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The United States Navy Memorial

Navy Memorial Honoring the Men & Women of the Sea Services

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Houston

Ship Designation: 
CA-30
Date Lost: 
Sunday, March 1, 1942
Battle at Sunda Strait
Houston in company with HMAS Perth and HMS Exeter depart Priok and at 2300 in the vicinity of Sunda Strait encounter a Japanese landing force taking them under fire and causing wide spread damage to 4 loaded Japanese transports. Japanese battle force comprised of two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and 10 destroyers close in on the Houston force. ... One of 8 torpedoes launched from the Japanese forces strikes Houston. At 0015 Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma finds Houston with its 8” guns ripping into the after engine room killing the entire engine room crew. ... Turret 2 hit by enemy gunfire which starts fire in magazine; fire progresses to small arms magazine and to Turret magazine. At 0033 with the ship sinking, the order to abandon ship is given. While abandoning ship Japanese continue to shell and send torpedoes into her hull. At 0045 Houston sinks. ... Of the crew less than half make it into the water in Sunda Strait. Many of Houston’s survivors were captured and interred in Japanese prisons until the conclusion of WWII

Lost At Sea Log

Number of sailors in this log: 632

Name Service Branchsort descending
Mus 2c Edward Nowak USN
Sea 1c James Northcutt USN
RM 3c Eddie Ohavre USN
CSF Joe Oneal USN
Sea 2c Joseph Rains USN
GM 2c John Racine USN
MM 3c Raymond Quigley USN
Sea 1c William Prouty USN
Sea 1c Charles Prince USN
M 1c Mack Purcell USN
CMM Wilbur Pool USN
WT 1c Farest Polk USN
Sea 2c Leo Plude USN
RM 2c Clyde Pittman USN
EM 3c Louis Pratico USN
Cox Jack Prentice USN
EM 1c Harold Prescher USN
WT 2c Philip Pautsch USN
Sea 1c Kenneth Patten USN
Sea 1c Charles Parsons USN

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Prepared by CAPT R.O. Strange USN (Ret.)