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In Remembrance of Joe Parenteau

Although not officially a plank owner of the USS Bergall, he climbed aboard her when she was commissioned and stayed with her through the war.

After the third patrol (17 February) the Bergall returned to Subic Bay. Many of it's crew took advantage of their chance to see how the Army operated, since at this time the Japanese still controlled a large section of Manila and all of northern Luzon. They wandered through the native villages and made friends, collected souvenirs, and marveled at the ubiquity of Singer sewing machines and nursing mothers. Joe Parenteau (QM3c, from Central Jersey) who designed and made all of the Bergall's battle flags lent his talents to the cause of Philippine nationalism and designed them a flag - a Singer sewing machine and several flights of four-engined Mosquitoes, in black and on white field.

An interesting side note on Joe Parenteau, QM3C, was that he had chronic seasickness. As soon as #l line was thrown off from the pier he was sick. He wanted to be on the sub so badly that he stood every one of his watches and spent the rest of the time in the sack. Seasickness would almost guarantee that you were ineligible for submarine duty but he fought for the privilege and won.

Here's a picture of the battleflag he created.

It's location since the war was unknown until the spring of 2002 when Wiley Faselt (Son of Joe's crewmate Robert Faselt) found it in artifacts that his dad left to him.

  click for larger view.

After the Bergall he was assigned to the USS Mackerel (SS-204) in the North Atlantic and was discharged in April 1946. He hated the North Atlantic!

Throughout World War II, USS MACKEREL, assigned in SubRon1 at New London, CT, participated in the training and improvement of the Navy's submarine force. Designed as an experimental submarine, she provided support services to the Underwater Sound Laboratory and training services to the Submarine and the Prospective Commanding Officers Schools at New London, in addition to training Allied surface vessels and aircraft in antisubmarine warfare.

Although most of her time was spent in the New London area, she steamed as far north as Casco Bay and as far south as Chesapeake Bay to conduct antisubmarine training exercises. While in the New London-Narragansett Bay area she often worked with TG 28.4, the antisubmarine development detachment, as well as with the Underwater Sound Laboratory; thus aiding, both tactically and technically, in the development of submarine knowledge.

At the end of the war, MACKEREL was ordered to Boston, where she decommissioned 9 November 1945.

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Here's a brief review of Joe Parenteau's post-war activities:
o Married Mary Ann Wilson, February 1950;
o Graduated from Syracuse University, May 1950 (BS in Civil Engineering);
o Returned to Freehold, NJ shortly thereafter;
o First son (Joseph, jr.) born, December 1950;
o Began Civil-Engineering at Union Carbide, 195?;
o After 2 more sons (Mike & Mark) and one daughter (Sue), his youngest son was born (John), December 1958;
o After a three month battle with cancer, died on 25 November 1964 at age 40.

He is survived by our mother, Mary Ann who still lives in Bound Brook, NJ as well as his five children. After the war he attended Syracuse University where he met and married our mother. He became a professional structural engineer and spent virtually all of his career at Union Carbide in New Jersey.

Bob Faselt (who created the 'Bergall Girl On A Torpedo') went to Syracuse University with our father after the war. Like our father he also died very young of cancer, in Bob's case apparently of brain cancer.

I still miss him a lot, and wish he were here to attend the reunions and fill me with war stories.
Mike Parenteau

His son, Joseph Parenteau can be contacted through e-mail at jparenteau@email.msn.com.
His son, John Parenteau can be contacted through e-mail at John.W.parenteau@ulalaunch.com.
His son, Mike Parenteau can be contacted through e-mail at mjp1992@aol.com.

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