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Walter E Fortin Research Papers

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In May, 1944 Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Fortin of Falmouth received notification from the War Department that their son Corp. Walter E. Fortin, missing since November 26, 1943, was officially listed as dead. In just over a year they would receive notification from the Navy Department their second son, SF 3/c Sylvester A. Fortin Jr. died of his wounds. On Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1944 the HMT Rhona along with four other transports steamed from the port of Oran, Algeria to rendezvous with a convoy passing through the Mediterranean Sea. Rhona ,an 8600-ton British troop transport was loaded with about 2000 American troops destined for new duty stations in the Far east. Many would never reach their destination. By the afternoon of November …show more content…

Although, crews of the search ships worked through the night and rescued over 900 men from the cold, dark sea, it was less than half of the men on board prior to the attack. Over 1100 men were dead or missing, it was the largest loss of troops at sea in U.S. history. Many of the men originally considered missing, were months later officially listed as dead. Among them, Corporal Walter E. Fortin, a flight navigator with the Army Air Forces. Walter E. Fortin born in Portland September 15,1922, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester A. Fortin of Falmouth, Maine. He grew up in Falmouth and graduated from Falmouth High School in 1940. He enlisted in the Army in November, 1942 and assigned to the Army Air Corps, where he trained as a flight engineer.
At the time of his death Walter was married to the former Miss Francis Bean, of Steep Falls, He was 21. Walter’s younger brother, Sylvester joined the Navy in August 1943. After training, Sylvester served at a couple of duty stations before being transferred to the U.S.S. Marathon (APA-200) , arriving on board October 28, …show more content…

From April 1 -5 , Marathon’s assault craft delivered elements of the 1st Marine Division to the beaches of Okinawa. On April 5, Marathon began a return trip to San Francisco, making stops at Saipan and Pearl Harbor. After a re-supply in San Francisco, Marathon returned to Buckner Bay, Okinawa. On Sunday, July 22, 1945, at around 1:30 a.m. a one man, Japanese suicide submarine, “human torpedo”, slipped into Buckner Bay and slammed into the anchored Marathon…detonating on contact. The explosion ripped through a port side berthing compartment of the construction and repair gangs, killing and wounding many of the men while they slept. The repair crews fought hard and were able to save the ship, despite suffering heavy casualties in the explosion. One of the men lost to the repair crew was Shipfitter 3/c Sylvester A. Fortin Jr. Sylvester sustained multiple wounds in the initial explosion and died later that day.
Sylvester Fortin was born in Portland October 20, 1924, and with his brother Walter, grew up on the family farm in Falmouth. He was married to Corinne Adrianna Bartlett and was the father of two young sons, Walter and Sylvester. He was 21. Semper

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