Hometown: Newton Highlands, MA 
Branch: U.S. Navy 
Unit: U.S.S. Grunion 
Military Honors: Navy Cross, Purple Heart 
Date of Sacrifice: July 30, 1942 - Lost at Sea near the Aleutian Islands 
Age: 39
Conflict: World War II, 1939-1945 

Story excerpts from Naval History and Heritage Command

Mannert Lincoln Abele was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1903, son of Francis I. Abele, Jr., and Addie L. (Tupper) Abele. He attended Cranch Grammar School and had three years at Quincy High School, and on August 12, 1920, at the age of seventeen, enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an Apprentice Seaman.

He trained at Newport, Rhode Island, and was assigned to USS Utah just before that vessel’s departure for European duty. In December 1921 he was detached from Utah with orders to the United States to take entrance examinations to the Naval Academy, and on appointment at large became a Midshipman in June 1922. Graduated and commissioned Ensign on June 3, 1926, he was promoted to Lieutenant (jg) on June 3, 1928; to lieutenant on June 30, 1936; and to Lieutenant Commander on December 1, 1940.

After graduation from the Naval Academy he served as a junior officer on board USS Colorado (BB-45) until January 7, 1929, when he reported to the Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut for instruction in submarines. Completing the course several months later, he was assigned to USS S-23, a unit of Submarine Division 4, in which he served until April 1933. He then had shore duty in the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, until May 30, 1936, and for three years thereafter was at sea, first on board USS R-11, later in command of USS R-13.

From June 1939 until August 1940, he served as Assistant Professor of Naval Science, in connection with the Naval Reserve Officers Training Unit at Harvard University. He placed in commission USS S-31, and commanded that submarine from August 1940 until November 1941, then fitted out USS Grunion (SS-216)—then building at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut. He assumed command of that submarine at her commissioning, on April 11, 1942, in the early period of World War II.

According to the U.S. National Parks Service:

After reaching Pearl Harbor, the Grunion headed out on her first war patrol to the Aleutian Islands.

The U.S.S. Grunion and her crew of 70 reached Kiska Island, where they were assigned to patrol, on July 10, 1942. The Japanese had attacked and captured both Kiska and Attu Islands just a month before, at the beginning of June. On July 15, the Grunion reported she had been attacked by an enemy destroyer, fired three torpedoes, and missed. A later report said the Grunion sank three destroyers, but according to Japanese reports, she sank two (patrol boats 25 and 27) and damaged a third.

On July 19 [1942], the Grunion was assigned to continue patrolling around Kiska with three other submarines, S-32, Triton, and Tuna. On July 22 and 28, the Grunion was told to guard exits around Kiska, because the US planned to attack the island. The attack happened on July 28, and the Grunion reported attacking an enemy ship but not making any hits. She also was depth charged, but not damaged. 

The Grunion’s last transmission to Dutch Harbor Submarine Base was on July 30. There was heavy antisubmarine activity around Kiska, and she had ten torpedoes remaining. She was ordered to return to Dutch Harbor, which was about 600 miles away (about two days of travel). The Grunion was never heard from again, despite many efforts to contact her.

70 sailors were lost. LCDR Mannert Lincoln Abele was reported missing on August 1, 1942, when the Grunion was lost, and was officially declared dead on August 2, 1943. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. His citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the USS Grunion during an aggressive and successful submarine war patrol from June 30 to July 24, 1942. Despite vigorous anti-submarine measures on the part of the enemy, Lieutenant Commander Abele, availing himself of every attack opportunity with alert skill and efficiency, succeeded in sinking, in one day, three Japanese destroyers of the Towlekju class. By his courageous initiative and resourceful command he inflicted considerable damage upon the enemy and fulfilled a highly important mission at great risk against tremendous odds.

He was also posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, and was entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.

A destroyer, USS Mannert L. Abele (DD-733), named in honor of the late Lieutenant Commander Abele, was sponsored by his widow, at the launching at Bath Iron Works Corporation, Bath, Maine, on April 23, 1944. Commissioned on July 4, 1944, this ship served with distinction in the Iwo Jima operations before she was sunk off the coast of Okinawa by two hits from enemy planes—a Japanese suicide plane and a jet-propelled Baka Bomb.

LCDR Abele’s three sons—Bruce, Brad, and John—launched the “Lost 52 Project” through 2006-2007, using a Remote Operated Vehicle and side scan sonar. Based on Navy reports and other evidence, the brothers hoped to find the wreck of the Grunion and their father’s final resting place (see video). Author Peter F. Stevens, in his book Fatal Dive, chronicles their search and ultimate discovery of the wreck off the tip of the Aleutian Islands.

Sources
Card Photo and story excerpts from Naval History and Heritage Command: Mannert Lincoln Abele
Naval History and Heritage Command: Grunion (SS-216)
Hall of Valor Project: Mannert Lincoln Abele
Lost 52 Project: USS Grunion Expedition 2006-07
Paul F. Stevens—Fatal Dive: Solving the World War II Mystery of the USS Grunion
What REALLY Happened To The USS Grunion Submarine?: John Abele at TEDx Beacon Street (video)
Burial site: Find a Grave