Names & Records
Every name, and the document behind it
This index lists every person named anywhere on this site, with the record that carries their name. If a name appears on these pages, it can be traced — that is the rule the whole site is built on.
The twenty — Turret No. 2, 1 October 1972
Each name below is verified against three records: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's Wall of Faces (the record of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial itself), the U.S. Naval Institute's published roster in Proceedings, October 2012, and the casualty records compiled in the Virtual Wall (drawn from the Coffelt Database). All are inscribed on Panel 1W of the Wall.
| Name | Rate | Age | Home of record | Panel / line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herman Carol Acker | Seaman Apprentice | 18 | Reserve, Louisiana | 1W / 76 |
| Jack Stephen Bergman, Jr. | Seaman | 20 | Baltimore, Maryland | 1W / 76 |
| William Clark, Jr. | Boatswain's Mate Third Class | 22 | Vienna, Georgia | 1W / 76 |
| Charles Wayne Clinard | Gunner's Mate Third Class | 21 | Maysfield, Texas | 1W / 77 |
| Ronald Paul Daley | Seaman Apprentice | 20 | Marshfield, Massachusetts | 1W / 77 |
| Raymond Rance Davis | Seaman Recruit | 19 | Shreveport, Louisiana | 1W / 77 |
| Terry Wayne Deal | Seaman | 21 | Taylorsville, North Carolina | 1W / 77 |
| Joseph Grisafi | Seaman | 21 | Springfield, Pennsylvania | 1W / 80 |
| William Henry Harrison III | Seaman Apprentice | 19 | Clifton Forge, Virginia | 1W / 77 |
| Tommy Melvin Hawker | Gunner's Mate Second Class | 27 | Sutherlin, Virginia | 1W / 78 |
| Robert Merrill Kikkert | Seaman Apprentice | 18 | Munster, Indiana | 1W / 78 |
| Edward Ralph McEleney, Jr. | Seaman | 19 | Medford, Massachusetts | 1W / 78 |
| Robert Thomas Moore | Seaman Apprentice | 20 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1W / 78 |
| Stanley George Pilot, Jr. | Seaman Apprentice | 18 | Salisbury, North Carolina | 1W / 78 |
| Ralph Lewis Robinson | Seaman | 20 | Baltimore, Maryland | 1W / 79 |
| Wesley Harold Rose | Gunner's Mate First Class | 37 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1W / 79 |
| Ricky Lee Rucker | Seaman Apprentice | 18 | Baltimore, Maryland | 1W / 79 |
| Jeffrey Lynn Scheller | Seaman Apprentice | 18 | Rahway, New Jersey | 1W / 79 |
| David Lee Scott | Seaman | 20 | Seymour, Missouri | 1W / 79 |
| Richard Carl Tessman | Seaman Apprentice | 19 | New Britain, Connecticut | 1W / 80 |
Hawker's rate is Gunner's Mate Second Class — his individual VVMF record (Panel 1W, Line 78), the USNI roster, and the Virtual Wall agree; the “GMG1” that circulates traces to a 2017 visitor post on his Wall-of-Faces page, not to any record — the rate is carried here as GMG2 "Ricky Lee Rucker" is the Wall's inscription; some veterans' pages carry the spelling "Richy." The Foundation's list styles him "Jeffery" Scheller; the Wall records "Jeffrey Lynn." Seaman Grisafi's recorded date of death is 3 October 1972 — he survived the blast and died of smoke inhalation two days later. The crew association preserves Seaman Apprentice Stanley Pilot Jr.'s mother's letter to the Secretary of the Navy — her own record of her son, kept by the men who remember him.
