DOB/DOD: March 14, 1922 (Stamford, CT) – February 7, 1943; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Glenbrook/Stamford
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-029543
FAMILY: Born to Joseph [born in Denmark] (1902-1964) and Mary Panchson Hammershoy (1902-1973). Three sisters, Muriel C. Hammershoy Comeau Taylor Markus (1923-2008), Shirley J. Hammershoy Oncea (1928-2008), and Joan Hammershoy Ball (1932-2018).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Jay Hammershoy served as an Engine Cadet, S.S. Henry R. Mallory, U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II.
The S.S. Henry R. Mallory was torpedoed by German U-boat U-402 about 600 miles south-southwest of Iceland. One torpedo struck on the starboard side at the #3 hold and they sank within 30 minutes. The master, 48 crew members, 15 armed guards and 208 passengers were lost.
Jay was declared “Missing In Action” in this sinking during the war.
He was posthumously awarded the Mariner’s Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star.
German submarine U-402 also sank the S.S. Toward, a British Rescue Ship, approximately 3 hours earlier.
Fate of U-402
Sunk on October 13, 1943, in the North Atlantic north of the Azores, in position 48.56N, 29.41W, by a Fido homing torpedo from two Avenger aircraft (VC-9 USN/T-9 & T-12) of the American escort carrier USS Card. 50 dead (all hands lost).
Memorialized on his parents’ headstone in Saint John Cemetery, 25 Camp Avenue, Darien, Connecticut.
