May we always honor the sacrifices of those who step forward to serve our country in its time of need -- and honor those who die in service to America.

For 60 years, Nancy Kenney wondered what happened to her father.

The submarine that William T. Mabin was in disappeared while he and his crewmates were on a mission to attack a Japanese convoy in the last months of World War II.

Now, the Navy says a wreck found at the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand appears to be the sub, the USS Lagarto.

* * *

Navy divers on Friday completed a six-day survey of the wreckage site. They took photos and video of the 311-foot, 9-inch submarine for further analysis by naval archeologists.

The divers found twin 5-inch gun mounts on the forward and rear parts of the ship — a feature believed to be unique to the Lagarto.

They also saw the word "Manitowoc'' displayed on the submarine's propeller, providing a connection to the Manitowoc, Wis., shipyard that built the Lagarto in the 1940s.

Eighty-six sailors died when the Lagarto sank in May 1945. The Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka reported dropping depth charges and sinking a U.S. sub in the area, though it was never known what ship it destroyed.

The Navy sent its divers to examine the ship to provide the sailors' families with some answers after a British professional shipwreck diver last year found what looked like the Lagarto, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force.

"It was important to bring a sense of closure to these families and it was important to do it in a way that would honor our fellow submariners,'' Davis said.

And so these honored dead will continue to rest where they died, entombed in the ship on which they served.

Perhaps most poignant on the eve of Father's Day is this comment from Mrs. Kenney.

Since Kenney was just a toddler when her father went to war, she has no conscious memories of their life in LaGrange, Ill. But she said news of the Navy's dive "was the most important piece'' of a puzzle about her father that she's been trying to put together for six decades.

The children of the Lagarto sailors feel closer to their fathers now more than ever, she said.

"We feel like we've found our fathers,'' Kenney said.

From the child of one Navy man to another, I offer you the most humble of thanks for the service and sacrifiece of your father.

Lord God, our power evermore,
Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea;
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
Them safe from peril in the deep.

THE CREW OF USS LAGARTO

Andrews, H. D. CTM
Anker, C. CMOMM
Auchard, F. L. LTJG
Bjornson, C. H. F1
Breithaupt, C. W., Jr. Y2
Britain, W. L. CRMA
Brock, A. S2
Byrer, C. R. F1
Carleton, W. E. RM1
Cathey, L. F. MOMM3
Catozzi, S. G. QM3
Clouse, G. E. TM2
Cook, C. T. MOMM1
Davis, J. E., Jr. TM2
Doud, L. M. RM2
Enns, A. H. TM3
Fisher, R. L. MOMM1
Franze, J. J. S1
Frasch, O. R. MOMM1
Gerlach, J. N. F1
Grace, R. F. F2
Graves, W. QM1
Gray, D. J. EM2
Green, R. STM2
Gregorik, R. L. EM1
Gregory, J. P. S2
Halstead, G. E. RM3
Hardegree, T. MOMM1
Harrington, G. C. MOMM3
Harrington, T. J. MOMM2
Harris, J. B. S1
Harrison, J. C. MOMM3
Hinken, W. E. TM3
Honaker, W. F. EM3
Irving, L. G. LT
Jefferson, H. S1
Jobe, J. CEMA
Johnson, F. S1
Johnson, J. R. CEMA
Jordan, W. H., Jr. S1
Keeney, A. H., Jr. LT
Kimball, P. M. RT1
Kirtley, A. STM1
Kneidl, J. W. MOMM3
Latta, F. D. CDR
Lee, N. B., Jr. S1
Lee, R. W. F1
Lewis, R. J. MOMM2
Lynch, L. J. F1
Mabin, W. T. SM1
Marriot, J. M., Jr. S1
McDonald, J. H. SC2
McGee, J. M. TM2
Mendenhall, W. H. LT
Moore, W. L. F1
Moss, W. G. S1
O'Hara, L. R. RT2
Ortega, H. E. F1
Paper, D. M. S1
Pash, J. S. LTJG
Patterson, R. R. RM3
Perry, R. C. EM3
Peterson, J. W. TM3
Peterson, R. F. QM3
Phelps, W. B. LTJG
Plushnik, H. R. F1
Price, G. A. CMOMMA
Reeves, M. D. EM2
Reichert, R. E. F1
Robinson, E. T. BM1
Root, J. H. MOMM1
Ruble, R. T. LT
Rutledge, W. J. S1
Shackelford, W. C. SM2
Simmerman, R. E. TM2
Spalding, R. B. CPHMA
Stehn, J. E. GM2
Stiegler, D. G. EM2
St. John, U. M., Jr. EM3
Tait, F. MOMM2
Todd, H. A., Jr. LTJG
Turner, F. D. CGM
Wade, A. M. S1
Warnick, W. C. S1
Wicklander, M. M. MOMM2
Williams, J. L. S1

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