William Garth Baldwin

USS Dolphin - The submarine that Dad was on in the US Navy during World War II

This is a brief history of the USS Dolphin and part of its World War II service.

World War II
Dolphin departed from Pearl Harbor on 24 December 1941 on her first war patrol, during which she reconnoitered in the Marshall Islands in preparation for later air strikes. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 February 1942 to refit and resupply, and then got underway once more on 14 May. Searching a wide area west of Midway Island, she patrolled off the island itself during the pivotal Battle of Midway from 3–6 June. She took harbor at the atoll for repairs from 8–11 June, and then she returned to her patrol, attacking a destroyer and a tanker with undetermined results before returning to Pearl Harbor on 24 July. Her third war patrol, from 12 October-5 December, was in the storm-tossed waters of the Kurile Islands, where she performed reconnaissance essential to the operations that were to keep Japanese bases there largely ineffective throughout the war. With newer submarines now available for offensive war patrols, Dolphin was assigned less dramatic but still vital service on training duty at Pearl Harbor until 29 January 1944, when she sailed for exercises in the Canal Zone, and duty as a school boat at New London, Connecticut, where she arrived on 6 March. She served in this essential task until the end of the war, then was decommissioned on 12 October 1945 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. Dolphin was sold for scrap on 26 August 1946.

US Navy Theme Song: Anchors Aweigh I always loved this song and Dad sang it many times. We had it sung at his funeral. I am grateful to my Dad and all of the men and women who have fought in the branches of the armed services for the freedoms that we are blessed with today

Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to college joys, we sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Through our last night on shore, drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more:
Here's wishing you a happy voyage home.


I was lucky to have been born to the best parents in the whole world. I would like to say a few things about my dad. Dad was born in Manderfield, UT on May 26, 1923. His parents were Loyal and Thelma Baldwin. Dad was the third child in a family of six children. He lived in Adamsville, UT and Manderfield as a child. I am going to attempt to tell a few things about him. They may not be in chronological order but at least I am writing something.

When Dad was a little boy, for Christmas one year they received a dime and an orange. That seems small compared to what we get at Christmas today. He and his brothers and sisters were happy about this gift. They were outside playing and he climbed over a wooden gate and his dime fell somewhere in the cracks of the gate and he never ever found it.

He said as a teenager they would go to the movies and sometimes they would trade chickens for a ticket into the movie.

Dad was shy as a kid but you would never know it when he grew up. He was always the life of the party and always friendly and talking and telling jokes. The funniest part of him telling a joke is he would laugh at his own jokes. One time he had to pluck chickens before he went to school. When he got to school, he still had some feathers on his clothes so someone nicknamed him "Feather Junior".

When Dad was 17 years old he enlisted in the Navy as World War II had broken out. He was in the Navy for 4 years and this is where he learned the trade of electrician.
While in the navy he contracted rheumatic fever. He was in the hospital for three months and I believe that was in Minnesota. He was also stationed in Key West, Florida. One day he was using a hammer and working out on the edge of a pier. He fell into the ocean which was quite deep. When he finally came to the surface, he still had the hammer in his hand.

Dad served on the USS Dolphin. This was a navy submarine. This ship was in the Battle of Mid Way. Dad was in Okinawa, the Philippines and New Guinea. Dad was also in the last battle of Okinawa. He was an electrician mate on the ship during peaceful times and was one of several airmers on the guns on the ships as the guns were huge. His gun got credit for shooting down one Japanese plane. He was in a convoy of ships during one of the battles. A ship in his convoy was hit by a kamakazie pilot. A big hole was made in the ship. They were able to save all of the sailors on board and get them to another ship before that ship sunk. Another time in an accident, one of the ships in his convoy accidently hit another ship in the side of one of their own. The ship was cut in half but the crews was saved before it sunk. He was on the ship that stood next to the ship that General MacArthur was on when he signed the peace treaty that ended World War II. What a great historical event to witness.

