Robert K. Harmuth
Person TypeIndividual
BiographyRobert K. Harmuth served on board the guided missile submarine USS Growler (SSG-577) as its engineer during the submarine’s final years of service, from 1962 until 1964. He attended the University of Wisconsin before his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1959. Harmuth served on two destroyers before attending submarine school. Growler was his first submarine. After Growler was decommissioned, Harmuth remained in the U.S. Navy, serving on other submarines and surface ships, with periods of shore duty. His service included deployments on board USS Chicago (CG-11) and USS Pyro (AE-24) to the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Harmuth retired from the Navy as a lieutenant commander in 1981. He wrote a memoir, "Up from the Deep: The Return," about his time as an officer on board Growler. The Intrepid Museum interviewed him for the oral history collection (OHP.064).
