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Service Details |
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Personal Details
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Home State
California | |
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Year of Birth
Not Specified |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shane Laemmel, MR3
to remember
Abasta, Frank Patrick, S2c.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Casualty Info
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Home Town
Azusa |
Last Address
134 E. Ann St
Los Angeles, CA
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Casualty Date
Jul 01, 1942 |
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Cause
Hostile, Died while Missing |
Reason
Lost At Sea-Unrecovered |
Location
Carribean Sea |
Conflict
World War II |
Location of Interment
East Coast Memorial (Tablets of the missing) - Manhattan, New York |
Wall/Plot Coordinates
Cenotaph |
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Last Known Activity
At 18.31 hours on 1 Jul, 1942, the unescorted Warrior was hit on the port side by two torpedoes from U-126 about 125 miles east of Trinidad. The first hit abaft the bridge and the second struck in the #5 hatch, breaking the main shaft and killing three crewmen on watch below. The ship settled rapidly by the stern and sank within 5 minutes. Despite this, the four armed guards from the forward 3in gun fired four rounds but went down with the ship. The most of the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 14 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns) on board abandoned ship in two lifeboats and were picked up after four hours by USS Herbert (DD 160) and taken to Trinidad.
The U.S. Navy Armed Guard was a service branch of the United States Navy that was responsible for defending U.S. and Allied merchant ships from attack by enemy aircraft, submarines and surface ships during World War II. The men of the Armed Guard served primarily as gunners, signal men and radio operators on cargo ships, tankers, troop ships and other merchant vessels. Disbanded following the end of the war, the Armed Guard is today little known or remembered by the general public, or even within the Navy. But without the courage and sacrifice of the men of the Armed Guard, victory in World War II would have been much more difficult and taken much longer.
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Comments/Citation
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Name of Award
Silver Star |
Year Awarded
1942
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Details behind Award:
Awarded for actions during the World War II
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Apprentice Seaman Frank Patrick Abasta (NSN: 3828290), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a member of the Armed Guard on board the S.S. Warrior when his ship was attacked on 1 July 1942. Apprentice Seaman Abasta remained at the side of his Commanding Officer after the rest of the crew had abandoned the vessel following a torpedoing, despite the fact that the ship began settling by the stern immediately after the first explosion. From a precarious position on the sloping deck Apprentice Seaman Abasta continued to man a 3-inch gun with utter disregard for his own personal safety. Too intent upon directing fire at the threatening submarine to consider his own plight, Apprentice Seaman Abasta waited until the ship had completely upended before putting on a life belt, then lost his footing, fell from the platform, and slid into the sea. By his unyielding loyalty in the face of imminent, ever-increasing danger he helped prevent the full surfacing of the attacking submarine and subsequent possibility of further casualties.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 309 (December 1942)
Action Date: 1-Jul-42
Service: Navy
Rank: Apprentice Seaman
Company: Armed Guard
Division: S.S. Warrior |
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