Divers from the US Navy and Marine Corps recovered the bodies of all 10 fallen sailors after a multi-national search following the collision between a US warship, the USS John McCain, and a merchant oil tanker off the Singapore coast on 21 August.
The US 7th Fleet released a statement today and revealed the identities of the sailors who were declared missing after the collision:
- Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Amazonia, Missouri
- Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from El Paso, Texas
- Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Gaithersburg, Maryland
- Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Cable, Ohio
- Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Manchester, Maryland
- Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from Poughkeepsie, New York
- Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Suffield, Connecticut
- Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Killeen, Texas
- Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Decatur, Illinois
- Electronics Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Doyon and Smith were recovered and identified earlier on 24 August.
The incident is under investigation, according to the 7th fleet.
This is the fourth accident involving American warships in the Pacific just this year.
Seven US sailors were killed just two months ago, in June 2017, when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship in waters off Japan. Those who lost their lives due to the collision were found in flooded berths on board the ship after the warship suffered a gash under its waterline.
The frequency of such incidents has given rise to speculation that the US may be overstretched as it tackles China’s increasingly domineering spirit – particularly as seen in the South China Sea territorial dispute – and the threat of North Korea’s nuclear goals.
https://theindependent.sg.sg/10-sailors-missing-5-injured-as-us-warship-collides-into-tanker-off-singapore-coast/