The steam tanker, which was to become the " S.S. Caribsea ", was completed in November, 1919 by the McDougall-Duluth Shipbuilding Company, Duluth, Minnesota for the for U.S. Shipping Board and was first named the " Lake Flattery ".

         In 1923 it was renamed the " Buenaventura " when it was purchased by the Panama Rail Road Company, Inc., of New York.    In 1940 it was purchaed by the Stockard Steamship Company, New York and renamed the " S.S. Caribsea ".

         On March 11, 1942 the unescorted and unarmed " Caribsea " was enroute from Santiago de Cuba with a planned stop over in Norfolk, Virginia and it's final destimation being Baltimore, Maryland with a cargo of 3600 tons of manganese ore.   They were hit by a torpedo fired by " German Submarine U-158 " approximatley 11 miles east of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, North Carolina.

         The torpedo struck on the starboard side at the #2 hold.   The ship rapidly settled by the head due to her cargo, was shaken by a boiler explosion and sank in less than three minutes in shallow waters with her masts still visible.   She sank so fast that no distress signals could be sent and the crew of eight officers and 20 men had no chance to launch the lifeboats.   " 21 " of the crew perished with only " 7 " survivors.

The ship Master/Captain of the
" S.S. Caribsea "
was :

Nicholas Manolis

who was 1 of the 7 survivors in this sinking !

The " 6 " other survivors from the sinking were:

• Hector Arando  ~  Fireman / Watertender ~ Chile
  
• Elton Beattie Hewett  ~  Third Engineer
  
• Nickolas Ray  ~  Able-Bodied Seaman
  
• Juan F. Rivera  ~  Oiler
  
• Louis Salata  ~  Ordinary Seaman
  
• Gerald Albert Thibodeau  ~  Ordinary Seaman

               There are personal " Online Memorials " for each of these honored men that were created for them by using the " Find A Grave Website ".   On the " Majority " of the online memorials you will see a small biography for each soldier which may include:

Parent's, Grandparent's & Sibling's Names,
where & when they were born,
where they grew up,
when & where they enlisted in the service,
the military unit they were part of,
" AND "
where and how they actually died during the war !

MM     =  Awarded the " Mariner's Medal "
               ( Awarded for being wounded, Missing or Killed In Action )

MM *   =  Awarded the " Combat Bar ( Ribbon ) "
               ( Awarded to those who served under combat conditions )

MM **  =  Awarded the " Combat Star "
                ( Awarded to those who are forced to abandon ship when attacked or damaged )

PMM   =  Awarded the " Mariner's Prisoner of War Medal "
               ( Awarded to Mariner's held as prisoners of war during World War II )

PH      =  Awarded the " Purple Heart "
               ( Awarded to soldiers & sailors for being Wounded and/or Killed in action )

Other Medals  =  Such as Good Conduct Medals, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medals, American Defense Service Medals, etc. " Are Not " included in this listing.

  =  Picture of person shown on online memorial.

  =  Picture of tombstone shown on online memorial.

An " n/a " in the " Photo, Awards, or Notes Area " means that they are not available for that Mariner, Soldier or Sailor .....

Cenotaph  =  A memorial stone only  ~  " OR "  ~  Remains not recovered  ~  " OR "  ~  Interred somewhere unknown.