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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
Sea 2c John Pataye USN
RM 3c Thomas Pecena USN
MM 1c Arthur Pierce USN
CWT William Pinkerman USN
Sea 2c David Phillips USN
FC 1c Charles Peters USN
Sea 2c Earl Perry USN
BM 2c Jesse Perkins USN
MM 3c Nelson Walling USN
Cox John Wallace USN
GM 3c Harry Virchow USN
MM 1c Albert Waldschmidt USN
GM 3c John Walchuk USN
Elec Walter Waite USN
Matt 1c Yau Wai USN
EM 3c Ralph Verley USN
Sea 1c James Verzwyvelt USN
EM 3c Harvey Villwock USN
Mus 3c Donald Villers USN
F 1c James Vaughan USN

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