THACKER-CHARLES
CHARLES ROBERT THACKER JR.
AOC(AW)
FIRST NAVY FATALITY FROM COVID-19
Charles Robert Thacker Jr. was reportedly born on September 20, 1978 in Alabama and enlisted in the Navy in 1997. According to the Navy, he spent most of his career in San Diego and served on four aircraft carriers during his time in the Navy. He was serving his second tour aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt when he became ill from Coronavirus COVID-19. When Chief Thacker tested positive for the illness he was removed from the ship on March 30, 2020 and placed in isolation in Guam with several other ill crewmembers. When he was subsequently found unresponsive during a medical check, Chief Thacker was taken to the Navy Hospital in Guam and placed in intensive care. His wife, also a San Diego based active duty service member, was flown by the Navy to Guam on April 11 and she was at her husband’s side when he died on April 13. At the time of Chief Thacker’s death there were over six-hundred reported COVID-19 cases among the crewmembers of the Roosevelt. Chief Thacker was reportedly the first active duty Navy personnel to die from COVID-19.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)