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Note: 1) Bapt. Aug 1890; witnessed by Gottlob & Christiane Kies of Degerloch. 2) Hamburg ship lists 6,11,91(Nov 6, 1891); ship Normannia, capt. Hebich,
passenger # 01.0456, passage # A18891.391.
3) The list of dead on the West Portal includes Erwin R. Rehm, the First
Engineer.
Subj: Re: SS West Portal
Date: 10/6/99 12:57:59 AM Central Daylight Time
From: usmm@@tdl.com (USMM1)
4) From JC Carver's Ohnmeiss web pages.
Erwin Richard "Jeff" Rehm was the oldest son of Pauline Friedricka
Ohnmeis and Phillip Jacob Rehm. Jeff was born in Kircheim, Germany on
Saturday, 19 July 1890. On Tuesday, 1 September 1891, at the age of 14
months, Jeff, his parents, two older sisters and his new baby brother
left Germany. They arrived in Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania
on Tuesday, 15 September 1891. About five months later (February 1892),
his baby brother died. Later, the Rehm family moved to Whitehall,
Washington county, New York where Jeff's father worked as a tailor.
Eventually, Jeff served in the U.S. Navy. He married Sarah "Sally" Kruse
from Coos county Oregon. There were no children from their marriage.
After retiring from the U.S. Navy, Jeff joined the Merchant Marine
service. At 1300 (1:00 P.M.) local time, on Friday afternoon, 5 February
1943, while serving on board the SS West Portal, Jeff lost his life after
the cargo ship was torpedoed by the German submarine, Poel (U413). The SS
West Portal was in the North Atlantic enroute from New York to Liverpool,
England with a full load of cargo. In addition, her complement contained
40 merchant crewmen and 12 Naval armed Guards. The German submarine Poel
recorded the date, time and location of the attack. It was noted that the
SS West Portal was a straggler from Convoy SC-118 when attacked. The
cargo ship's homeport was San Francisco, California and was owned by Pope
& Talbot, Inc. of San Francisco. There were no survivors from Jeff's
ship. Fifty-two men died that cold afternoon. His 77 year old mother
received a telegram informing her of the incident. Part of the message
stated: "To prevent possible aid to our enemies, please do not divulge
the name of the ship". Jeff died at the age of 52. A man with roots in
Germany, a patriot of America, a victim of war. I salute your valor!
The submarine: The German submarine Poel (U413) was built by Danziger
Werft (Danzig) Germany and was placed in service June 1942. It was a Type
VIIC which was designed to be as small as possible, but still meet staff
requirements. The Type VII submarine was the main operational submarine
used by the Germans during the war. Although Allied advances in
anti-submarine (A/S) techniques and increasing power of the A/S escorts
and aircraft rendered the Type VII submarine obsolete by 1943-44. New
advanced designs never reached operational status. The Poel was lost at
sea on Sunday, 20 August 1943.
5) The Times Record, Troy, N.Y. Thursday Evening, March 26, 1943.
WHITEHALL MAN IN MERCHANT MARINE SERVICE MISSING.
Erwin Rehm, 52, a native of Whitehall and a member of the Merchant
marine, has been reported missing in action since March 15, according to
work received by relatives from his wife, Mrs. Erwin Rehm, Marshfield,
Ore. He served two enlistments in the Navy in World War I. He is survived
by his mother, Mrs. Pauline Rehm, Whitehall, four Brothers, Theodore,
Otto, and Harold Rehm of Whitehall and Walter Rehm of Lake George, five
sisters Mrs. Glenn Shoro, Rensselear, Miss Martha Rehm, Philadelphia,
Mrs. Boyd Neblett, San Francisco Cal., and Mrs. Robert O'Hara,
Springfield, Vt., Mrs. Leonard Benjamin, Whitehall.
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