In the ship's own record
| Name | Who they were | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Capt. Roland N. Smoot | First commanding officer, 1949; later VADM — supplied the "last CO to take her to sea" distinction for Capt. Kelly | DANFS entry (ev-03); USNI Proceedings, March 1976 |
| Mrs. Homer L. Ferguson (Eliza S. Ferguson) | Sponsor at launch — wife of the yard's chairman; christened the ship on her husband's birthday | DANFS entry (ev-03); yard Shipyard Bulletin christening report; 1949 cruise book |
| Capt. J. V. Smith | Commanding officer, May 1959 | Deck log, 11 May 1959 (NARA NND 927605) |
| Lt. Cmdr. S. T. Hays | Navigator, May 1959 | Deck log, 11 May 1959 (NARA NND 927605) |
| Lt. (j.g.) J. L. Smith | Officer of the deck signature, 11 May 1959 | Deck log, 11 May 1959 (NARA NND 927605) |
| Boatswain's Mate Third Class Craig Baird | Survivor of Turret No. 2 who led men out of the powder-handling room | USNI Proceedings, October 2012 |
| Machinist's Mate Second Class Charles Perkins | On his sick-bay GQ station; caught the mess cook who died in his arms — "We were young that night, but we aged fast" | USNI Proceedings, October 2012 |
| Hospital Corpsman Second Class Greg McCaulley | Treated more than 250 shipmates across 48 hours after the explosion | USNI Proceedings, October 2012 |
| Vice Adm. K. S. Masterson (Ret.) | Court of inquiry into the explosion | USNI Proceedings, October 2012 |
| Vice Adm. L. M. Mustin (Ret.) | Court of inquiry into the explosion | USNI Proceedings, October 2012 |
| Capt. Walter F. Zartman | 22nd of her 24 commanding officers — the longest-serving; commanded her on the 1972 gun line; unveiled the 1974 memorial plaque; decommissioning speaker | USNI Proceedings, March 1976 (Briner letter); ship's 1974 command history; Fifth Naval District release 127-75 |
| Capt. Ronald T. Kelly | 23rd commanding officer — "the last CO to take her to sea" | USNI Proceedings, March 1976; ship's 1974 command history |
| Capt. Robert R. Briner | Executive officer two years, then her last commanding officer through the six-month inactivation; recorded the decommissioning crew's work | USNI Proceedings, March 1976 (his letter) |
| Fireman Flor Buncab | M Division; "I was a member of the decom crew in 1975" | Ship's crew list, navysite.de — a sailor's own recollection, printed as such |
| Paul Stillwell | Naval Institute historian; eyewitness at the decommissioning and of her Philadelphia decline | "Looking Back," USNI Naval History, December 1993 |
| Chaplain John McElroy | Chaplain of the last deployment; attended the 1974 plaque dedication | Ship's 1974 command history |
| Master Chief Personnelman William M. Keough | Unveiled the Turret No. 2 plaque with Capt. Zartman, 12 July 1974 | Ship's 1974 command history |
| Vice Adm. Finneran | Presented the ship's second Navy Unit Commendation, 13 July 1973; spoke at the plaque dedication (named as "VADM Finneran" in the record) | Ship's 1974 command history |
| Mayor Harry Atkinson | Mayor of Newport News; attended the 1974 plaque dedication | Ship's 1974 command history |
| General Rafael Trujillo | His 1961 assassination sent the ship to the Dominican Republic | DANFS entry (ev-03) |
In the building & keeping record
| Name | Who they were | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Collis P. Huntington | Founded the shipyard in 1886 as the Chesapeake Dry Dock & Construction Company | International Directory of Company Histories entry |
| Homer L. Ferguson | Yard president 1915–1946 and chairman; the launch was on his birthday | International Directory of Company Histories; yard Shipyard Bulletin; commissioning program |
| Berline Cashwell | A riveter of the wartime yard, spotlighted at USS Intrepid's christening, April 1943 — one of the 1,000 women then working its mechanical trades | Intrepid Museum, "Unsung Heroes of Shipbuilding" |
| Frank Knox | Secretary of the Navy; died within a week of the naming petition's telegram | Hampton Roads Naval Museum ship history |
| James Forrestal | Knox's successor; the naming decision fell to him | Hampton Roads Naval Museum ship history |
| Mayor R. Cowles Taylor | Mayor of Newport News; presented the citizens' silver service at commissioning | Ship's printed commissioning program |
| Commander Frank Dengler (Ret.) | Bought a mooring bitt from the yard where she was being scrapped; took it to the Battleship Texas site at San Jacinto | Foundation museum chronology (the Foundation's own account) |
In the court record
| Name | Who they were | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Eugene Hardick | Shipfitter aboard 1958–1962; mesothelioma, died March 2009 | John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, 283 Va. 358 (2012), modified on rehearing (Va. Sept. 14, 2012) |
| Margaret Diane Hardick | His widow; carried the action as executor of his estate | John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, Record No. 101909 |
| Jennifer W. Vincent (later Stevens) | Ancillary administrator of Hardick's estate | John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, rehearing opinion, 14 September 2012 |
| James Croom, Jr. | Hardick's supervisor aboard USS Tutuila; trial witness | John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, opinion of 2 March 2012 |
| Frank Hoople | Hardick's co-worker; trial witness | John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, opinion of 2 March 2012 |
| Douglas T. Locke | Industrial electrician who worked on this hull's construction, 1948–49; mesothelioma | Locke v. Johns-Manville Corp., 221 Va. 951 (1981); Atlas record ev-02 |
In the submarine's record
The third ship of the name — the people of The Submarine.
