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The table below contains the names of sailors who served aboard the USS Okinawa (LPH 3). Please keep in mind that this list does only include records of people who submitted their information for publication on this website. If you also served aboard and you remember one of the people below you can click on the name to send an email to the respective sailor. Would you like to have such a crew list on your website?
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There are 1208 crew members registered for the USS Okinawa (LPH 3).
Select the period (starting by the reporting year): precomm – 1962 | 1963 – 1964 | 1965 – 1966 | 1967 – 1968 | 1969 | 1970 – 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 – 1975 | 1976 | 1977 – 1978 | 1979 – 1980 | 1981 | 1982 – 1983 | 1984 – 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 – now
| Name | Rank/Rate | Period | Division | Remarks/Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esparza, Arnoldo/arnie | RM2 | Jul 11, 1897 – Aug 17, 1990 | CR | I left the Navy in Sept. 1990. I'm living in Lakeside, CA. I've been married for 16 years and have 4 children. I would like to hear from former shipmates, especially from my division. |
| Fannon, Bill | MM3 | Sep 1960 – Jul 1964 | M | |
| Corbett, Kevin | FN | 1961 – 1963 | B | Plank owner on board 1962 - 1963. Had some great times with great men. Dick Theirs-watch those chains - sea sick R Doughty - Trips from PA to MA & Me Anyone give me an e-amil. |
| Overly, Harry | QM2 | 1961 – Feb 23, 1964 | ||
| Brown, Jim | e-4 | 1961 – Aug 1965 | navigation & administration | Captains Writer Yeoman |
| Skelton, Stanley | mm2 mm3 mmfmn | 1961 – Jul 24, 1964 | m&a | had agreat time obviously some times too great |
| Jary, Kenneth | E3/AB | Mar 1961 – May 1963 | V4 | Hi! I am @patriotickenny from IG and TikTok. I served as a plankowner as a helicopter refueler and would love to find some old crewmates, especially Cutler and Temple! |
| Henry, Ed | FTG3 | May 4, 1961 – Jan 1965 | Fox | Plank Owner. Second one aboard in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Underway Watch station was Helm and Lee Helm... perfect one to get seasick on ( even moorage in Norfolk) Does anyone remember Robert Miller FTG1 |
| Deorazio, Richard (Rich) | SMSN | Nov 1961 – Dec 1963 | Signal - OS | Plank owner on USS Okinawa - was one of the original first 20 crew to report aboard from Brooklyn Naval Yard - Signal Division was a close group of guys - many fond memories |
| Cass, Chester/herk | AG2 | Nov 1961 – Apr 1964 | OA | great ship and crew. a bunch of missfits pulled it together on shakedown. even though we lost a scre on the cuban crisis. would like to hear from some old ship mates |
| Campbell, William | SA | Nov 1961 – Mar 1962 | first | Any one that was in the front gunmount (5" 38 ) please contact me. |
| Garberg, Leon | AG2 | Nov 1961 – Dec 1963 | OA | Being the first crew on the Okinawa meant we had to rearrange the OA Div office and Weather Balloon room to make it workable. That was fun and challenging. Good group of guys. |
| Moore, F.j. | SN | Dec 1961 – May 1963 | 1st | was on pre-comm cew that started in Brooklyn, NY. |
| Daniel, Norman | SA/SN/SK3 | Dec 1961 – Dec 1963 | Supply | Plank Owner, assigned to her at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Then to Norfolk, Gitmo, Cuba missile crisis. Sure had some good times that are lasting a life time. Live in Pennsylvania. |
| Koebel, Carl | CS3 | Dec 8, 1961 – Sep 11, 1964 | S2 Div | I remember shake down cruise, Cuban Missile Crisis, and JFK being shot. |
| Baldwin, Delbert | sksn | Dec 28, 1961 – Apr 15, 1964 | s1 | my first ship went to precom in little creek and commishioning in april 62 had allmost 3 of the best years I ever had aboard the big O lots of memories and some lifetime friends |
| Thompson, James A. | AO3 | Dec 29, 1961 – Oct 29, 1963 | V4 | Original Plank Owner: Of my nine years of Naval Service the 22 months I spent on the Okinawa was one of my most enjoyable tours of duty. |
| Smith, Ronald C. | SM3 | 1962 – 1963 | CS SIGNALMAN | I WAS A PLANK OWNER ON USS OKINAWA LPH3 AND THE USS GUADALCANAL LPH7. HOMETOWN IS WAYCROSS, GA. |
