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| Damage to the USS Fitzgerald was shown to the media. |
THREE of the seven sailors who were killed when a container ship collided with the U.S.S. Fitzgerald were Asian Americans:
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| Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass |
Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California was Japanese/American; Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Conn. was Vietnamese/American; and Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, Calif. was Filipino/American.
With their four shipmates who also died, they represented the diversity that is America.
The other victims were Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia; Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas; Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland; and Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio.
All of the container ship ACX Crystal's 20-member Filipino crew were safe, according to Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K., which operates the ship, which was much larger than the destroyer.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation.
Acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley said in a statement, "We are all deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our fellow shipmates. ... As details emerge, we can all be proud of the heroic effort by the crew to tend to the needs of those injured and save the ship from further damage while returning safely to port."
With their four shipmates who also died, they represented the diversity that is America.
The other victims were Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia; Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas; Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland; and Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio.
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| Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, |
The cause of the collision is still under investigation.
Acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley said in a statement, "We are all deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our fellow shipmates. ... As details emerge, we can all be proud of the heroic effort by the crew to tend to the needs of those injured and save the ship from further damage while returning safely to port."
Douglass' family said Shingo was proud of his Japanese heritage. He was born at the naval hospital in Okinawa and spent many summers as a boy in Japan, where to learned how to speak Japanese fluently.
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| Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh |
Sibayan, most recently of Chula Vista, was a 2012 graduate of Chaparral High School, in Temecula, Calif. where he was active in the school's Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program for four years, according to City News Service.
“If you never met my son, you missed a whole lot. In every sense of the word he is my hero… The way Carlos is, when you need help, he’ll help you with his whole being,” said Sibayan's mother, Carmen.
The family moved to Connecticut when Ngoc Huynh was in the eighth grade, she said. Her brother graduated from Watertown High School and also attended Naugatuck Valley Community College before enlisting in the Navy in 2014.
"I just want everyone know that he was the best brother ever," she said.
The collision occurred in the early morning hours of June 17 when most of the crew was asleep. The victims were found in a compartment flooded with sea water. The sailors might have been killed by the impact of the collision or drowned in the flooding, said Navy spokesman Lt. Paul Newell.
The bodies of the victims were flown back to the United States.
Donald Trump didn't tweet condolences until June 19 and when he finally did, the Internet let him know what they thought about the delay.
Donald Trump didn't tweet condolences until June 19 and when he finally did, the Internet let him know what they thought about the delay.
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