The Santa Cruz Sentinel readers of their May 23, 1943, edition were drawn to the headline "Harold M Whalman, Oiler, Santa Cruz Man Killed by Torpedo on Tanker in Pacific."

Harold Myron Whalman was born in California to John and Louisa Whalman about 1901. In 1920 he and his sisters, Annie and Martha, were living with their parents in the family home in Oakland. John Whalman was a mariner by occupation and may have introduced his son to a similar life on the sea. Harold Whalman's relationship to Santa Cruz has not been found beyond the newspaper headline.

During World War II, Harold was an "oiler" aboard an 18,000-ton Standard Oil Tanker that was torpedoed by the Japanese in the South Pacific on May 18, 1943, while returning to its port on the West Coast. The submarine surfaced after its torpedo hit the ship and sank the tanker.

After spending twelve hours in lifeboats, a number of the tanker survivors were picked up by a US destroyer; however, Whalman was not among them. His body was never recovered and he was presumed to have drowned.

(USCR, 1920 US Census, CA, Alameda; SCSn May 23, 1943 1:4)