| Name | Who they were | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Mrs. Rosemary D. Trible | Sponsor at the submarine's launch, 15 March 1986 — wife of Senator Paul Trible | U.S. Navy photo caption, launch of SSN-750 (NavSource) |
| Sen. John W. Warner | Speaker at the commissioning, 3 June 1989 | USNI photo caption of the ceremony |
| Mayor Jessie M. Rattley | Mayor of Newport News; presented the commemorative plaque at commissioning | USNI photo caption of the ceremony |
| Ronald W. Bell | Poet — "Newport News," carried on the commissioning plaque | Commissioning accounts |
| Cmdr. Fred Capria | Commanding officer of the 2003 deployment — Bronze Star for the largest submarine-launched Tomahawk strike of the Iraq war | U.S. Navy photo caption, 3 December 2003 (NavSource) |
| Mayor McKinley L. Price | Mayor of Newport News; presented the 25th-anniversary proclamation at Huntington Park, 19 July 2014 | Navy Flagship / militarynews.com, July 2014 |
| Cmdr. J. Carl Hartsfield | Former commanding officer; accepted the 2014 proclamation on the crew's behalf | Navy Flagship / militarynews.com, July 2014; U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Benjamin Malvezzi |
| Cmdr. Christopher Tarsa | Commanding officer in 2014; the crew he led was on local operations for the ceremony | Navy Flagship / militarynews.com, July 2014 |
| Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Sean J. Morgan | Crewman home from the six-month deployment that included the Mogamigawa night — photographed with his wife, 24 April 2007 | U.S. Navy photo 070424-N-8655E-002 |
| Lt. Cmdr. Seth Burton | Executive officer — photographed at the homecoming, 15 October 2009 | U.S. Navy photo 091015-N-7705S-116 |
| Cmdr. Dave Fassel | Commanding officer of the seven-month 2020 deployment — 137 continuous days, the 1,000th dive | COMSUBLANT release carried on DVIDS / Hampton Roads Messenger, July 2020 |
| Machinist's Mate (Nuclear) 2nd Class Tyler Lott & Cheri Lott | The resupply-at-sea sailor of the 2020 deployment and his wife — the homecoming photograph of 18 July 2020 | COMSUBLANT release, DVIDS; U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Jacob Dirr |
| Cmdr. Joseph A. Fontenot | Commanding officer of the six-month 2022 deployment — home to Groton 3 January 2023, the boat awarded the Battle "E" | U.S. Fleet Forces / DVIDS release, 4 January 2023 |
| Cmdr. Matthew Lewis | Executive officer — photographed reuniting with his family at the Groton homecoming, 3 January 2023 | U.S. Navy photo 230103-N-GR655-0109 by CPO Joshua Karsten |
| Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Andrew Campbell | Crewman photographed greeting his family at Norfolk, 23 January 2026 — the last homecoming | U.S. Navy photo 260123-N-LR905-4091 by MC2 Ace Foster |
| Dick Brown | Former submariner; wrote the Naval Submarine League's account of namesake support committees, including this Committee's role | The Submarine Review, April 2013 |
Also lost while serving aboard
Not among the twenty — the ship's wider roll of honor, kept separate so the Turret No. 2 roster stays exact. From the crew-maintained casualty listings (the Virtual Wall unit page and the reunion association's roll).
| Name | Rate | Date | Circumstance & home of record | Panel / line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph V. Balzano | — | 19 December 1953 | Killed in a hoist accident aboard | — |
| Stephen Michael Brumfield | Storekeeper Third Class | 4 July 1972 | Killed in a forklift accident while loading supplies off Vietnam · Wytheville, Virginia | 1W / 52 |
| James Joseph Sansone | Seaman | 10 September 1972 | Lost overboard · Norwood, Massachusetts | 1W / 62 |
The sources for every entry — with URLs — are collected on About & Sources, and the name-by-name verification trail is in this site's research notes. Corrections from families and researchers are welcome via the Foundation's community at uss-newport-news.com.