JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In this week's stories of service, First Coast News honored the sailors based out of Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, who died when two Iraqi missiles struck the USS Stark.
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.
Jacksonville will remember the lives lost aboard the Stark Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Naval Station Mayport.