Ten U.S. sailors are dead after the U.S.S. McCain collided with another ship in Asia’s Malacca Strait, just east of Singapore. They were reported missing last week, but the U.S. Navy released a statement that all 10 bodies have now been found. This is the fourth accident U.S. ships have experienced in Asian waters this year alone.
Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, Seventh Fleet Commander, has been removed by the Navy from his post for “a loss of confidence in his ability to command” after this series of accidents.
The men were aboard a guided missile destroyer, which hit an oil tanker. All bodies were found inside sealed sections of the hull of the ship.
“The U.S. navy and marine corps divers have now recovered the remains of all 10 USS John S.McCain sailors,” wrote the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet in a press release.
They also released the names and details of each of the deceased:
- Nathan Findley, 31, Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles, from Amazonia, Missouri
- Abraham Lopez, 39, Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class, from El Paso, Texas
- Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, Electronics Technician 2nd Class, from Gaithersburg, Maryland
- Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, Electronics Technician 2nd Clas,s from Cable, Ohio
- Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, Information Systems Technician 2nd Class, from Manchester, Maryland
- Corey George Ingram, 28, Information Systems Technician 2nd Class, from Poughkeepsie, New York
- Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, Electronics Technician 3rd Class, from Suffield, Connecticut
- John Henry Hoagland III, 20, Electronics Technician 3rd Class, from Killeen, Texas
- Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class, from Decatur, Illinois
- Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, Electronics Technician 3rd Class, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey
This loss comes on the heels of another — 9 Marines who were killed in a plane crash last month. The risk and sacrifice members of our military take to serve the country is never lost on us, especially at times like this.