One of the lost submarines of World War Two has finally been found 80 years after it was torpedoed by Japanese forces. On board the USS Harder was Seaman, First Class Richard Semple Pick of Centralia.
While the USS Harder was never located until last week, Pick has a burial marker in Elmwood Cemetery next to his parents Wilma and Thelma Pick that reads ‘In Memory of Seaman First Class Richard S. Pick, November 29th, 1923. Lost at Sea on Sub Harder August 24th, 1944’.
The USS Harder was found 3,000 feet deep in waters off the Philippines ‘relatively intact’ according to an announcement last week by the Naval History and Heritage Command. Officials say the submarine will likely remain untouched and will act as a war grave for the Harder crew.
The USS Harder had 79 aboard when it was lost at sea. In a statement, US Navy Rear Admiral Samuel Cox noted the Harder was lost in the course of victory and added we must not forget that victory has a price, as does freedom.
The sub was found as a result of data collected by the Lost 52 Project which has been working to locate the 52 submarines sunk during World War II.
The legendary sub nicknamed ‘Hit ’em Harder’ due to its success took out several Japanese submarines and reportedly fired off three final torpedoes while it was sinking.
