CD with sepia image of USS Intrepid at sea with text that reads "Oral History Collection"

Samuel T. Higa

BiographySamuel T. Higa served aboard the submarine USS Growler (SSG-577) during the Cold War, from 1963 to 1964. He served as an electronics technician seaman (ETSN). Higa joined the crew of Growler after the submarine’s final patrol. He was part of the crew that rode Growler from Pearl Harbor to Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and prepared the submarine for decommissioning.

Higa was born in the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming, a concentration camp where the federal government forcibly relocated Japanese Americans during World War II. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1962 and studied Polaris submarine systems before he was assigned to Growler. After Growler was decommissioned, Higa served aboard USS Permit (SSN-594), where he qualified as an electronics technician third class (ET3), and USS Guardfish (SSN-612). He served in the Navy until 1975.

The Museum interviewed Higa for our oral history collection in 2016 (OHP.120).

Person TypeIndividual