US Navy has lost 2 Sailors in a week
Just a few short days after Petty Officer Christopher Clavin was lost at sea on June 6th, a mere 80 miles off the coast of North Carolina, Peter Mims was also thought to have gone overboard the USS Shiloh approximately 180 miles to the east of Okinawa, Japan. The USS Shiloh is part of the carrier strike group led by the USS Ronald Regan.
Petty Officer Mims was found on board the very ship he was presumed to have fallen from a week later. Details about his rescue and current satiation are being held confidential at the moment, pending a full investigation.
Several US Navy rescue teams, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and Coast Guard combed 5,500 miles of the Philippine Sea in a total of 50 hours looking for PO Mims. The search was called off on June 11, but the decision was not taken lightly.
The search never ends and it pays off
The carrier strike fleet embarked helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft from USS McCampbell, USS Ronald Regan, and USS Shiloh along with other Japanese aircraft took to the skies while USS Barry, USS John S. McCain, USS McCampbell, USS Regan, and USS Shiloh continued their support from the waters according to a US Navy release.
Pure grit and determination fueled the crew of the USS Shiloh as some personnel continued the hunt for Mims onboard. The USS Shiloh is 567-feet long and houses a crew of more than 300. Seven days after Mims was reported missing, members of the crew discovered and recovered the Petty Officer.
“We are thankful to have found our missing shipmate and appreciate all the hard work of our sailors and Japanese partners in searching for him,” Rear Admiral Charles Williams, Cmdr. of the carrier strike group, reported. “I am relieved that this Sailor’s family will not be joining the ranks of Gold Star Families that have sacrificed so much for our country.”
Petty Officer Peter Mims is being transferred to the USS Ronald Regan where he will undergo a medical evaluation, said the US Navy. The details about Mims’ vanishing are still a mystery and are under investigation. There are no new updates about the condition of the sailor provided by the US Navy.
Could it be a bad prank gone wrong or something much worse? Stay tuned to the news for details and updates on the US Navy investigation surrounding this incident.
