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Service Photo |
Service Details |
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Last Rank
Seaman 1st Class
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Last Primary NEC
SN-0000-Seaman
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Last Rating/NEC Group
Seaman
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Primary Unit
1943-1944, USN Armed Guard
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Service Years
1943 - 1944
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Last Photo |
Personal Details
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Home State
 Illinois | |
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Year of Birth 1917 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Gregg Baitinger, BM1
to remember
Chase, Robert Edward, S1c.
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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Contact Info
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Home Town Not Specified |
Last Address Not Specified |
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Date of Passing Jul 17, 1944 |
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Location of Interment Gilman Cemetery - Gilman, Illinois |
Wall/Plot Coordinates Cenotaph |
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Last Known Activity He was a US Navy Armed Guard killed on SS E. A. Bryan
On July 17, 1944 the largest domestic wartime disaster in American history occurred. An explosion ripped through the Port Chicago area, killing more than 300 and injuring another 350 workers. Two ships, the S.S. Quinault Victory and the S.S. E.A. Bryan were shredded. Windows as far as fifty miles away were shattered while one ship’s anchor was tossed nearly one-half mile. Eyewitnesses reported a “shining white flash” and a “great doughnut of flame.” The former gold rush town was decimated. Across the bay in San Francisco, many feared a major earthquake had just occurred. He was among those missing and/or unidentified. Reports stated that many of those present at the time of the explosion simply just “ceased to be.”
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Other Comments: Not Specified
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