When Dad came home from the war, he went to a MIA dance. He saw a pretty girl there and he asked her to dance. After three dates he asked her to marry him. She was only sixteen and he was twenty three. I always new that my parents loved each other. When us girls turned 16, we always would say to Mom, "Well we are going to go and get married now because you did, (even though we didn't even have a boyfriend.) She said no you can't you are too young. She said if she had to do it over again she would still marry Dad at 16. She said it was right for them and she would not change a thing.

Mom and Dad lived in Cedar City and Salt Lake when they were first married. Then they bought a farm and moved to Manderfield. Dad farmed and did electrical work on the side. He was very honest and giving with the people he worked for and with. He would do service calls and many many times did not charge people, especially widows and those who did not have very much money for the electrical work he did for them.

One time the doctor's wife asked him to come and fix her stove. The doctor lived in a very beautiful home and as we know, most doctors have a lot of money. Dad fixed the stove and when it was time to leave, the lady said how much do I owe you. Dad said there is no charge today. It didn't take me very long and it only took a little part and besides, I have enjoyed the visit. Dad did not take advantage of anyone. There are those who may have said, this man is rich, I will charge him more than I usually do but Dad did not do that. He was not that kind of man. Months later Dad had to go to the doctor. When he came out and asked the receptionist how much he should pay, she said, there will be no charge today. And every time that Dad went back to that doctor, he always got the same answer, There is no charge today. His kindness was returned back to him many times over.

My parents always went on dates and I am glad that they did. They liked to go to movies and they had a group of really good friends that they would go to dinner parties with. Every time they went out, they always brought home a treat for us that was usually cream sickles or fudge sickles or dixie cups or some kind of ice cream. Dad really like ice cream and his favorite was strawberry.

Dad was a wonderful father and he taught us how to work. We changed sprinklers, drove cows to the barn or to the pasture, rolled bales, cleaned the dairy barn, went with him to change the water.

One day Mom had made a yummy Sunday dinner and the kitchen was stacked with pans and dirty dishes from this nice meal. Us girls usually had to do the dishes but this day we were fighting over who was going to clear and who was going to wash. I guess Dad got tired of hearing us fight so he came in and ordered us out of the kitchen and he put on an apron and did the dishes himself. Boy did we feel stupid.

At night Dad would play hide and go seek with us and all of the neighbor kids. He always gave us horse rides on his back and he built us a little tree house in the tree. He liked to go fishing so sometimes after work we would run up to Indian Creek and fish. One time he cut me a birch wood fishing pole and put two hooks on it. Guess what, I caught two fish at the same time.

Dad loved to sing. Some of the songs he sang were, When It's Springtime in the Rockies, Beyond the Sunset, The Tennessee Waltz, When The Works All Done This Fall and many many others.

He always told us bed time stories and put us to bed after mom had given us a bath.
One night it was really cold outside and we had this cat we named Motor. When Dad came in to tuck us in, he could hear the cat purring under the covers. He unassumingly took the cat by the neck and went and threw it outside. We waited until the house was quiet and they had gone to sleep and we went and got poor, cold Motor and let her come back in and sleep with us.

Dad worked out at Sulpherdale, a plant about 25 miles north of Manderfield. He would carpool with Dale Evans, and ??? I can't remember his name. He enjoyed working with these men very much. One time Dad had to go to Phoenix and Long Beach, CA to wire Dr. Ross dogfood plants for the company. He was an awesome electrician and there was nothing he couldn't fix. He was gone for a period of time on these wiring jobs, and Mom and Brent would get up at 4 o'clock in the morning on cold below zero weather to go and milk the cows. Mom was a very devoted wife and mother. There is none better than her.

Dad also lived in Cedar City as a boy. He had an Indian friend named Jackie Jack. One time his mother sent him to the store for a sack of flour and they didn't have very much money. He took his wagon to the store with his friend and got the flour. On the way home, they accidently tipped the wagon over and the sack of flour fell into the river. He was a sad sad boy and probably got in trouble for that one.

One time when I was home from college, Dad was mowing the front lawn and reached to fix the lawnmower and cut off one of his fingers. He was in so much pain. Shelley and I took him to the hospital down the street and they sewed it and grafted some skin on it for him. It was very painful for him.

