DOB/DOD: July 3, 1880 (Dallas, TX) – December 7, 1941; 61 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Theresa D. Wheeler [born in Canada] (1881-1946) on June 3, 1907, in Multnomah, Oregon
CHILDREN: One daughter, Georgia L. Muirhead Garner (1911-?).
LOCAL ADDRESS: Bridgeport
SERVICE NUMBER: Unknown
FAMILY: Born to Thomas J. Sr. (1849-1925) and Amanda Crow Muirhead (1847-1900). Three brothers, William (1885-1959), Robert (1887-1971), and John (1890-1952). Two sisters, Janet I. Muirhead Parrish Wilhams (1877-1947) and Margaret Muirhead Newman (1882-1928).
CIRCUMSTANCES: The SS Cynthia Olson was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-26 while en route to Honolulu, Hawaii, with a cargo of Army supplies. An SOS heard by a shore station stating they were under attack by a surfaced submarine was the last ever heard from this ship. This was the first American-flag merchant vessel sunk by a Japanese submarine on December 7, 1941. [navymemorial.org]
The fate of Japanese submarine I-26
On October 27, 1944, I-26 was ordered to an area east of Lamon Bay, but she never acknowledged the order. When 6th Fleet headquarters issued an order on November 7, 1944, for submarines in the Leyte area to return to their home bases, I-26 did not respond. On November 21, 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-26 to be presumed lost with all 105 hands east of Leyte. The Japanese removed her from the Navy list on 10 March 1945. [combinedfleet.com]
The cause of the loss of I-26 is controversial. Some historians have concluded that she sank in a diving accident. Others believe it more likely that she was sunk when she attacked the escort aircraft carrier USS Petrof Bay during the night of October 25-26, 1944, in the aftermath of the Battle off Samar, and that the destroyer escorts USS Coolbaugh and USS Richard M. Rowell of Petrof Bay′s screen sank her, most likely by a Hedgehog barrage from Richard M. Rowell early on October 26, 1944, at 09°45′N 126°45′E. [combinedfleet.com]