Name: Fred STEIGERWALD
Rank / Rating: GM2-Gunner's Mate Second Class
Service #: 300 70 23
DOB: May 17, 1919
From: Chicago Illinois
Parents:
Went Aboard: Mar 9, 1945
Age When Ship Went Down: 26 years, 2 months, 13 days
Spouse:
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Admin
Date Posted:

Gunners Mate Second Class Steigerwald was born May 17, 1919 in Chicago Illinois. He enlisted January 1942. He completed Boot Camp at USNTC (United States Naval Training Center), Great Lakes, Illinois.

Fred had been assigned to light cruiser USS Helena. It was sunk during the Kula Gulf battle. After many hours in flaming, shark-infested waters in oil-soaked clothing, he was rescued by a destroyer and returned to the States for 30 days R&R. After a brief tour of duty aboard a P/T boat, he was assigned to USS Indianapolis. He went aboard on March 9, 1945. The ship was engaged in the Iwo Jima invasion and the assault on Okinawa. On March 31, 1945, Indianapolis was damaged by a kamikaze plane and returned on its own to Mare Island, California for repairs. After the repairs were completed, “Indy” resumed active duty in July 1945. After delivering components for the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan; “Indy” was sunk by a Japanese submarine July 30, 1945. Fred was “lost at sea” and posthumously awarded the American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, Good Conduct Medals and the Purple Heart.