There is a substantial amount of misinformation circulating about Holy Rosary Parish and Argentia in general that comes from one particular source … Brother Francis Foran. Between 1984 and 1991, Brother Foran wrote several articles about Holy Rosary Parish and various aspects of Argentia's history. While much of the information contained in those articles is accurate, more than thirty percent of it is not. From a historical point of view, most of the errors are major. It would be an injustice to the history of Argentia, and to all those who have an interest in it, to let those misconceptions and fabrications go uncorrected.

The first of Brother Foran's articles was written for the 28-page booklet Holy Rosary Parish: Freshwater July, 1984. Father Peter Golden and the Anniversary Committee of Holy Rosary Parish put that booklet together in 1984, as part of the parish's celebration of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Archdiocese of St. John's.

Just a few examples of some of the incorrect information presented by Brother Foran in that booklet are listed below, and are followed, individually, by the correct information.

The entire story that Brother Foran had placed in Holy Rosary Parish: Freshwater July, 1984 can be found as a long quote in the article “The Church History of the People of Freshwater & Holy Rosary Parish by Olive Power,” as presented in the section Misconceptions and Fabrications Propagated by Olive Power and the Red Island Website.

The mystery and intrigue associated with espionage and German submarines was a great source of fodder for local folklore tales. One story centered on how the Americans captured a U-boat near Red Island and executed the crew by firing squad in Argentia. Brother Francis Foran was a spin doctor who told of events in Argentia that never really happened. He appeared to take pleasure in telling how the Americans captured a German submarine after it sailed well into Placentia Bay, so much so that he told it at least four times during large public gatherings between 1986 and 1992. To people who did not know very much about the American military history of Argentia, the story probably seemed quite plausible. As told by Brother Foran, that story goes like this:

At around 7:00 p.m. one evening in the fall of 1943, the air raid sirens sounded, and a blackout occurred in Argentia and all the surrounding communities. The local residents thought that it was just another drill but, in reality, it was a genuine preparation for an attack. The blackout lasted until about 9:30 p.m.

An alert PBY patrol pilot — on his way back to Argentia from a patrol along the southeast coast of Newfoundland — had spotted the whitewash of a submarine as it broke the surface of calm water. That U-boat was approximately two miles southwest of Red Island and seven miles west-northwest of Point Latine, Argentia. All air and sea units at Argentia were quickly dispatched to the scene.

The German submarine came to the surface because it was running low on power and had to recharge its batteries, which could only be done on the surface. The crewmembers did not know that they had been detected and were caught off guard. They were captured and taken to Argentia, where they spent two days in the brig before being taken to a prisoner-of-war camp at some secret place in the United States. A few of them caused a lot of trouble in Argentia and were executed before a firing squad. Their vessel, U-546, was given a detailed inspection at the Fleet Dock before it was sent to the United States.

The Americans never said anything about it and the only credible reference to the capture of that German submarine was made by Father Dee from the pulpit in Freshwater. At a Sunday Mass, he told the parishioners: ‘War was at our very doorstep on Thursday when the Americans captured a German submarine off Red Island. Let us thank God that we didn't have a disaster on our hands.'

That event never happened; it was strictly a figment of somebody's imagination. Not one German submarine ever entered Placentia Bay, and there are many hundreds of American military and German U-boat archival records to substantiate that fact. Also, none of the residents in Freshwater remembered Father Dee making such a statement about a German submarine, so it was rather strange that Brother Foran would have had it in his story. Since he was not in Freshwater at the time, it is not known who the source of the information was. It was also rather strange for Brother Foran to specifically state that U-546 was captured in Placentia Bay. Surely he should have known that the Americans and Germans would have recorded such information!

Air raid sirens and blackouts were common during the war. They were conducted without notice twice monthly to test the response of the various organizations that would have to deal with any emergency or enemy action after dark. The U.S. military had lookout or communication facilities in some of the local communities — namely, Freshwater, Jerseyside, Placentia, and Ship Harbour — so they were also affected by the exercises. Consequently, the local residents never knew if the events were drills or actual occurrences. Since the Americans sometimes talked about those exercises, and how they pertained to a German submarine attack as if they were real, some Newfoundland employees often mistook what they heard as being factual and proceeded to tell their friends about the exciting news they had heard at work.

