After Action Summary
42 members of Sculpin's crew - three officers and 39 enlisted men - were pulled from the sea by the Japanese, though one of the latter, badly wounded, was thrown back. The 41 survivors were taken to Truk and interrogated for ten days by Japanese intelligence officers. The group was divided in half for transport back to Japan on two escort carriers - 21 on IJS Chuyo and 20 on IJS Unyo. Those on Unyo arrived in Japan in early December and spent the rest of the war working in the Ashio copper mines, after which they were repatriated to tell their story.
On the evening of 3 December 1943, 240 miles southeast of Yokosuka - with some help from ULTRA - USS Sailfish (SS-192) sank Chuyo, and only one of the Sculpin prisoners onboard survived.
When the story of John Cromwell's heroic sacrifice was revealed in the accounts of the Sculpin survivors, COMSUBPAC VADM Charles Lockwood nominated him for the Medal of Honor. The award was approved and presented posthumously to Cromwell's widow after the war.
Read more about this topic: John P. Cromwell
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