DONALD A. SCHERER

SCHERER, DONALD A. CAPTAIN, USN 1911 to 2009 Don was a remarkable man who lived in remarkable times. Donald Arthur Scherer was born in New Buffalo, Michigan, on September 20, 1911. His parents homesteaded 1500 acres of prairie near Timberlake, South Dakota which they and Don farmed with horses. In 1920, his father's health caused them to move to Daytona Beach, Florida. Already a gifted musician, there, Don became the only teenager to play first violin on the Daytona Beach symphony orchestra. Graduating from Daytona Beach high school as class valedictorian, he attended Georgia Tech for two years before receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy in 1930. He majored in mechanical engineering and was on the fencing team for four years. Following his graduation with the USNA Class of 1934, Don served on the Heavy Cruiser USS Pensacola (CA-24) and the Destroyer USS Trever (DD-339). When USS Trever arrived in San Diego in 1935, Don met his future wife, Arline Kuhlman. They were married in St. John's Catholic Church on October 31, 1937, in a union that was to last for 65 years until her death in 2003. Graduating from Submarine School in 1938, Don was ordered as Chief Engineer to the submarine S-47 (SS-158) in Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. When World War II started, Don was attending a postgraduate course in Mechanical Engineering at Annapolis, Maryland. Quickly completing the war-accelerated course, Don was ordered to Pearl Harbor as Executive Officer of USS Pike (SS-173), and then USS Lapon (SS-260), completing one war patrol in each submarine. He became Commanding Officer of USS Permit (SS-178) in early 1944 and completed three more war patrols on Permit. Don was then ordered to command USS Pampanito (SS-383) which was scheduled for a Radar Picket conversion to support the planned invasion of Japan. The end of the war caused Pampanito to be placed in "mothballs" instead. Later, Pampanito was brought back, restored, and now proudly serves the public as part of the San Francisco Maritime Museum where visitors can see what life was like on a World War II diesel submarine. For his wartime service, Don received the Legion of Merit plus three stars (for Permit command), three Navy Commendation Medals with Ribbon and V, Submarine Combat Insignia with Four stars and other medals. Don continued to serve in a variety of significant engineering assignments including Supervisor of Shipbuilding for the Navy at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, during the period when five new nuclear powered submarines were built. They were: USS Sculpin SSN 590; USS Snook SSN 592; USS Barb SSN 596; USS Dace SSN 601, and USS Haddock SSN 621. Retiring from the Navy after 30 years of dedicated service, Don brought Arline back to her hometown, San Diego, where he earned his Masters Degree in Physical Sciences from San Diego State University in 1965. For the next 15 years, Don worked as a marine engineering consultant for Brown & Root on many projects, including Project Mohole in conjunction with the National Science Foundation. He retired from Brown & Root in 1979. Don was a humble, cheerful, unassuming man, a true gentleman and patriot. An exceptionally talented man, he was a scholar, musician, outdoorsman, designer and builder. He was devoted to his family, the Navy, and his country and served them all well. Captain Scherer passed away peacefully with his daughter at his side, just two weeks shy of his 98th birthday. He is survived by his daughter, Donna Cihak, three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, all from the San Diego area. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Donations in Don's memory may be sent to: Dolphin Scholarship Foundation, 5040 Virginia Beach Blvd., Suite 104A, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Telephone: (757)671-3200. Fax (757) 671-3330.