Although it supposedly took place in 1943, the preceding story was developed sometime after the Newfoundlanders saw two German submarines, U-2513 and U-3008, tied up to the Fleet Dock in August 1945. Since they had no access to official information, an unknown Newfoundland worker, or workers, started a rumor that the German submarine crewmembers had been caught spying on Argentia and were executed by a firing squad.

To set the record straight, U-546 was never in Argentia. Classed as a Type IXC/40 vessel, it was a high-performance submarine. Its keel was laid down at the Deutche Werft AG Shipyard in Hamburg on August 6, 1942. It was commissioned under the command of Kapitanleutnant Paul Just on June 2, 1943.

During its short existence, U-546 made three patrols. The first — from June 2, to December 31, 1943 — was as a training vessel. The second — from January 1 to November 9, 1943 — was as a “front boat,” or lead vessel. The third — from November 10, 1944 to April 24, 1945 — was as a lead vessel. U-546 sank only one ship, the 1,200-ton destroyer USS Frederick C. Davis (DE-136). It was because of its success with the Frederick C. Davis that it met its doom.

U-546 was sunk north-west of the Azores on Tuesday, April 24, 1945, in the position defined by coordinates 43° 53' N by 40° 07' W. Twenty-six crewmembers were killed and 33 survived. The following is the detailed record of the sinking of U-546, as recorded from the log books of the vessels that were involved and held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the United States:

The Sinking of U-546

USS Bogue (CVE-9), USS Flaherty (DE-135), USS Neunzer (DE-150), USS Chatelain (DE-149), USS Varian (DE-798), USS Hubbard (DE-211), USS Janssen (DE-396), USS Pillsbury (DE-133), and USS Keith (DE-241).

As the plane flies, the distance from St. John's , Newfoundland to Fayal in the Azores is 1,180 miles. On April 23, 1945, in the mid-Atlantic, about halfway between St. John's and Fayal , several escort-carriers and a parade of destroyer escorts were strung out in a 100-mile north-to-south barrier patrol. The CVE-DE flotilla, one of the largest hunter-killer forces assembled to that date, formed another segment of the “net” spread to catch the “super-snorkels” swimming across the Atlantic to invade America's Eastern Sea Frontier.

The anti-submarine (AS) barrier was composed of two aircraft carrier (CVE) task groups —Task Group 22.3 and Task Group 22.4 — and a large detachment of destroyers. The force was operating under Commander Task Group 22.5 and Captain G. J. Dufek in the USS Bogue. Senior destroyer officer was Commander F. S. Hall, ComCortDiv (Command Escort Division) 4, in the USS Pillsbury.  He was designated as Commander Task Unit 22.7.1.

The destroyers of Task Unit 22.7.1 included the USS Pillsbury (DE-133), USS Keith (DE-241), USS Otterstetter (DE-244), USS Pope (DE-134), USS Flaherty (DE-135), USS Chatelain (DE-149), USS Frederick C. Davis (DE-136), USS Neunzer (DE-150), USS Hubbard (DE-211), USS Varian (DE-798), USS Otter (DE-210), USS Hayter (DE-212), USS Janssen (DE-396), and USS Cockrill (DE-398).

The ships were tactically disposed so that the destroyers of the task unit formed a surface barrier between the Bogue air group to the south and Core (CVE-13) air group to the north. Spaced five miles apart, the 14 destroyers were ranged across the seascape like a dragnet, and the carriers serving as figurative trawlers.

At 1322 hours on April 23, a search plane sighted a submarine about 70 miles from the USS Pillsbury. Commander Hall formed a scouting line and the destroyers steamed for the spot where the enemy had been seen. The submarine went down and stayed down.  All afternoon the hunters combed the vicinity with their detection gear.  All through that evening, and after midnight, and they were still searching. The relentless hunt went on into the early hours of April 24.

