Sherburn Nathaniel Bear

Lieutenant Bear had seen action in the Marshall Islands, Marianas, Leyte, the second battle of the Philippine Sea, Lingayen gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, HI.

Sherburn Nathaniel Bear completed his education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Commerce in June 1940. He was commissioned as an ensign on Aug. 18, 1941, after completing Midshipmen's School at Northwestern University. He was assigned to Naval Intelligence for a time until he was transferred to a destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean where he served as a torpedo officer. In late 1942, he happened to run into his brother, Captain Manford Bear, while they were both stationed in Iceland. He was part of the convoy that escorted President Roosevelt to the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. In April 1943, Bear married Dee Engle of Milwaukee. Later that spring, Halligan was transferred to the Pacific Theater where he served in the naval engagements of the Marshall Islands, Marianas, Leyte, the 2nd Battle of the Phillipine Sea, Lingayan Gulf, and Iwo Jima. On Christmas 1944, he bumped into another of his brothers, Ensign Robert Bear, while they were both serving at Leyte. Sherburn Bear was a lieutenant at the time of his death, serving as an executive officer onboard the USS Halligan (DD-584.) The Halligan was part of a fire-support mission off of Okinawa and patrolled the area regularly to provide support to the Marines on the islands. On March 26, 1945, the Halligan struck a Japanese mine off of Tokashiki Island in the southwestern section of Okinawa. Lieutenant Bear and 161 of his comrades were killed by the explosion and ensuing sinking. His remains were never recovered and he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu, Hawaii.