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Watch: Jacksonville remembers lives lost on USS Stark

The USS Starke was based out of the Naval Station Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville. A memorial is taking place Tuesday morning.
Credit: U.S. National Archives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On May 17, 1987, while on patrol in the Arabian Gulf, 37 Sailors died when two Iraqi missiles struck the Navy ship. Despite the severe damage inflicted, the heroic efforts of Stark’s crew saved the ship.  Stark was decommissioned at Mayport in 1999.

The USS Stark Memorial Park was established months after the attack with the dedication of a monument.  The ship was scrapped on June 21, 2006.  Its stern plate was preserved and donated to Mayport. 

Every year, sailors from the 1987 crew of the USS Stark and family members attend a service which features accounts of some of the events that occurred following the attack aboard the ship.  

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