Losing Howard Bassingthwaite S2c

Sadly saying goodbye to Howard Bassingthwaite

Howard passed away on February 11, 2018. He was 92 years of age. We were honored to have had Howard and his wife attend the last USS Mississinewa reunion back in 2003. He said he, like so many others, had joined the Navy to see the world.

Howard’s hometown was Winchendon, MA, where he worked as a Foundry Worker before the war. He enlisted at 17 years of age and was only 18 years of age when the Mississinewa was sunk. Howard was on deck mid-ship when the Kaiten struck. After that, he went to his quarters to make sure others there were awake before jumping off the stern. He was picked up by a boat from the Cache AO-67.

Here is a photo of those Mississinewa Veterans who attended in 2003. Howard is at the top left of the photo. He was the last surviving member of those veterans who attended.