"Willi" to his friends, young Grap joined the Kriegsmarine at a young age and saw action aboard U-506. He was with U-506 during two very important actions in World War II.
First, "Willi" was part of the famed "Laconia Action" when U-506 rushed to the aid of U-156 under Hartenstein to help rescue thousands of survivors of the sinking of this troopship. "Willi" gave us dozens of the photos that he himself took on the scene.
Second, "Willi" confirmed that German U-Boats did indeed, go up the Mississippi River - at least one boat, his U-506 was going to shell and destroy bridges across the Mississippi at New Orleans. According to "Willi", they were about 40 miles up the Mississippi River when his Skipper realized there were only a few meters of water beneath the keel, making diving impossible plus he saw a few people along the shore and assumed that they had seen U-506 and would raise the alarm. U-506 turned back to the sea.
Wilhelm Grap
"Willi" was a fine man - fluent in English, he helped Sharkhunters every chance he could. He and his wife Marianne were with us on all our "Patrols" in Germany until his passing.