| Ponder, Charlie | SFP-2 | 1962 – 1965 | R | plank owner great ship fine times and the best of guys |
| Alsip, Robert | FIREMAN | 1962 – 1963 | A | original crew member--plank owner |
| Bernard, Roland | RM3 | 1962 – | OR | I WAS A PLANK OWNER. I ENJOYED EVERY DAY I SERVED ABOARD THIS FINE SHIP. IT WAS A SAD DAY WHEN I FOUND OUT SHE HAD BEEN SUNK. |
| Wiltshire, David | ADR-3 | 1962 – 1965 | V-6 & MAA | For a short period of time I served as aircrewman on the ships hello. |
| Young, David | SM1 | 1962 – 1968 | OS/MAA | MY favorite Ship in my whole carreer. I was in the commissioning crew and went aboard right after the bridge was put on the hull.went aboard as a SM3 |
| Kirkendall, William (Kirk) | SFM3 | 1962 – Jun 1966 | I had the best times of my life,and gained some great friends for life from the experience. | |
| Dumont, Doug | EM-3 | 1962 – 1966 | E | |
| Wyatt, William | E-5 / RD2 | 1962 – 1962 | OPERATIONS | PLANK OWNER /Precommission / onboard while in drydock/ launch/ degaussing / GITMO/ to dock in RD-3 Norfolk/ Transferred to USS Guadalcanal LPH-7( AFTER 6 MONTHS Back to Philly Shipyard to repeat launch sequence. .. |
| Kairevich, Mike | QM2 | 1962 – 1965 | Navigation | Plankowner. A wonderful expierence. Served with a great Captain, Bill Lemos,2 wonderful leaders in SM1 Butzbach and QM1 Enquist. |
| Furman Jr, Francis | SN/DM3 | 1962 – 1963 | 1st/X | Came aboard as seaman in 1st Div.,moved to DM3 in X Div. Tranfered to LPH 7 commisioning in 1963 |
| Mahoney, Joe | MM3 - MM2 | 1962 – 1964 | B - M - A Divisions | |
| Johnson, James / Jimmy | Rm3 | 1962 – 1965 | communications | Was assigned to ship before it was completed. Went to radio school then back to ship. Have many good memories. Would Like to locate William Hutchenson who took pictures. Left. 1965. |
| Curry, Rodney | YN SN (E-3) | Jan 1962 – Apr 1963 | Admin | USS Okinawa commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in April 1962, later docked out of Norfolk, VA and part of the Cuban Blockade. |
| Lloyd, Clyde | MM2 | Jan 1962 – Jan 1963 | M | I was a plankowner tranfered to USS Mount Mckinley agc 7 Jan 1963 |
| Schaaf, Glen | SFM3 | Jan 1962 – Mar 1963 | R | Plank Owner. Gitmo Bay shake down cruise. Cuban Missile Crisis. Many good times with crew members. |
| Kelly, Jerry | SMSN | Jan 1962 – Sep 1963 | Signal OS | Plank Owner---Shakedown Cruise---Cuban Missle Crisis or Blockade...great crew--alot of great times..our signal gang still keeps in touch after 45 years! |
| Mills, James/jim | LCDR | Jan 8, 1962 – Jun 11, 1964 | first lieutenant | great crew, great spirit. |
| Mayotte, Jim | QMSN | Jan 31, 1962 – Sep 23, 1962 | Navigation | Plank owner, loved the ship |
| Lecomte, Jim | FM | Feb 1962 – Jul 1963 | Electric | |
| Snyder, William (Bill) | EM3 | Feb 1962 – Feb 1965 | E | Proud plank owner, engineering won 1st E (red). Did Cuban Blockade, alot of time at Gitmo EM club. Also TransAtlantic crossing to France & England. Transfered to USS Mahnoman Cnty LST 912. Sad moment seeing Big O leave Norfolk without me. |
| Schuster, Stephen | LT.JG. | Feb 1962 – Oct 1963 | Deck - | Plank owner, 1st, 2nd & Fox division officer during tour, Cuban Missle Crisis, Gitmo shakedown & RefTra. Next stop - department head on LST-1174 |
| Thomas, William | Seaman - E-3 | Feb 1962 – Aug 1963 | OI - Operations Intelligence | To the Radar gang on board the USS Okinawa - Greetings and Peace to you all. Looking especially to connect to Robert Gamble. Cuban Missile Crisis was tense- recall going to Mayport to pick up 2000 Marines. We made it! |
| Johnson, Thomas | AO2 | Feb 1, 1962 – Aug 1, 1963 | v4 | I look back with fondness of my time spent on this ship |
| Harrison, Ray | MM2 | Feb 7, 1962 – Feb 14, 1966 | M | Plankowner |
| Conaway, Glenn R. | SEAMAN | Feb 10, 1962 – Mar 21, 1964 | SIGNALMAN | I WAS A PLANK OWENER |
| Johnson, Frank K. , | LT | Feb 12, 1962 – Feb 10, 1964 | Boiler Gunnery | It's like hearing about the lose of an old friend. As with all plank owners, I guess, a little bit of me and my sweat went down with the old girl. |
| Augustine, Garry | FN | Feb 13, 1962 – Oct 14, 1964 | BT | |
| Harney, Benjamin G. | MM1 | Apr 1962 – Jan 1964 | Assistant Chief Master at Arms | Plankowner, last ship served on. |
| Best, Drue | BT1 | Apr 1962 – 1964 | B | |
