CGM Howard “Red” L. Roeder
U.S. Navy (USN), Underwater Demolition Team 10 (UDT-10)
Prisoner Of War (POW) /Missing In Action (MIA)

Background
Howard Livingston Roeder was born March 13, 1915 in Ontario, California. He grew up in Long Beach and was a member of the Sea Scouts. He later lived in Visalia where he worked on a dam construction project and served in the California National Guard. Nicknamed "Red" and "Dynamite Joe”.

Wartime History
In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve (USNR) with serial number 6801060. Promoted to the rank of Gunner's Mate Chief (GMC) and became a frogman assigned to Underwater Demolition Team 10 (UDT-10).

On July 9, 1944 a group of eleven frogmen embarked aboard USS Burrfish (SS-312) from Naval Combat Demolition Training and Experimental Base, Maui and members of Underwater Demolition Team 10 (UDT-10) trained by the Office of Strategic Services Maritime Unit (OSS-MU). All the frogmen were volunteers and were to swim ashore and reconnaissance missions on Palau and Yap. The UDT frogmen included Lt M. R. Massey, CGM Howard “Red” L. Roeder, CBM John E. Ball, CM3c Emmet L. Carpenter, QM1c Robert A. Black, Jr., SP(A)1c John C. MacMahon, SP(X)1c William Moore, S1c Leonard Barnhill, and QM3c Warren Christensen.

On July 11, 1944 aboard USS Burrfish (SS-312) departs Pearl Harbor on her third war patrol and refuels at Midway then proceeds to Palau then northeast bound for Yap. During the voyage, the frogmen berthed in the forward torpedo room sleeping on mattresses and joined the submarine crew in performing watches.

Mission History
On August 18, 1944 during the night surfaced two miles off eastern Yap and frogmen "swimmers" led by CGM Howard “Red” L. Roeder with Chief John Ball, Emmet Carpenter, QM1c Robert A. Black, Jr. (OSS detached to UDT-10), and John MacMahon deployed a rubber boat and paddle within a quarter mile of shore and found a fringing reef just below the surface and anchored leaving Chief John Ball aboard while the other four swam ashore. This was the second submarine launched frogman operation of the Pacific War, the first was two days prior by five other frogmen from USS Burrfish (SS-312) that conducted a reconnaissance and returned safely.

Fifteen minutes later, Black brought Carpenter back to the boat due to fatigue then rejoined MacMahon and Roeder. Afterwards, the three frogmen: were never seen again. This was the only mission when frogmen were lost and their remains never recovered. Aboard the rubber boat, Ball and Carpenter became worried, hoisted the anchor and searched for them along the reef. Unable to find them, they paddled back to for the rendezvous with USS Burrfish (SS-312). For the remainder of the day, the submarine continued to search for the three missing frogmen until dawn then submerged and moved into deeper water.

Fate
The precise circumstances of the three missing frogmen is not known, but general details are known from captured Japanese documents and ULTRA intelligence intercepts. When they failed to rendezvous with the rubber boat or submarine, the three frogmen swam back to shore on the southeast coast of Gagil-Tamil Island arriving just before dawn.

On August 19, 1944 all three frogmen were captured walking in coconut palm trees near Leng village on the east coast of Gagil-Tamil Island and became Prisoners Of War (POW). Afterwards, taken to Okau and questioned. Another report states all three were captured near a gun emplacement of the Tobaru battery on Gagil-Tamil Island. When interrogated, the prisoners told their captors they were members of the 5th Demolition Unit and landed by submarine and swam ashore. When they lost sight of their submarine, they swam ashore and were captured while hiding. What they told the Japanese was a false cover story that they were briefed to provide if captured.

On August 22, 1944 embarked aboard Auxiliary Subchaser No. 27 (SC 27) and departed for Koror. Next, the prisoners were taken to the 30th Advanced Base Group Kempeitai (Military Police) on Babelthuap and executed. Later, the Japanese falsely claimed they were lost as passengers aboard a Japanese ship Uruppu Maru that was sunk, a false story to cover up their actual fate and execution. All three remain listed as Missing In Action (MIA).

In 1949 Japanese Army Lieutenant General Sadae Inoue, commander of the Japanese forces in Palau and his chief of staff, Colonel Tokuchi Tada, were tried for the execution of three U. S. POWs on Peleliu. General Inoue admitted ordering the executions. Colonel Tada was acquitted.

Memorials
Roeder was officially declared dead February 5, 1946. He earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. He is also memorialized at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum on the Memorial Wall on panel 3.

References
NARA U.S.S. Burrfish, Report of Third War Patrol page 11 (August 18, 1944)
NARA Photographic and Special Reconnaissance of Yap-Palau Islands August 24, 1944 pages 1-10
Special Report Gotto Unit 22 August 1944
"On the 20th we seized three American prisoners at the Tobaru Battery on Yap. They belong to the FIFTH Demolition Unit. These men were transported by submarines. They jumped into the sea at points several miles distant from shore and by swimming reached the reefs off Tobaru Island, Leng and Lebinau. When they tried to return, they lost sight of their submarine and swam back to the seacoast. They were captured while hiding. In view of this situation, we must keep a strict watch especially in regard to infiltration of these various patrols and spies from submarines"
Hall of Valor - Howard Livingston Roeder
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Howard L. Roeder
FindAGrave - Howard Livingston “Red” Roeder (photo, tablets of the missing)
Fold3 - Howard L. Roeder
Nay Seal Museum Blog - USS Burrfish – UDT Special-Mission Group
Missing Air Crew - Yap Island Mission Loss
The Naked Warriors: The Story of the U.S. Navy's Frogmen (1995) mentions the Yap operation
Purple Heart, Vol. 2 (1994) mentions the Yap operation

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