A memorial service for a World War II submarine crew that included a Vicksburg man has run into some snags, mainly that the U.S. Navy has not yet confirmed the discovery of the long-lost USS Lagarto.

Charles Woodson Breithaupt Jr. of Vicksburg, believed to be a graduate of St. Aloysius High School, was one of 86 men on the boat when it disappeared in combat in the Siam Gulf, now called the Gulf of Thailand, in May 1945.

The sub was found in May of this year and a memorial is planned for May 2006, said Nancy Mabin Kenney of Lake Leelanau, Mich., daughter of crew member Bill Mabin of La Grange, Ill.

Mabin had been serving on the sub, the USS Lagarto, when his family received a letter saying he was missing in action, a Chicago Tribune article says. A year later, another letter arrived for the family, describing him as &#8221presumed dead.“

The Lagarto was in the Gulf of Thailand for an attack on a Japanese convoy and within 10 to 15 miles of another U.S. sub, the USS Baya, on May 4, 1945, when the Baya was driven away. The Lagarto was not heard from again. The boat was supposed to dock in Australia at the end of May but did not arrive, the Tribune article says. The war in Japan ended about three months later, on Aug. 14, 1945.

&#8221After the war ended the Japanese released records showing the minelayer Hatsutaka sank a sub at the same time and same place the Lagarto was believed to be during the war, but there was no confirmation,“ the article says.

Nancy Kenney said she, members of U.S. submarine veterans’ organizations and the maritime museum of Wisconsin, where the Lagarto was built, have located family members of 29 of the 86 crew members who were aboard. The group, with help from Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., has – so far unsuccessfully – also asked the U.S. Navy to confirm that the find is the Lagarto.

&#8221We have requested an official acknowledgement and none has been offered,“ said Chris Ganschow of Lipinski’s Chicago office.

&#8221It’s just by sheer, dogged determination that we found them,“ Kenney said of the family members who have been located. &#8221The general consensus is that we’d like the Navy to acknowledge this discovery and make a statement, assign a person to help us find others and participate in a memorial service with full military honors, in the same manner as when they find somebody who was missing in action in Vietnam or some other part of the world.“

Divers found the sub in 200 feet of water, sitting upright as if it sank straight down. On the port side, the middle torpedo bow tube remains open and the torpedo is missing. Damage, apparently from a depth charge, is evident.

From the type of guns found on board, the slant of the sub’s bow and historical records, the wreck is believed to be the Lagarto.

The Navy considers the wreck a grave site and thus forbids exploration of the inside of the vessel but the divers have reportedly attached an American flag to the top of the tower.

Kenney described her group’s requests as &#8221minimal compared to the fact that 86 men gave their lives for their country.“

The Lagarto was one of 28 submarines built in Manitowac, Wis., and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum has created a memorial. Nancy Kenney said that’s where a memorial service for the sailors who died aboard the sub will be held.

&#8221We have until May to find as many as we can,“ Kenney said. &#8221Hopefully, the Navy will want to get involved. To participate in this ceremony requires practically nothing from them.“

At least one other Mississippian, Walter Jackson Rutledge of Tupelo, also died aboard the Lagarto, Kenney said.

No direct family members of either he or Breithaupt have been located to inform them of the memorial service, Kenney said.

TO HELP

Anyone with information on family or friends of Charles Woodson Breithaupt may contact Karen Duvalle at kduvalle@wisconsinmaritime.org or 1-866-724-2356. Nancy Kenney may be reached at n.kenney@worldnet.att.net.