| Reynolds, Glenn | E-4 | Apr 10, 1962 – | V-1 | ENJOYED MY TIME ABOARD,ESPECIALLY TUCKER JOHNSON AND THE GREER BROS. LIKED GITMO,WHERE THERE WAS A WOMAN BEHIND EVERY TREE.HA-HA... |
| Doughty, Richard S. | BT3 | Apr 14, 1962 – Nov 1965 | B | Plank owner, some great memories with a bunch of great guys. |
| Bradley, Kevin M. | DK3 | Apr 14, 1962 – May 20, 1964 | S4 | PLANK OWNER. ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE ABOARD THE OKINAWA. SORRY TO HEAR OF HER DEMISE.WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM CREW MEMBERS 1962-64 |
| Thiers, Richard/big Stick | BT 3 | Apr 14, 1962 – Jun 14, 1965 | B | Had some good times and bad times but just remember the good ole times. I wish the ship had made it to the Med cruise. Sure would like to see some of the guys I met on the ship. I'm in Warsaw New York, give me a call. |
| Nelson, David | AG3 | Apr 14, 1962 – Oct 28, 1963 | OA | Great times and some great shipmates |
| Milewski, Henry | HM2 | Apr 14, 1962 – Apr 27, 1964 | H | Loved the ship and those in it from the beginning as precomisioning plank owner. It is a shame she is on the bottom of the ocean now. I never saw a get together notification which would have been nice. |
| Best, Drue R | BT1 | Apr 14, 1962 – Aug 8, 1964 | B Div | Plank Owner Of A Great Ship And Crew And Good Eng. Dept. Headed Up BY Chief Eng Lcmdr S.W. Secrest |
| Mc Donald, Jack | SM3 | Apr 14, 1962 – Jul 28, 1965 | Signalman | Plank Owner, we still keep in touch ' I wish I could go back. The US Navy is the best in the world. |
| Myers, David | SN | Apr 14, 1962 – | A | Log Room Yeoman. Made YN3. Transferred to ETA School, Great Lakes. Retired in 1979 as ETCS. Plankowner |
| Le Cates, Bill | ABH3 | Apr 15, 1962 – Feb 14, 1964 | V-3 | We were the best. Great times and great shipmates. Captain Lemos was great skipper. |
| Scarfone, Don | ADR3 | Apr 16, 1962 – Jul 1964 | V1 | Upon completion of Basic Training On April 2, 1962, I received orders to the USS Okinawa. I was on board during the initial shake-down and the Cuban Crises. I made a lot of friends and had many good times. |
| Fenwick, Bill | AN | Apr 21, 1962 – Jan 16, 1963 | AIR | Still remember my time aboard the Okinawa. Some good and some bad like the Cuban crisis. We did not know how close we came to all out war. I am a proud Plank Owner. |
| Hogg, William | ENSIGN | Jun 15, 1962 – Sep 15, 1962 | Engineering | Spent to summer as a wet behind the ears newly commissioned Ensign. Boarded in Norfolk and went on shakedown to GITMO. Left to go to flight training in Pensacola. Spent the rest of my Navy flying helos. |
| Hine, Lawrence Hine | PN3 | Jul 12, 1962 – Jul 20, 1964 | X | |
| Yale, Robert | LTJG SC | Oct 1962 – Feb 1965 | S2 & S5 | |
| Benoit, Paul | LTJG | Oct 1962 – Feb 1964 | Joined the Okinawa at sea during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Made many good friends and have many fond memories. Did not learn of the ship's decommissioning until 9/06. Very sad news. | |
| Gaines, James Aka Jungle Jim | HM3/FMF | Oct 1, 1962 – Nov 7, 1962 | Embarked Marines 1st Batt. 6thMarines | Scary time of bad dreams of mushroom clouds. Okie was my 1st ship and had the smell of a brand new car. Great gedunk,mess and top notch crew. Hated to leave as I was assigned to B Company on board USS Thetis Bay LPH6. |
| Stanbro, Don | AIRMAN | Nov 1962 – 1964 | V3 | I would like to hear from anybody that served during this period. |
| Krause Jr., Spindler | FIREMAN | Nov 12, 1962 – Nov 1, 1963 | R | SPENT WHOLE TIME PHILADELPHIA, NORFOLK & GITMO. FINALLY GOT A CHANCE TO GET OFF AND GO TO MED FOR 6 MONTHS USS FRANCIS MARION. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO LT. FELHOFER. BOY, HE HATED ME FOR GETTING A TRANSFER! |
| Wiltshire, David | ADR-3 | Nov 19, 1962 – May 25, 1965 | V-6 MAA | I served on the ships hello crew for about 1 year |
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Select the period (starting by the reporting year): precomm – 1962 | 1963 – 1964 | 1965 – 1966 | 1967 – 1968 | 1969 | 1970 – 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 – 1975 | 1976 | 1977 – 1978 | 1979 – 1980 | 1981 | 1982 – 1983 | 1984 – 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 – now
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