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The United States Navy Memorial

Navy Memorial Honoring the Men & Women of the Sea Services

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Curtiss

Ship Designation: 
AV-4
Date Lost: 
Thursday, June 21, 1945
Kamikaze Strike near Okinawa
At dusk of June 21, 1945, a Kamikaze's delayed action bomb rammed though to the center line of the Curtiss before exploding immediately over a bomb storage magazine which miraculously escaped detonation. The Kamikaze struck on the starboard side amidships at an estimated speed of 400 knots. The engine, part of the tail assembly and the heavy bomb ripped through the skin of the ship, opening two gaping holes and exploding on the third deck. The terrific explosion wiped out the sick bay spaces, together with the Warrant Officers' mess room, several staterooms, officers' galley, and pantry and library. Choking smoke gushed from the damaged area and flames licked through four decks above the point of the explosion. Fire mains and sprinkler systems in the blast area were ruptured and the Fire-fighting crew brought emergency extinguishing equipment to bear. With the fires out of control there was immanent danger of the flames reaching the bomb storage magazine, the upper ammunition handling rooms and adjacent magazines. During this critical period many acts of individual heroism were observed. When it became apparent that a great volume of water was needed to control the fires in the Curtiss, two salvage vessels and two ocean tugs came along side to assist.

Lost At Sea Log

Number of sailors in this log: 36

Name Service Branchsort descending
SM 3c James Reaves USN
BM 2c Henry Miller USN
PhM 1c Hurle Richards USN
PhM 2c Kenneth Fassbinder USN
SK 2c Julius Silver USN
StM 1c Willie Ford USN
Ck 1c Carlyle Pillow USN
ART 1c Joseph Fletcher USN
PhM 2c David Petersen USN
PhM 3c Glenn Due USN
PhM 1c Tharon Park USN
PhM 3c Frederick Halstead USN
Sea 1c Maurice Nygaard USN
Ch Mach Herbert Gerl USN
PhoM 3c George Nolan USN
Carp Francis Green USN
HA 1c Robert Auclair USN
SSM 2c Peter Kadusky USN
SC 1c Lester White USN
SSM 3c Paul Bauer USN

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