DOB/DOD: November 3, 1895 (Plainfield, CT) – January 9, 1943; 47 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Alice M. (1907-?)
CHILDREN: One son, Lloyd J. Jr. (1927-2000)
LOCAL ADDRESS: Peckhams Street, Sterling
PRIOR MILITARY SERVICE: U.S. Navy, April 30, 1917, until discharge on October 13, 1919
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-111268
FAMILY: Born to James G. (1869-1916) and Hattie A. Sherman Miller (1870-1940). One brother, Harry S. (1903-1963).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Aboard the American merchant ship SS Louise Lykes as it left New York on January 2, 1943. With a cargo of war supplies and ammunition bound for Belfast, Northern Ireland, the freighter was sailing without convoy or escort. The ship was armed, however, with one 4-inch, two 3-inch, and eight 20mm guns and a 34-man crew of Navy Armed Guards to man them.
On January 9th, about 500 nautical miles south-southeast of Iceland, German submarine U-384 was spotted just below the surface of the water. Navy gunners immediately opened fire, their shots straddling the sub but not directly hitting it. Unfortunately, U-384 had already fired off four torpedoes from a distance of 2000 yards, and when two hit, there was an explosion so great that the sub had to make a crash dive to avoid being hit by fiery debris. When it surfaced about five minutes later, the only thing floating on the water was debris; the ship had virtually disappeared.
There were 51 Merchant Mariners, 34 US Navy Armed Guards, and possibly 10-20 members of the US Army Signal Corps on board. None survived.
The fate of U-384
Sunk at 1745hrs on March 19, 1943, in the North Atlantic west of Ireland, in position 54.18N, 26.15W, by depth charges from a British Fortress aircraft (206 Sqn RAF/B). 47 dead (all hands lost). [FDS/NHB, June 1975].