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Home Town Mount Pleasant, Texas
Last Address USS Iowa (BB-61) Buried at New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, New Hope, Texas.
He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin C. Foley. He attended St. Louis Elementary School, Vivian Flower Elementary School and E.C. Brice Jr. High School in Mount Pleasant and moved to Bullard, TX in 1974. He graduated from Whitehouse High School in 1980. He was a wide receiver on the Wildcat football team and named to the first team all District roster; he also excelled in basketball and track. He was a member of Smith Temple Church of God in Christ, where he sang in special groups and in the church choir. He played the piano, organ, and guitar and studied drafting at Tyler Junior College for two semesters in 1981 before joining the Navy. He joined the Navy in 1986 and intended to re-enlist. Surviving, in addition to his parents, are his wife, Denise Long Foley, two stepdaughters, a sister, Shelia L. Foley, his maternal grandparents Alfanuel and Lenora Miller, and his paternal grandfather, Freddie Williams. He was one of 47 sailors killed when 550 pounds of gunpowder exploded inside the No. 2, 16-inch gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa off Puerto Rico.
Iowa Class Battleship: Displacement 45,000 Tons, Dimensions, 887' 3" (oa) x 108' 2" x 37' 9" (Max)Armament 9 x 16"/50 20 x 5"/38AA, 80 x 40mm 49 x 20mm, 3 AC. Armor, 12 1/8" Belt, 17" Turrets, 1 1/2" +6" +5/8" Decks, 17 1/4" Conning Tower. Machinery, 212,000 SHP; G.E. Geared Turbines, 4 screws. Speed, 33 Knots, Crew 1921. Operational and Building Data: Laid down by New York Naval Ship Yard, June 27, 1940. Launched August 27, 1942. Commissioned February 22, 1943. Decommissioned March 24, 1949. Recommissioned August 25, 1951. Decommissioned February 2, 1958. Recommissioned April 28, 1984. Decommissioned October 26, 1990. Stricken for disposal 12 January 1995 but retained as a parts source. Reinstated on the Naval Vessels Register and returned to reserve status 4 January 1999. Fate: Preserved as Memorial at 250 S Harbor Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90731