ELLIOTT E. MARSHALL, CDR, USN

Elliott Marshall '31

Date of birth: March 19, 1908

Date of death: December 2, 1943

Age: 35

Lucky Bag

From the 1931 Lucky Bag:

Elliot Eugene Marshall

Portland, Maine

"Steam"

Portland is a long way from Crabtown, but in some way the news filtered up there that such a place as the Naval Academy existed; much to the benefit of the Navy, for Steam comes from this land of cold winters, fir trees, and rugged coasts. For those of us who have had the pleasure of his friendship, his sterling character, likeable nature, and loyalty have left an impression which will last long after we have passed on into the Fleet.

Once in a while Steam gets down his clarinet and then there is a real treat in store for those who happen to be around. In spite of many diversions he is still able to give us a tune now and then to pep up the gang.

It is a little hard to get acquainted with Steam; but once acquainted he becomes one of your best friends. Four years together have served to strengthen our friendship with him and to give us a full insight of the inner man.

This is a man's school, and a man's life. Steam has shown himself to be a man—a man's man.

1 P. O.

Elliot Eugene Marshall

Portland, Maine

"Steam"

Portland is a long way from Crabtown, but in some way the news filtered up there that such a place as the Naval Academy existed; much to the benefit of the Navy, for Steam comes from this land of cold winters, fir trees, and rugged coasts. For those of us who have had the pleasure of his friendship, his sterling character, likeable nature, and loyalty have left an impression which will last long after we have passed on into the Fleet.

Once in a while Steam gets down his clarinet and then there is a real treat in store for those who happen to be around. In spite of many diversions he is still able to give us a tune now and then to pep up the gang.

It is a little hard to get acquainted with Steam; but once acquainted he becomes one of your best friends. Four years together have served to strengthen our friendship with him and to give us a full insight of the inner man.

This is a man's school, and a man's life. Steam has shown himself to be a man—a man's man.

1 P. O.

Loss

Elliott was lost when USS Capelin (SS 289) was lost in early December 1943, possibly to a mine or surface attack. He was the boat's commanding officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Elliott graduated from Deering high school in 1926. Nickname: “Spark Plug.” Favorite Pastime: Playing Tiddledy Winks. Relation to Opposite Sex: Simply fascinating. Is Credited with: His work for Deering High. May Become: A senator. He was business manager of the yearbook and played football and track. He was elected president of the newly formed D Club comprised of those who won their “D” in any sport.
By 1910, his mother Lillian had remarried Moses Stilphen, a fisherman who became a massage healer. His sister was Eleanor/Elena, and his step-brother was Donald.

From The Bangor Daily News, Maine, January 1, 1943:

Cape Elizabeth, Dec. 31 – (AP) – With his last two torpedoes, a 34-year-old American submarine skipper now at home here with his family, sank a Nipponese ship “so close to Japan we could see the rice fields and people walking near the shore.”
Lt. Commdr. Elliott E. Marshall described in an interview the sinking which boosted to 30,000 tons the amount of enemy shipping his sub sent to the bottom of the Pacific.
“We saw the ship enter the harbor the night before and we merely waited outside until morning,” he said.
“One torpedo hit her square and when she tried to run back to the safety of the harbor we gave her our last torpedo and she sank.”
Marshall, who is enjoying the holidays with his wife and children, recalled that the first victim of his cruise was a cargo boat with destroyer escort.
“We sank the cargo vessel and either severely damaged or sank a destroyer,” he said. “The attack started just as the sun was setting and we put one torpedo into the big ship and sent another toward the destroyer. Then we submerged. We surfaced again in time to see the cargo ship hull pointed toward the sky. It was dark by this time and we couldn’t make out the destroyer anywhere.”
Five months after he was promoted from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander, Marshall received the Navy cross from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific fleet, for extraordinary heroism in performance of duty.
Commander Marshall expressed belief that the American submarines’ potentialities were not fully recognized.
“Submarines are . . . having a very definite effect on Japanese supply lines,” he declared. “I believe people in general have been underestimating the potentialities of the American submarine just as most people underestimated the fighting ability of the Japanese.”
Marshall, a graduate of Portland’s Deering high school, left the University of Maine in his freshman year to enter Annapolis from which he was graduated in 1931. That year he married Miss E. Emma Tucker of Portland, and they have two children, Lawrence, 6, and Janice, 2.

