The 10 sailors lost from the USS McCain
After more than 80 hours of searching thousands of miles of open sea, the Navy now hopes only to recover the bodies lost from the USS John S. McCain after it collided with an oil tanker near Singapore.
The collision Monday between the McCain — a 500-foot-long guided-missile destroyer — and the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC left five Navy sailors injured and 10 missing.
The collision damaged the U.S. warship’s left side, near the stern, punching a hole that stretched above and below the waterline.Of the 10 missing, the Navy has found the remains of one sailor in the confines of the ship. The twisted steel of the flooded compartments has hindered additional search efforts as teams of divers try to gain access to parts of the ship that remain underwater.
It was still unclear whether the missing bodies are confined to inaccessible parts of the ship or lost at sea.
The one sailor found and nine missing range in age from 20 to 39:
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from New Jersey (recovered)
Smith was a third-generation sailor and grew up in Novi, Mich., before moving to Cherry Hill, N.J., the Detroit Free Press reported.
April Brandon, Smith’s mother, told the Free Press this week she hoped her son would be found alive. Brandon said Navy officials visited her home early Monday and told her that Smith was among the missing.
“They explained the collision and said he was among the missing,” Brandon told the Free Press. “He’s tough. I have hope.”
• Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Missouri
Findley took after his Navy dad, charting his own path in the service, his older sister Toni Greim told Fox4 in Kansas City, Mo. He loved computers, making him a natural fit for an electronics technician. pretty childhood “Charles much attachedand all I of at spent our the hip,” Greim told Fox4. A family history of Navy service has not stopped Greim from voicing frustration over what she says is a lack of communication regarding her brother’s status.
“We still don’t know where my brother is. And also the other men that are with my brother, they’re missing, too. And families are wondering, where are their loved ones?” Greim said. “I probably have lost my little brother. I don’t know what’s happening.”
• Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from Texas
Lopez, of El Paso, enlisted in 1997 and was four months shy of hitting his 20-year mark in the Navy,
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according to his LinkedIn page. He regarded himself as a “highly motivated technical leader” and was responsible for keeping the ship’s communication lines open.
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Maryland Bushell, from Gaithersburg, joined the Navy soon after graduating high school in In 2009. one photo posted to the McCain’s Facebook page in July, Bushell is on the bridge directing communications during a supply replenishment operation. “Big Bad John,” the ship’s nickname, is emblazoned on his uniform.
during “Our this family very asks difficultfor privacytime as we continue to wait for further information from the United States Navy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the other missing sailors,” a family spokesperson said in a statement, as reported by NBC4 in Washington.
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Ohio Drake was originally from Columbus, according to his Facebook page. He went to high school in Troy, Ill., graduating in 2013. He joined the Navy shortly after in hopes of traveling the world. News-Sun told he was the His coming Springfieldsister homeVeronica in November and planned “to be back in the United States for good.” He recently received a Navy and Marine Corps achievement medal for going above and beyond the call of duty during an inspection aboard the McCain. • Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Maryland Eckels is from Baltimore and joined the Navy in 2013, according to his Facebook page. His pictures and videos show someone who enjoyed the outdoors, including hiking, kayaking and working out.
Eckels graduated in 2012 from Manchester Valley High School in Carroll County, the Baltimore Sun reported.
He was an athlete in school and a cook who spent time with his mom in the kitchen from the time he was six months old, his mother, Rachel, told the Sun.
She said her son initially wanted to join the Army, but she talked him out of it.
“Absolutely not,” she told him, recalling it to the Sun. “They’re the first to go to war, the first on the line.”
She was working with the Navy as a civilian contractor at the time her son was looking to join the military and suggested that the branch would be a safer choice.
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from New York
Ingram graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 2006 and nearby Duchess Community College in 2008, according to his Facebook page. His friend and fellow sailor Chris Eaton told the Singapore Straits Times that Ingram “was very outgoing, always willing to lend a hand.”
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Connecticut Doyon’s Facebook page shows an avid skier, hiker, Bud Light drinker and runner.
“Live the dream of dreamers,” he wrote. “Where no word is worthy of a thought, no picture as vivid as a memory.”
His family released the following statement: “We appreciate the courageous work of the crew in the aftermath of the collision and the continuing rescue efforts. As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family and we respectfully request that you honor our privacy.”
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Texas Hoagland attended Robert M. Shoemaker High School in Killeen, according to his Facebook page, graduating in 2016. “I’m honest. You don’t want the truth, don’t ask,” he wrote in his profile.
On the day of the collision, his mother, Stephanie, took to Facebook to confirm that Hoagland was missing.
“Today has truly been one of the longest days, filled with so many emotions,” she wrote. “Waiting for some news on the missing sailors, one of which is our son. Waiting and wondering, not knowing, praying and watching loved ones try to remain strong has been so hard.”
• Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Illinois Palmer graduated from Sangamon Valley High School outside Decatur, in 2012 and nearby Richland Community College in 2015, the Chicago Tribune reported. His last public Facebook posts showed pictures from a recent port call in Darwin, Australia, and training on the deck of the McCain.
In the professional-skills section he listed a number of hobbies, including bass fishing and whitewater rafting.