Today marks the 30th anniversary of the explosion of gun turret #2, an explosion that killed 47 crew members of the USS Iowa. The Iowa was 300 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, participating in a routine naval training exercise, FLEETEX 3-89, when the center gun room blew. A naval investigation of the incident concluded that the explosion was deliberately caused by crew member Clayton Hartwig. A second subsequent investigation by the GAO, assisted by Sandia National Laboratories, determined that an overram of the powder bags was the likely cause of the center gun room explosion.
You can read more about this tragic incident here. Video and news report here.
Honoring the 47 fallen:
TUNG THANH ADAMS, 25, fire controlman, Alexandria.
ROBERT WALLACE BACKHERMS, 30, gunner's mate, Ravenna, Ohio.
DWAYNE COLLIER BATTLE, 21, electrician's mate, fireman apprentice, Rocky Mount, N.C.
WALTER SCOT BLAKEY, 20, gunner's mate, Eaton Rapids, Mich.
PETE EDWARD BOPP, 21, gunner's mate, Levittown, N.Y.
RAMON JEREL BRADSHAW, 19, seaman recruit, Tampa, Fla.
PHILLIP EDWARD BUCH, 24, lieutenant junior grade, Las Cruces, N.M.
JOHN PETER CRAMER, 28, gunner's mate, Uniontown, Pa.
MILTON FRANCIS DEVAUL Jr., 21, gunner's mate, Solvay, N.Y.
LESLIE ALLEN EVERHART Jr., 31, seaman apprentice, Cary, N.C.
GARY JOHN FISK, 24, boatswain's mate, Oneida, N.Y.
TYRONE DWAYNE FOLEY, 27, seaman, Bullard, Texas.
ROBERT JAMES GEDEON III, 22, seaman apprentice, Lakewood, Ohio.
BRIAN WAYNE GENDRON, 20, seaman apprentice, Madera, Calif.
JOHN LEONARD GOINS, 20, seaman recruit, Columbus, Ohio.
DAVID L. HANSON, 23, electrician's mate, Perkins, S.D.
ERNEST EDWARD HANYECZ, 27, gunner's mate, Borenton, N.J.
CLAYTON MICHAEL HARTWIG, 25, gunner's mate, Cleveland, Ohio.
MICHAEL WILLIAM HELTON, 31, legalman, Louisville, Ky.
SCOTT ALAN HOLT, 20, seaman apprentice, Fort Myers, Fla.
REGINALD JOHNSON Jr., 20, seaman recruit, Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
BRIAN ROBERT JONES, 19, seaman, Kennesaw, Ga.
MICHAEL SHANNON JUSTICE, 21, seaman, Matewan, W.Va. (resident of Norfolk, Va.)
EDWARD J. KIMBLE, 23, seaman, Ft. Stockton, Texas
RICHARD E. LAWRENCE, 29, gunner's mate, Springfield, Ohio.
RICHARD JOHN LEWIS, 23, seaman apprentice, Northville, Mich.
JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ Jr., 21, seaman apprentice, Hidalgo, Texas.
TODD CHRISTOPHER McMULLEN, 20, boatswain's mate, Manheim, Pa.
TODD EDWARD MILLER, 25, seaman recruit, Ligonier, Pa.
ROBERT KENNETH MORRISON, 36, legalman, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
OTIS LEVANCE MOSES, 23, seaman, Bridgeport, Conn.
DARIN ANDREW OGDEN, 24, gunner's mate, Shelbyville, Ind. (resident of Hampton, Va.)
RICKY RONALD PETERSON, 27, seaman, Houston, Minn.
MATTHEW RAY PRICE, 20, gunner's mate, Burnside, Pa.
HAROLD EARL ROMINE Jr., 19, gunner's mate, Bradenton, Fla.
GEOFFREY SCOTT SCHELIN, 20, seaman, Costa Mesa, Calif.
HEATH EUGENE STILLWAGON, 21, gunner's mate, Connellsville, Pa.
TODD THOMAS TATHAM, 19, seaman recruit, Wolcott, N.Y.
JACK ERNEST THOMPSON, 22, gunner's mate, Greeneville, Tenn.
STEPHEN J. WELDON, 24, gunner's mate, Yukon, Okla.
JAMES DARRELL WHITE, 22, gunner's mate, Norwalk, Calif.
RODNEY MAURICE WHITE, 19, seaman recruit, Louisville, Ky.
JOHN RODNEY YOUNG, 21, gunner's mate, Columbia, S.C.
REGINALD OWEN ZIEGLER, 39, gunner's mate, Port Gibson, N.Y.
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