His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his son and a younger daughter (according to a post from David Marshall at Run To Honor).

Note some sources have "Elliot" with one T; majority of others (including Memorial Hall) have "Elliott".

Photographs

From his 1926 high school yearbook
From his 1926 high school yearbook
From his 1926 high school yearbook

Remembrances

From an email from David Marshall (relation unknown; believed to be Elliott's grandson) on December 27, 2022:

Elliott was fond of family, wife and the 2 children they had. His love of country was stronger I imagine, given his dedication and long service. Based on the war reports he wrote commanding the SS171 and the SS289, he only liked RESULTS. "I hate damaged ships..." Yet he had a strong moral compass noting one vessel was marked as a hospital ship but in a manner much too suspect that they were probably temporary lights and markings as a decoy. He didn't attack it but 2 days later said he should have being that it "would have been justified and to let the war dept sort it out."
His crew was noted to liked him a great deal and that they all held him in high regard. After the 2 hour depth charge attack on the Cuttlefish he said, "all hands remained at their posts but 3 were visibily shaken..." and added, "it was their 3rd consecutive tour and in badly need of rest." In the same report he reiterated the point that crew should be flown back for rest to benefit them and the missions as a whole. He also wrote after that attack that he "issued one ounce of medicinal spirits to all crew resulting in instant lift in morale," hahha.
He was very thorough and found frustration in the long days of the lack of decent targets, as well as the irritating equipment failures of both boats (ancient Cuttlefish overheating engines and Capelin's radar tubes and noisy bow planes). His talent for writing extended into the reports with desriptions usually not seen by most commanders. [He won an award for an essay in the Academy- 'Our Navy At Peace']
All that I read of the reports in the investigation were positive concerning his command and the performance of the crew as a whole with high morale among them.
He wrote two letters home that I have that also attest to his sense of patriotism and concern for the men under his command.
I know he was fit, sharp, witty, determined and had every bit all qualities needed for a commander at sea and was cosidered "aggresive" in combat.
The Lost 52 organization may one day surprise us all by finding the wreckage. The bell was in the family's care (long story) until early 2000's when it was returned to the Naval Academy [who promptly placed it in storage never to be seen again.] I have his sword but no other affects or medals.

Career

From the now-broken link http://www.fleetorganization.com/subcommandersclassyear3.html:

Duty United States Naval Observatory 1 Jul 1939 - 1 Oct 1939

Executive Officer USS Pollack (SS-180) 1 Jul 1940 - 31 Dec 1940

Captain USS O-4 (SS-65) 29 Jan 1941 - 1 Apr 1942

Captain USS Cuttlefish (SS-171) 23 Jun 1942 - 31 Dec 1942

Captain USS Capelin (SS-289) 4 Jun 1943 - Dec 1943

Lieutenant (j.g.) 4 Jun 1934

Lieutenant 1 Jul 1939

Lieutenant Commander (T) 15 Jun 1942

Commander (T) 1 Nov 1942

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Elliott Eugene Marshall, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. CUTTLEFISH (SS-171), on the THIRD War Patrol of that submarine during the period 23 July 1942 to 20 September 1942, in enemy controlled waters of the Solomon Islands. Fearlessly availing himself of every attack opportunity during the hazardous days spent in an assigned area in the immediate vicinity of the enemy coast line, Lieutenant Commander Marshall and his command succeeded in sinking 29,600 tons of enemy shipping and in severely destroying a Japanese destroyer of 1,500 tons. Although subjected to vigorous anti-submarine measures following every attack and under terrific pressure and mental strain after a period totaling fifty-nine days on war patrol, Lieutenant Commander Marshall brought his ship through with only minor damage and his crew home with fighting spirit undiminished.
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.