SEVENTY-NINE YEARS ago the end was in sight for World War 2. Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 7, 1945. Japan unconditionally surrendered on September 2, 1945.

History, especially war history, can be sterilized by facts and figures. How many pounds of bombs were dropped? How much tonnage of ships were sunk? How many casualties were there?

We can collect all this information, but lose its significance. We also get lost in the sheer number of people in the digital landscape trying to tell us “the correct interpretation” of it all.

We become like hoarders who walk into a big box store. We look around and see things we don’t need but can’t resist taking home.

We often overlook the humanness of the past. It is too easy to interpret history by taking sides. There are no one-dimensional heroes and villains in real life. Yet, we tend to treat historical people that way.

Also, we forget that every serviceman killed or injured is more than a statistic. The toll on family and friends was personal.

By February 1944 at least 38 servicemen from Clallam County had been killed, missing, or wounded in World War 2. Regrettably, killed, missing or wounded servicewomen were not always listed.

I think it is Clallam County’s proximity to the straits that shaped choices where to serve.

Of the 38 people noted above, 22 served in the Navy, five served in the Coast Guard, and one was a merchant marine. To properly examine all these people would be an enormous undertaking. Instead, I will look at one person, Marion Francis (Marvin) Roup.

Orda and Lela Roup were married on April 30, 1911, in Montana. Orda was a farmer. In 1913 he registered a homestead claim, but that effort must have failed. In 1919 Orda and Lela moved to the Stanwood area. On May 20, 1920, Marion Roup was born in Bellingham. He was the youngest of four siblings.

In 1921 Orda developed vision problems. By 1922 the Roups moved to the Sequim area to farm. Orda’s vision got worse to the point he was practically blind. In mid-1928 Orda developed kidney problems. Then he contracted pneumonia which contributed to kidney failure. On August 5, 1928, Orda died. His death came just three days before his 47th birthday.

Lela became a 38 year-old widow who had a farm to manage. Marion was only eight years old.

Regardless of the work needed on the farm, Lela made sure Marion finished high school. Marion graduated from Sequim High School in 1938. His only extracurricular activity appears to have been orchestra, where he played clarinet. It is easily understandable that the needs of their farm limited Marion’s outside activities.

The world was in great turmoil at this time. Soon after graduation, possibly in 1939, Marion enlisted in the Navy and joined the submarine forces. During WW2 Marion served aboard the submarine Argonaut.

The Argonaut was an interesting vessel. It was a V-Class submarine designed as a minelayer. The Argonaut was, in fact, the only minelayer built.

The Argonaut was the largest non-nuclear submarine ever built by the U. S., which saw a need for long-range submarine “cruisers.” When submerged, it displaced 4,161 long tons. Compare that to the Tambor Class fleet submarine that displaced 2,370 long tons when submerged. The Argonaut was a behemoth.

Also, the Argonaut was an older boat. It was laid down in 1925 and launched on November 10, 1927. It was commissioned on April 2, 1928, when Marion was eight years old. The Argonaut was featured in two movies in 1931, “Seas Beneath” and “Suicide Fleet”.

At the start of WW2 the Argonaut was already 14 years old.

Marion served aboard the Argonaut as a Motor Machinist’s Mate, First Class, which made him part of the Engine Room Force. His job was to operate, maintain, and repair propulsion machinery. It is easy to see a farm boy being good with his hands and able to repair machinery.

The Argonaut was stationed at Pearl Harbor. On November 28, 1941, she was patrolling around Midway Island. On December 7, 1941, the Argonaut was notified of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Within hours the Argonaut became the first vessel to make a wartime approach on enemy naval forces near Midway. The Argonaut lacked maneuverability and could not get suitably positioned to launch torpedoes. This ended her first patrol.

In early 1942 the Argonaut was converted to a troop transport submarine. In August 1942 the Argonaut returned to action transporting 252 marines to Makin Island. The journey was rough with most of the marines becoming seasick. By August 18 the Japanese garrison had been removed and the marines returned to the Argonaut. The Argonaut arrived back in Pearl Harbor on August 26th.

In late 1942 the Argonaut’s base of operation was transferred Brisbane, Australia. In December 1942, the Argonaut set out from Brisbane for her third patrol. On January 2, 1943, the Argonaut sunk the Japanese gunboat, Ebon Maru.

On January 10th the Argonaut spotted a convoy of five freighter and three escort destroyers south of New Britain Island near Rabaul. A US Army Air Forces plane happened to be overhead and witnessed the events that followed. The Argonaut torpedoed and damaged one destroyer. Then the other two destroyers promptly began a counterattack. The Argonaut was too slow to evade the destroyers. The Argonaut suffered a severe depth charge attack.

The Argonaut was forced to surface. This may have been an attempt at a surface battle using her 6-inch guns. But when the Argonaut surfaced only the bow was out of the water at an odd angle. Her deck guns were still under water. So, there was no way to fight back.

I think damage caused the engine room to flood and prevented the Argonaut from properly surfacing. It is difficult to imagine the fear and trauma Marion was experiencing at this time.

The destroyers began shelling the bow until the Argonaut slipped below the water. 102 lives were lost, making this the worst loss of life for a U.S. submarine in wartime. The remains of the Argonaut have never been found.

In hindsight, it was clear the Argonaut was not suited for patrol duty. She was too big and slow.

By late February the sad news reached Sequim. Lela had lost a son, and her children had lost a brother. To the Roups, Marion was far more than a statistic.

Marion posthumously received the Purple Heart. His name is etched into the Tablets of the Missing at the Manilla American Cemetery.

American freedom for all of us came at a price to American families.

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John McNutt is a descendant of Clallam County pioneers and treasurer of the North Olympic History Center Board of Directors. He can be reached at woodrowsilly@gmail.com.

John’s Clallam history column appears the first Saturday of every month.

Marion Francis (Marvin) Roup in his Navy uniform.