USS S-4 (SS-109) was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy. In 1927, she was sunk by being accidentally rammed by a United States Coast Guard destroyer with the loss of all hands but was raised and restored to service until stricken in 1936.
Paulding stopped and lowered lifeboats, but found only a small amount of oil and air bubbles. Rescue and salvage operations were commenced led by Rear Admiral Frank Brumby, Captain Ernest J. King, Lieutenant Henry Hartley and Commander Edward Ellsberg, only to be thwarted by severe weather. Significant effort was made to rescue six known survivors trapped in the forward torpedo room, who had exchanged a series of signals with the rescue force, by tapping on the hull. As the trapped men used the last of available oxygen in the sub, they sent a morse-coded message, “Is there any hope?” The response, composed by Captain King was: "There is hope. Everything possible is being done." Thwarted by the weather, the rescue force could not rescue the six men and all 40 men aboard were lost.
During the course of the rescue operation Chief Gunner's Mate Thomas Eadie rescued, at the risk of his own life, a fellow diver, Fred Michels, who became fouled in the wreckage while attempting to attach an air hose to S-4. For his heroism Eadie was awarded the Medal of Honor.
S-4 was raised on 17 March 1928, by a salvage effort commanded by Captain King. Several of the salvage divers, including Eadie and previous Medal of Honor recipient Frank W. Crilley, were awarded the Navy Cross for their actions during the operation. Another Medal of Honor recipient, Chief Boatswain George Cregan, received the Navy Cross for his service as commander of the tugboat Sagamore during the rescue attempt. The submarine was towed to the Boston Navy Yard for dry-docking and was decommissioned on 19 March 1928. More details
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