Dad liked things in order and he was very organized. He took care of his things. His family lived during the depression and he knew what it was like to go without. That is whey he took good care of his things.
Dad used to say some of these fun sayings:

"A Stitch in time saves nine."
"A penny saved is a penny earned"
"Waste not want not"
"A Place for everything and everything in it's place

Dad was a tooth person and he always encouraged us to brush our teeth and he and mom saw that we went to the dentist. Dad always packed a little candy called sen-sens because he believed in having good smelling breath.

Dad was a member of the American Legion. I still have his hat. I remeber him marching in all of the parades in the color guard and being in the firing squad at funerals. I was always proud of him and his military service. When ever I hear the son, Anchors Aweigh, I always think of him and how much I love my Dad and what he did for us.

Dad and Mom always liked to go deer hunting. Each year they would take the sons and John and Julia Bradshaw and Marilyn and Harold Bradshaw and go camping up at brush creek. Shelley and Colleen and I would stay home and tend Scott and Carol Ann and anxiously await their return.

We had many fun trips going to Salt Lake with Mom and Dad to go and pick up electrical parts. We went to the Utah State Fair many times and this was very fun and something I really looked forward to, especially the cotton candy and rides on the tilt-a-whirl.

We had lots of family get togethers with Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin and Uncle Don and Aunt Carene. Dad was very good to his parents and looked after them in their later years. Every Saturday or Sunday we would go to town and go and see Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin and Grandpa and Grandma Beaumont. It was great living so close to them and we had fun going to their homes. Both grandparents had wonderful gardens.

Whenever Dad came home from work, us kids would look in his lunch box to see if he saved us something. Quite often there was a treat.

Dad worked hard on the farm. He always wore bib overalls. One time he came home at night and he had his overwalls wired shut with baling wire. He had got caught in the power take off and it riped his overalls clear up to the top. I don't know how he got out alive.

Dad was a very religious man and had a strong testimony of the Savior. We had family night in our home long before it was encouraged by the church. Dad would say, "Let's have a program" and then we would all do something. Shelley would usually sing and I would play the piano for her. Colleen and Brent would tell stories. Scott would tell a poem and Carol Ann would dance. We had family prayer and Dad always did his "Ward Teaching" which we now call home teaching. Dad was the Branch President out to Manderfield and he did a good job. There was not a more honest man. He was genuine, he was good, he was kind and caring. He was sympathic and had empathy for others.

Dad has been gone 25 years this November 13th 2010 but I will always remember what a choice and wonderful father he was. I look foward to holding him and hugging him and sqeezing him oh so tight some day when we will also get to be with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Here are the words to the song that Dad used to sing:

When The Work's All Done This Fall

1. A group of jolly cowboys, discussing plans at ease
Says one, I'll tell you something, boys, if you will listen, please
I am an old cow-puncher, you see me dressed in rags
I used to be a good one boys, and went on great big jags

2. I have got a home boys, a good one you all know
Although I haven't seen it since very long ago
I'm headed back to Dixie once more to see them all
I'm going to see my mother when the work's all done this fall

3. When I left my home, boys, my mother for me cried
She begged me not to go, boys, for me she would have died
My mother's heart is aching, breaking for me, that's all
With God's help I'll see her when the work's all done this fall"

Instrumental Break

4. That very night this cowboy went out to stand his guard
The night was dark and cloudy and storming very hard
The cattle, they got frightened and rushed in wild stampede
The cowboy tried to head them while riding at full speed

5. Riding in the darkness, so loudly he did shout
Trying hard to head them and turn the herd about
His saddle horse did stumble and on him it did fall
He'll not see his mother when the work's all done this fall

Instrumental Break

6. "Send my mother my wages, boys, the wages I have earned
I am so afraid, boys, the last steer I have turned
I'm headed for a new range, I hear my Master call
I'll not see my mother when the work's all done this fall

7. Fred, you take my saddle, George, you take my bed
Bill, you take my pistol after I am dead
Then think of me kindly when you look upon them all
I'll not see my mother when the work's all done this fall"

8. Charlie was buried at sunrise, no tombstone for his head
Nothing but a little board, and this is what it said
"Charlie died at daybreak, he died from a fall
He'll not see his mother when the work's all done this fall.