A Sailor's Story: Fireman Wilton Lanny Huyghue

 



Fireman Wilton Lanny Huyghue was born on May 14, 1970, in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. He enlisted in the US Navy after high school in 1988 and was assigned to the USS Saratoga.  He deployed with the ship to the Persian Gulf in August of 1990 for Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War.

On December 22, 1990, the ferry Al Tovia, which was carrying the sailors returning from shore leave at Haifa, Israel, sank, and Fireman Wilton Huyghue drowned.  


* Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here*

****** *********************************

a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to her travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

Her online photography gallery can be found at shop.takethebackroads.com

#TaketheBackRoads

Like my page? Please consider supporting my work by visiting my sponsors and webshop or buying me a cup of coffee!


Location: St Thomas, 00802, USVI

Popular posts from this blog

An Airman's Story: Staff Sergeant Stanley Curtis Pillsbury

Image
Staff Sergeant Stanley Curtis Pillsbury was born on January 19, 1919, in Sanford, Maine, and grew up working on the family farm. Enlisting in the Army Air Corps (U.S. Air Force) on November 12, 1941, during World War II, he was assigned as a gunner for the B-24 Liberator Unit and was sent to the Pacific. In April 1943, during the Battle of  Funafuti, his plane, the "Superman," had taken heavy fire over Nauru. Staff Sergeant Stanley Pillsbury had received a severe injury to his leg from enemy rounds but still managed to shoot down an enemy plane while being bandaged.  The "Superman" was able to land (never to fly again), and Staff Sergeant Pillsbury retired from the war due to his injuries. He returned to Maine and provided author Laura Hillenbrand with a detailed account of his time in the service, which she used for her book Unbroken. Staff Sergeant Stanley  Pillsbury died on July 8, 2008, and rests in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. * Read ...
Read more

An Airman's Story: Staff Sergeant Francis Pershing McNamara

Image
Staff Sergeant Francis Pershing McNamara was born on February 19, 1943, in Pollagh, Ireland. He immigrated to the U.S. at one-month-old aboard the USS Baltic and grew up in Parma, Ohio. Staff Sergeant Francis McNamara enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Services on March 19, 1942, in response to World War II and was trained as an ariel gunner. He was assigned to the 11th Bombardment Group and deployed to the Pacific theater. On May 27, 1943, during a rescue mission, the plane he was on, the Green Hornet, crashed into the Pacific. Staff Sergeant Francis McNamara, First Lieutenant Russell Allen Phillips, and First Lieutenant Louis Zamperini were the only survivors and were adrift in the ocean. After 33 days, on June 30, 1943, Staff Sergeant Francis Pershing McNamara succumbed to starvation and exposure and was buried at sea. He is memorialized in the Court of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** *********************...
Read more

A Soldier's Story: Major General Charles Calvin Rogers

Image
Major General Charles Calvin Rogers was born on September 6, 1929, in Claremont, West Virginia. He began his U.S. Army career through the ROTC program at West Virginia State University, graduating in 1952. Assigned to artillery units in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War,  Major General Rogers earned the Congressional Medal of Honor on November 6, 1968, while commanding the 1st Battalion fire support base near the Fishhook region of Vietnam. The post had come under heavy attack, and Major General Charles Rogers continued to rally the Battalion and lead attacks despite being wounded. After recovery, he was assigned to the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for military operations. He also continued his education, attending the U.S. Army War College and earning a Master's degree from Shippensburg State College. By 1971 Major General Charles Calvin Rogers was assigned as the assistant deputy commander of V Corps artillery, then as commanding officer of the 42...
Read more