine experiences with Jerry Parker (USS Remora) and Jim Dunn (USS Tautog) in 2003:
Bill Ummel shows up with a hat pulled low on his head and stories of his own. He was on diesel subs during WWII, "sometimes out for a long time," he says today. "Once for 80 days. It depended on what we did. If we ran into convoys, everything was fair game. But when you ran out of fuel, food and torpedoes, you came home." Ummel began his career on a sub and ended it on a sub, although not until he'd had some interesting experiences: Like sinking a Soviet trawler in the Sea of Japan during WWII. "We sank it with gunfire," he says matter-of-factly, although never quite explaining why. "Afterward, our captain was transferred off and we were told never to talk about . But when we came home and pulled up alongside the dock, everybody asked, 'Where are the Russians?'"
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