This is a short biography of a remarkable member of the Soden family. Lt. Aloysius Soden, USNR JLS SM who died in 1967.
BR. ALOYSIUS SODEN (1922-67)
was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was a member of the Marianist Order of Teaching Brothers , based in Dayton ,Ohio. Aloysius had six sisters, Columba, Philomena, Matilda, Sarah, Helena and Mary Catherine, who was the grandmother of the informant for this information, Deborah Labonty Schoon (2023). His only brother was called Martin. Mary Matilda became Sister Rita Martin in the Order of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and her sister Sarah became Sister Mary Matilda in the same order. He spent a long time on the Japanese mission and was a prisoner of war during World War 2.
He taught at the Marianist School in Yokohama and was respected greatly by his pupils ,to such a degree that after his death they founded the Soden Memorial Foundation in his memory to help the school in Yokohama.
At the end of the war because of his fluency in Japanese ,he was one of the 6 interpreters used by the Americans to negotiate the surrender with the Japanese .He was assigned to the Captain of the USS Missourri ,itself since re-commissioned for the Gulf War in 1991.He is seen in official photographs at the signing of the truce at Truk [Chuck Lagoon] in the Pacific Ocean.
He died in Dayton , Ohio in 1967.
(Source: Deborah Schoon, Granddaughter of Mary Catherine Soden Bradley, Sister of Aloysius Soden, [2023])
(Source: Bro. Quigley , Marianist , Dublin , Ireland ,friend of Bro. Aloysius .)
USNR – United States Navy Reserve
JLS – Japanese Language School
SM – Society of Mary
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Bro. Aloysius Soden and his connection with Japan and the Surrender at Truk.