This date in 1944 - USS Darter ran aground

This day October 24, in 1944, was a date my grandfather would never forget.

His submarine -- The USS Darter-- ran aground on Bombay Shoal in the Philippines that day. The sub that was credited with firing the first shot of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.  Hugh Siegel was a radioman aboard the sub and helped to first locate the Japanese fleet. When his submarine collided with and lodged itself in the reef, he signaled for help and the entire crew were rescued aboard their sister submarine, the USS Dace after only a few hours, with no fatalities. The Dace tried twice to torpedo the Darter and destroy it with explosive charges, so the Japs wouldn't capture its radio, sonar, radar or code machines aboard. Both attempts failed to destroy the stranded sub completely. So my grandpa and a few others went back aboard the sub, which by that time was on fire and structurally unsound, and manually destroyed the documents and smashed the equipment. He was awarded a Bronze Star for valor in combat for his actions that day.

But how, exactly, did it happen?

The following posts will explain, with all available information, how the Darter was lost.