Remains of 10 missing USS McCain sailors found
Divers recover victims
SINGAPORE — Divers have recovered the remains of all 10 sailors who went missing after the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided near Singapore last week, the U.S. Navy said today.
Navy and Marine Corps divers had been searching in flooded compartments of the destroyer for days after the damaged ship docked in Singapore. The cause of the Aug. 21 collision is under investigation.
The crash ripped a gash in the McCain’s hull, flooding crew berths and machinery and communications rooms.
The commander of the Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet was fired last week after a series of accidents this year raised questions about its operations. The firing of Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, a three-star admiral, was a rare dismissal of a high-ranking officer for operational reasons.
The Navy also ordered an operational pause for its fleets worldwide to make sure all steps are being taken to ensure safe and effective operations. The Pacific Fleet will also carry out a ship-by-ship review of its vessels, looking at navigation, mechanical systems, bridge resource management and training.
The victims ranged in age from 20 to 39 years old and came from eight U.S. states:
• Charles Nathan Findley, 31, electronics technician 1st class, 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 class, 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