Harry G Lockwood was born on June 21, 1921 in Oneonta, New York. His father was Logdovite L. Lockwood (1891-1959) and his mother was Maude V. Conklin (1890-1953). They were married on January 13, 1909 in Masonville, Delaware County, New York. Based on the New York State 1925 Census, Logdovite and Maude had eight children; Harry was the second to the youngest.  The family was residing on Riverside Ave. in Oneonta where Logdovite worked as a yard clerk for the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railroad. While in high school, Harry was very much involved with sports. He participated in baseball, football, boxing, and basketball. Also, it appears that he had a thing for the girls. The 1939 Oneonta High School Yearbook depicted him as “A lion among ladies is a dreadful thing.”

Harry graduated from Oneonta High School in 1939 but according to his National Guard Service Card he enlisted in the New York National Guard Company G 10th Infantry on August 8, 1938 when he was 17 years old. He spent his senior year in High School and in the National Guard. The enlistment period was for 3 years. However, he left the guard on September 7, 1939 in order to join the U. S. Navy (Service Number 2386159) which he enlisted in just two days later.  

Navy Muster Records show he was aboard the USS Pyro (AE-1) by November 1939,  then stationed at the Receiving Station, Navy Yard in Philadelphia, November 30, 1939,  on the USS Satterlee (DD-190) in December 1939, the USS Mattole (AO-17) in December 1940, and then the USS Buck on April 13, 1942.

On May 22, 1939 the USS Buck (DD-420), a destroyer, was launched from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The Buck was commissioned on May 15, 1940, over a year before the United States entered World War II. It initially provided escort duty for the Atlantic convoys that were taking material supplies to Great Britain that had been fighting the war since 1939. With the United States formal entry into the World War II in 1941, the Buck became more directly involved in military actions.

On August 22, 1942, while still escorting convoys, Buck encountered a dense fog off Nova Scotia and was struck by a New Zealand troop-transport. Seven sailors were killed and the keel and fantail were severely damaged. Buck reached Boston on August 26 and was out of commission until November 1942. During the 1943 winter period Buck returned to Atlantic convoy escort duty. Also, during this period Harry married Kathleen T Hodgson of Flushing, New York. They were married on June 23, 1943.

On July 8, 1943, the Buck was assigned to the Western Naval Task Force that deployed warships on amphibious landings. The Buck participated in landing troops in the Allied invasion of Sicily and later the Allied invasion of Italy.  In late September 1943 the Buck supported the landing at Salerno, Italy. According to the website Uboat.net, after the landing, Buck patrolled off Salerno for several days. On October 9, the German submarine, U-616, surprised the Buck and hit its forward starboard with at least one torpedo, maybe two.

The detonations ignited the forward magazine resulting in the ship’s bow being blown off and destroying the navigation bridge. The commander and the other officers, except one, were killed immediately. The one officer was blown overboard. The Buck sank within about four minutes. The red dot on the map identifies where the Buck sank in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Many of the men in the water, swimming or clinging to debris and rafts, were killed or severely wounded from secondary explosions due to depth charges that had been previously activated to fight the German submarine. There was no time to deactivate these charges. Also, there was no time to send a distress signal and it was not until the next day that a C-47 aircraft detected survivors in the water. Ninety four crew members survived but 168 were dead including Harry. He was 23 years old.  Harry worked in the ship’s engine room as a watertender. He was responsible for tending the fires and boilers for the steam-powered ship. With the engine room being located at the bottom of the ship, he had little opportunity to escape before the ship exploded and sunk.

The U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has indicated that Harry’s remains are unrecoverable and are with the USS Buck at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil show that Harry is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nettuno, Italy. He is also memorialized at the Masonville Cemetery, Masonville, Delaware County, New York.

If you notice any errors or needed additions to this story please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com. 

Sources

American Battle Monuments Commission, accessed via Ancestry.com August 29, 2022 at https://www.fold3.com/record/529930339/harry-g-lockwood-american-battle-monuments-commission

Defense Pow/Mia Accounting Agency; Washington DC; Defense Pow/Mia Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-For Remains, Group B, 1941-1975

Harry Glenn Lockwood in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87331407/harry-glenn-lockwood August 22, 2022

New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Queens

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 06; Assembly District: 01; City: Oneonta Ward 06; County: Otsego; Page: 32

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Collection: New York, New York National Guard Service Cards, 1917-1954; Series: B2001; Film Number: 14

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Collection: New York, New York National Guard Service Cards, 1917-1954; Series: B2001; Film Number: 14

New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Queens

Defense Pow/Mia Accounting Agency; Washington DC; Defense Pow/Mia Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-For Remains, Group B, 1941-1975

Headstone Inscription and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949. Series A1 43, NAI ID: 7408555. Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, 1918–ca. 1995. Record Group 117. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.

National Archives, WWII Navy Muster Rolls, accessed via Ancesty.com August 29, 2022.

Ships hit by U-boats: USS Buck (DD 420)

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/3101.html August 22, 2022

US, World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, National Archives. 

Year: 1930; Census Place: Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0036; FHL microfilm: 2341370

Supporting Files