At 0829 hours the Frederick C. Davis made contact with U-546 and was proceeding to attack when, at 0840, the submarine fired a stern shot that tore the destroyer apart and sent it down with heavy loss of life. It was the second and last American destroyer to go down as a result of enemy torpedo-fire in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The U-boat commander who fired at the Frederick C. Davis must have known he was courting suicide. Eight destroyer escorts from the scouting line — the Pillsbury, Flaherty, Neunzer, Chatelain, Varian, Hubbard, Janssen, and Keith — immediately closed around the U-boat like a noose ready to drop from the surface. The submarine hunt conducted by that killer group stands as exemplary of the anti-submarine tactics employed by hunter-killers at that stage of the war.

The Neunzer and Hayter, which had been ordered up to the scouting line, conducted a search while the Pillsbury circled the area and the Flaherty picked up survivors. The Flaherty made contact in less than an hour and, with the Pillsbury, proceeded to attack. The Neunzer and Hayter took over rescue operations.

0950-1020:	The Flaherty and Pillsbury made hedgehog attacks.
1023:	Directed by Pillsbury, the Flaherty fired a magnetic-set pattern of Mark 8 charges in creeping attack. Depth-charge explosions were heard. Five minutes later, Pillsbury lost contact with the submarine. Six minutes later, contact was regained, at a range of 900 yards, but was last only 16 minutes. The submarine appeared to be very deep, estimated about 600 feet. It was evident that the U-boat was operating at the deepest level endurable and maneuvering radically at varying speeds from practically zero to 5 knots.
1056:	Pillsbury and Flaherty commenced “Operation Observant.”
1059:	ComCortDiv 62 was ordered to form a search line — composed of all ships not engaged in attacks or rescue operations — to ready for search sweeps.
1133:	The Hubbard was ordered to bring search line forward through target area.
1150:	The Pillsbury joined the line as a guide.
1152:	The Otterstetter was ordered to join the Hayter and Otter in rescue work.
1201:	The Flaherty obtained a contact on the U-boat.
1202:	The Flaherty reported its sound gear out and that contact should be ahead of the Varian, at a range of about 1,000 yards.
1205:	The Varian obtained a contact with the U-boat.
1211:	The Janssen was ordered to attack and the Varian assisted.
1228:	The Janssen made a depth-charge attack.
1233:	The Hubbard was ordered to join the Janssen. The Varian was ordered to assist and coach a creeping attack. With the Varian directing maneuvers, the Hubbard and Janssen steamed into attack position. The U-boat was deep, but the two destroyers were determined to dig it out, whatever the level. Down went the depth-charges, a creeping attack that was launched at 1250.
1254:	The Varian reported a large air bubble.
1255:	The Neunzer was ordered to the scene of the contact.
1259:	The Hubbard reported indications that the U-boat was at a depth of 600 feet.
1314:	Another creeping attack was delivered.
1320:	The Janssen was relieved by the Flaherty at scene of contact.
1341:	Another creeping attack was delivered.
1346:	The Chatelain was ordered to scene of the attack.
1418:	ComtCortDiv 62, in the Otter, and Hayter left scene of the Frederick C. Davis torpedoing to deliver survivors to the escort carriers Core and Bogue The Otterstetter remained at scene of torpedoing to continue search for any remaining survivors.
1515:	The Varian reported that the U-boat was at a depth of 580 feet.
1516:	Another depth-charge attack was delivered.
1545:	The Cockrill was ordered to the scene of the contact.
1549:	A creeping attack delivered by the Neunzer, Varian, and Hubbard, with the Chatelain as the directing ship.
1556:	By means of depth-sounding equipment, the submarine was located at the 420-foot level, but contact was lost shortly thereafter.
1637:	The Chatelain and Neunzer were ordered to return to the line. During the previous attacks, the line had been held in readiness to make a sweep forward if contact was lost. At 1649 all ships were ordered back into line and the echo-ranging sweep was expanded.
1650:	The Cockrill obtained a contact.
1705:	Having lost contact, the Cockrill commander suggested that the line make sweep through area.
1723:	The line started forward through area, with the Pillsbury as a guide.
1731:	The Varian reported a contact.
1734:	The Keith reported a contact.
1737:	The Pillsbury was ordered to the scene of contact to assist.
1743:	The Flaherty ordered to assist.
1747:	By means of depth-sounding equipment, the Keith reported indications that the U-boat was at a depth of 220 feet. TU Commander ordered attack to be switched to hedgehog, in view of decreased depth.
1810:	The Flaherty delivered a hedgehog attack. The Pillsbury noted underwater explosion on sound gear.
1814:	A small oil slick was reported near the scene of the last attack.
1824:	The Flaherty reported bubbles were rising to surface.
1828:	The Flaherty delivered a hedgehog attack.
1838:	U-546 surfaced.

