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In the clip, we see the Avenger, which was hit hard by flak, limping back to the carrier. Once it lands, the rear turret gunner's cockpit is covered up and the aircraft is ceremoniously rolled off the fantail of the ship in a unique burial at sea. You see, Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Loyce Edward Deen's body was so badly mangled from the anti-aircraft shell that took his life that it couldn't be removed from the torpedo bomber's rear cockpit. Deen was just 23 years old when he died on that fateful mission. The operation he was participating in...

A search is ongoing in the Sulu Sea for a 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Marine assigned to USS Essex (LHD-2) who has been missing for almost two days. Since 9:40 a.m. local time Thursday — Wednesday evening in the U.S. — Navy and Marine Corps aircraft have run around-the-clock searches of the Sulu Sea and Surigao Strait for the Marine who is presumed overboard from Essex, the 13th MEU said in a statement. The search efforts are being assisted by the Philippine Coast Guard vessel. “As we continue our search operation, we ask that you keep our Marine and...

TOWNSVILLE has been forced to turn away a US warship and its 3600-strong crew, which would have brought more than $1 million a day to the port city. The USS Essex, a 258m-long amphibious assault vessel, has been diverted to Cairns for an eight-day shore leave, including the popular Fourth of July celebrations. Outraged Townsville tour operators are facing millions in losses, empty hotel rooms, cancelled tours and more than 400 seats booked for the North Queensland Cowboys home game as a result of the embarrassing backdown. Cairns officials yesterday welcomed the big-spending US seamen and the predicted $10 million...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A U.S. warship delivering aid to cyclone victims in Myanmar and its escort vessels will leave international waters near the country on Thursday. The departure of USS Essex on orders of the Pentagon follows the refusal of the military rulers of Myanmar to allow U.S. helicopters to airlift relief supplies to people in the Irrawaddy Delta region, which was hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis last month. According to a statemenf from Admiral Timothy J. Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Myanmar rejected the U.S. Navy's 15 requests for permission to fly the relief goods into...

Myanmar cyclone: Burma's junta turns away US aid ships By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent Last Updated: 1:46PM BST 04/06/2008 Four American navy ships, laden with relief supplies, are steaming away from the Burmese coast because the military junta will not allow them to help starving cyclone victims. On board the boats were 22 urgently needed heavy-lift helicopters, amphibious vehicles and water purification equipment. The Burmese regime claimed that, far from wanting to help the 2.5 million survivors of last month’s cyclone, the US was in fact intent on stealing the country’s oil resources. "I am both saddened and...

U.S. Navy ships positioned off the coast of Myanmar will soon leave the area after the country's junta refused to give them permission to deliver aid to cyclone victims, a top U.S. commander said Wednesday. Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Essex and other ships will resume their previous operations Thursday.

A top U.S. military commander says American navy ships off Myanmar's coast will leave the area after failing to get the junta's permission to help with cyclone relief efforts. Adm. Timothy Keating says that he wants the USS Essex and accompanying vessels to resume their previously scheduled duties on Thursday. The ships were in the region for international exercises. Keating made them available to help with relief efforts for last month's cyclone and they were deployed near Myanmar in case they obtained permission to enter the country's waters. But Myanmar allowed only limited U.S. military aid flights to the country,...

haka, Nov 24 - Several hundred activists of the radical Islamic group Hizb ut Tahrir staged protests here before the arrival of two ships of the US Navy for distributing relief supplies among cyclone-affected people. Two warships, USS Essex and USS Kearsarge -- each carrying 20 helicopters and 3,500 marines on board with emergency relief supplies, medical and emergency evacuation teams -- are scheduled to enter Bangladesh waters Saturday and Tuesday. The protesters Friday carried a banner reading 'Prevent American ships from entering the Bay of Bengal in the name of distributing relief' and chanted slogans 'Go back to America'...

Marine Corps News Nov. 10, 2006; Submitted on: 11/14/2006 02:20:20 AM ; Story ID#: 2006111422020 By Lance Cpl. Kamran Sadaghiani, 31st MEU ABOARD THE USS ESSEX (Nov. 10, 2006) -- Since the United States Marine Corps' establishment in 1775, Marines across the globe celebrate the Marine Corps' birthday, whether if they are on a Marine base or in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. For more than a thousand Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit the Corps' 231st birthday was celebrated aboard an amphibious assault ship Nov. 10. The ceremony begin in the ship's hangar bay and included a...

USS Essex Hits The Million Mark for Operation Unified Assistance By Chief Journalist Christina Johnson Navy News Service January 27, 2005 ABOARD USS ESSEX,, At Sea - Since arriving on station off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, USS Essex (LHD 2) has delivered more than 1 million pounds of humanitarian aid to tsunami survivors in the northern areas of the island. = This outstanding accomplishment was completed in eight days from Jan. 18 through Jan. 25. The Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious assault ship was able to move the enormous amount of supplies with the help of various helicopters and landing...