JOHN A. BOLE, JR., LCDR, USN
John Bole, Jr. '28
Lucky Bag
From the 1928 Lucky Bag:
JOHN ARCHIBALD BOLE, JR.
At Large
"John" "Rubber" "Weevil"
"RUBBER" decided that Rutgers College was a fine place, but that he would rather come to the Naval Academy where you can turn in at ten o'clock and where girls can't bother one. So after absorbing valuable substance for a year, he enlisted in our happy midst to satisfy his longing for peace and tranquility. He got both.
We find "Weevil" a rare combination of brains and common sense; so we were hardly surprised is seeing him star Plebe Year. You'll usually find him doing something for a friend regardless of how difficult it may be, and he seems so delighted to do it that we little wonder that his friends run into the hundreds.
Marksmanship is a natural ability with "Weevil"; and in a profession such as ours, it should stand him in good stead.
Class Rifle (4, 3), Numerals (3); Gymkhana Cast (4); Expert Rifleman (4, 3); One Stripe.
JOHN ARCHIBALD BOLE, JR.
At Large
"John" "Rubber" "Weevil"
"RUBBER" decided that Rutgers College was a fine place, but that he would rather come to the Naval Academy where you can turn in at ten o'clock and where girls can't bother one. So after absorbing valuable substance for a year, he enlisted in our happy midst to satisfy his longing for peace and tranquility. He got both.
We find "Weevil" a rare combination of brains and common sense; so we were hardly surprised is seeing him star Plebe Year. You'll usually find him doing something for a friend regardless of how difficult it may be, and he seems so delighted to do it that we little wonder that his friends run into the hundreds.
Marksmanship is a natural ability with "Weevil"; and in a profession such as ours, it should stand him in good stead.
Class Rifle (4, 3), Numerals (3); Gymkhana Cast (4); Expert Rifleman (4, 3); One Stripe.
Loss
John was lost when USS Amberjack (SS 219) was sunk by a patrol craft on February 16, 1943 near Rabaul. He was the boat's commanding officer.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
John married Constance Stephens on January 30, 1932, in Manila.
In December, 1938, Constance and her two daughters, Elizabeth, age 5, and Margaret, age 4, sailed from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Constance sailed from Honolulu to Los Angeles in January, 1939, and back again in February. The Boles had one other child.
John sailed from Cristobal to New Orleans in March, 1942.
His father John A. was a physician, mother Anna. His three brothers were Robert, Albert and James. Their sister Elizabeth was with the WAVES at Northampton, Massachusetts.
From Wikipedia:
John Archibald Bole, Jr. (born in Elmhurst, New York, 28 March 1906, died near New Britain, Territory of New Guinea, 16 February 1943), was a United States Navy officer. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1928. After serving in Tennessee (BB-43), he underwent submarine training. Bole subsequently served in a succession of submarines, taking command of S-21 in June 1940. Appointed Lieutenant Commander 2 January 1942, he became the commanding officer of Amberjack (SS-219) upon her commissioning in July 1942. After two offensive patrols in the Solomon Islands, the submarine departed Brisbane, Australia 26 January 1943 to prowl the shipping lanes around Rabaul. She sank a freighter 4 February and was last heard from 10 days later. Japanese records indicate Amberjack was probably sunk in an attack 16 February 1943 at about 5°05′S 152°37′E. Lt. Comdr. Bole was awarded the Navy Cross for his outstanding performance as her commander.
From The Central New Jersey Home News, July 10, 1943 via researcher Kathy Franz:
Lt. Com. Bole, Former Local Man, a Real Jap Nemesis
Fifty-four thousand tons of Japanese shipping and two Japanese destroyers have gone down to “Davey Jones’ Locker” thanks to Lieutenant Commander John A. Bole, former resident of this city, who was recently listed by the War Department as missing in the South Pacific. He is reported to have gone out on patrol duty from which he failed to return.
Word of Commander Bole’s exploits was brought back to the United States by Navy friends who said he sank two Japanese destroyers near Rabaul and two cargo ships in the Coral Sea. Shortly afterwards he picked up a code radio message telling of a cache of gasoline for Guadalcanal hidden on an island. Commander Bole proceeded to the island, filled the ballast tanks of his submarine, the Amberjack, with the gas and brought it to Guadalcanal in time for the planes there to refuel and take to the air to beat off the major Japanese assault. He is also credited with sinking five or six enemy transports attempting to land artillery and supplies on Guadalcanal.
Awarded D. S. C. [Note: This is incorrect; he was awarded the Navy's equivalent to this Army medal, the Navy Cross]
The Navy man was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic combat action which resulted in the sinking of many transport and cargo ships. His activities were undertaken on his own initiative while he was taking his submarine from the United States to a South Pacific base.
Commander Bole’s citation, previously announced, said “after damaging an armed enemy cargo ship,” he pursued the ship for five hours, eventually destroying it. On another occasion he sank the 19,000-ton Toman Maru, formerly used by the enemy for ferrying planes, and in addition, damaged a 7,000-ton freighter.”
Mrs. Constance S. Bole, the commander’s wife, and their three children live in New London, Conn. . . . He received his schooling in New Brunswick and was a member of the class of 1926 at Rutgers University.
From the now-broken link http://www.fleetorganization.com/subcommandersclassyear2.html:
- Duty USS Shark (SS-174) 1 Jan 1939
- Executive Officer USS Tarpon (SS-175) 30 Jun 1939 - 31 Dec 1939
- Captain USS S-21 (SS-126) 30 Jun 1940 - 28 Feb 1942
- Captain USS Amberjack (SS-219) 19 Jun 1942 - circa 16 Feb 1943
- Lieutenant 1 Jul 1936
- Lieutenant Commander 1 Jan 1942
His wife was listed as next of kin; John has a memory marker in New York.
Photographs
From St. Louis Post Dispatch on June 13, 1943
From The Central New Jersey Home News on July 10, 1943
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander John Archibald Bole, Jr. (NSN: 0-62013), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. AMBERJACK (SS-219), on the FIRST War Patrol of that submarine during the period 3 September 1942 to 30 October 1942, in enemy controlled waters. Lieutenant Commander Bole inflicted heavy losses to valuable enemy shipping. By his extraordinary heroism and intrepid and aggressive conduct of the patrol, three enemy vessels totaling 28,000 tons were sunk and two other enemy vessels totaling approximately 17,000 tons were damaged. On 7 October 1942, after damaging an enemy cargo ship, he came to the surface and conducted a determined pursuit for five hours, eventually destroying it in spite of the fact that the enemy was armed with a deck gun. On 10 October 1942, with great gallantry in the face of the enemy he proceeded to Kavieng Harbor and sank the 19,000 tone whale rendering ship Tonan Maru and damaged a 7,000 ton freighter, fully recognizing the dangers involved, but also realizing that the Tonan Maru had been used by the enemy for ferrying planes and was a very valuable target. On 19 September 1942 and again on 10 October 1942, his ship was strenuously depth charged by the enemy, but by the use of cool and skillful evasive tactics Lieutenant Commander Bole was able to escape with only minor damage to the AMBERJACK. Such actions on his part were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Service.
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Amberjack (SS-219)
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Namesake
USS John A. Bole (DD 755) was named for John; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
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.
July 1928
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT John Gillon '20
LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg Howard Healy '22
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
January 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
April 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Training Plane Squadron (VN) 8D5, Naval Academy)
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