From 9:50 in the morning to 6:38 in the evening — under fire for eight hours and forty-eight minutes — the Germans decided they did not want to continue what seemed like a loosing battle. Moreover, their vessel had been damaged by the depth-charge and hedgehog attacks.

As the U-boat's conning tower broke water, all ships that had a clear range opened fire. Frantic German sailors fought their way out through the hatches and into the water. Under a storm of shells, U-546 rolled and plunged. At 1844 hours, with its bridge twisted sideways, U-546 went under for the last time.

The Americans had successfully executed the killer of the USS Frederick C. Davis. Thirty-three German seamen, including the commanding officer, Herr Kapitan Leutnant Paul Just, were taken prisoner and brought to U.S. Naval Operating Base, Argentia.

When, John Cardoulis, Robert Jorgensen, Art Rockwood, and Jim Wellman were writing their books, they interviewed Brother Foran. They each sought out Brother Foran because he had “lived in Argentia” and had “first-hand knowledge about all that went on there.” They also considered the information he gave them to be accurate and reliable, but not one of them ever tried to verify that information by researching government, religious, and U.S. military archival records. Consequently, their books, A Friendly Invasion; A Friendly Invasion II: A Personal Touch; Newfoundland Gallantry in Action; Trivia; Trivia: The Sequel; Bathroom Book; and Lighthouse People contain the same erroneous information about Argentia that Brother Foran put forth in the various written articles and media interviews.

Those authors previously mentioned, as well as many other people, trusted everything that Brother Foran told them because he claimed to have grown up in Argentia. They believed that they were getting first-hand accounts. What they did not know was the fact that Brother Foran did not grow up in Argentia.

Brother Foran's parents were Francis Foran of Argentia and Caroline Lambe of Red Island. It was the second marriage for Francis Foran and he had two grown children — Ann (Annie) and Ronald (Ron) — when he married Caroline Lambe. Neither of them lived with their father and stepmother because they were old enough to be living on their own. Francis and Caroline Foran had four children together … Grace, Mary, Clara, and Francis. Clara, who was born on August 27, 1914, was 15 years old when she died in 1929.

When Francis Foran died in 1926, his son, later to become a Christian Brother, was four years old. In those days, when one of the parents died and the surviving partner found it difficult to earn a living, one or more of the children were placed in an orphanage. When her husband died, Caroline Foran kept the three girls at home because they were old enough to do the housework and tend to the gardens while she maintained the lighthouse. Since having a small child to rear would have made it very difficult to look after the lighthouse and her home at the same time, Caroline Foran placed four-year-old Francis in Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's .

Brother Foran grew up in Mount Cashel Orphanage, and it was there that he began his initial studies to become a Christian Brother. Spending one month of each summer with his mother in Argentia was certainly not enough time to make him an expert on what was happening there at any given time, especially during the expropriation and re-settlement processes.

It is difficult to understand why anyone who “loved” Argentia, as Brother Foran often claimed he did, would go to such lengths to misrepresent its history. Mistakes are one thing, but fabrications are another. He may have loved the images of Argentia that he conjured up in his imagination, but he certainly did an injustice to all the people who once called Argentia their home by misleading people through his stories.

Brother Francis Raymond Foran died at St. Patrick's Mercy Home in St. John's on Thursday, August 12, 1999. He was 77 years old at the time of his death. Unfortunately, he left a legacy of distorted details and fabrications pertaining to many aspects of Argentia's history.