Samuel Stark

SHIPFITTER THIRD CLASS SAMUEL STARK was the son of William & Bessie Stark, of 2804 Horner Avenue in Pennsauken, New Jersey. His father was employed by a trucking company in Philadelphia, Pennsylavania, and was active in the affairs of Temple Beth Jacob, which then stood on Maple Avenue in Merchantville, New Jersey. Samuel Stark was a 1938 graduate of Merchantville High School, where he was active in football, basketball, and track, and participated in many other scholastic activities.

Samuel Stark was working for the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey as a shipfitter when he enlisted in the United States Navy in October of 1942. He received his preliminary training at Newport RI. His last letter home was mailed on January 15, 1943 from Long Beach NY, where he told his parents that he was "awaiting transfer". He was subsequently assigned to the USS Henry R. Mallory, a troop and cargo transport.

The Mallory had been built in 1916 as a civilian ship. Requisitined by the United States government, Mallory had been utilized as a troop and cargo transport during World War I, then was returned to her original owners.

In the early stages of World War II for the United States, the War Shipping Administration requisitioned Henry R. Mallory for use as a civilian-manned troopship in July 1942. Remaining under the operation of her owners, Agwilines, Inc., she began operation on U.S. Army schedules in July 1942, when she sailed from New York to Belfast. After her return to New York in August, she made way to Boston from whence she sailed to Saint John, Wabana, Newfoundland; Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Halifax, before returning to New York in October.

After first sailing to Boston and Newport, Rhode Island, Henry R. Mallory departed New York as a part of Convoy SC-118 headed for Liverpool via Halifax on January 24, 1943. The crew on board Henry R. Mallory consisted of 9 officers, 68 crewmen, and 34 Naval Armed Guards (who manned the 11 guns on deck). Also on board were 383 passengers, consisting of 2 civilians, 136 from the U.S. Army, 72 from the U.S. Marine Corps, and 173 from the U.S. Navy. As the convoy, which consisted of 60 ships and 26 escorts, sailed near Iceland, a wolf pack of German Kriegsmarine U-Boats attacked the convoy repeatedly over a four-day period. Some 20 U-boats participated, ultimately sinking 12 Allied ships, including Henry R. Mallory; three U-boats were lost.

It was at 06:59 on February 7, 1943 when, traveling in station 33 of the convoy, Henry R. Mallory was hit by one torpedo fired from German submarine U-402, commanded by Kapit�nleutnant Siegfried von Forstner,  around 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) south-southwest of Iceland. Hit in the number three hold on the starboard side, the ship began settling by the stern and listing to port, and sank at about 07:30. Of Henry R. Mallory's ten lifeboats, only three were successfully launched, holding 175 men. Many other men jumped overboard for rafts in the water.

None of the other ships in the convoy were aware of the Mallory's predicament. American destroyer USS Schenck DD-159 �searching for survivors from the convoy's sunken rescue ship, SS Toward, sunk three hours earlier, also by U-402�saw lights but was denied permission to investigate. Only when survivors were found by U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bibb some four hours later was the fate of Henry R. Mallory made clear. Bibb rescued 205 men, 3 of whom later died. Another Coast Guard cutter, Ingham, rescued a further 22, of which 2 later died. Among the 272 dead was the ship's master, 48 crewmen, 15 armed guards, and 208 passengers.

Shipfitter Third Class Samuel Stark was not among the survivors rescued from the Henry R. Mallory. He was listed as missing in action on February 7, 1943.

The attack on convoy SC-118 was one of the worst single losses inflicted on the U.S. Atlantic Merchant Marine during the war. Later in 1943, on October 13, u-402 was sunk with all hands by aircraft from the USS Card.

When word came to the family, Bessie Stark collapsed and was confined to her bed. When interviewed by the Courier-Post on March 5, 1943 she kept repeating "we shall never believe our son is dead. We know he is safe somewhere and we will wait here for him until he returns home". His status of missing in action was reported on March 6, 1943 in the Camden Courier-Post. The Navy declared him to have been killed in action on February 8, 1944 in action in the Atlantic. Samuel Stark was survived by his parents, William & Bessie Stark, of 2804 Horner Avenue in Pennsauken NJ, and a sister, Mrs. Reba Posnack, of Philadelphia

Rescue of the survivors of the USS. Mallory