World War II Honoree

Hubert Richard Agin

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Bremerton, Washington

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Mail Clerk Third Class. On June 16, 1943, he was inducted into the United States Navy at Seattle, Washington. Served aboard the USS Bismarck Sea, Escort Aircraft Carrier CVE-95 in the Pacific Theater of Operations. On February 16, 1945 the Carrier and her shipmates, along with an armada of U.S. Battleships, Destroyers, Cruisers and other Warships, arrived offshore of Iwo Jima in support of the impending invasion (Battle Dates: February 19-March 26, 1945). Reported missing in action, lost at sea Wednesday, February 21, 1945 when two Imperial Japanese Kamikaze Pilots flew into the carrier. The first aircraft flew into this seagoing airbase on the starboard side, crashing through the hangar deck, striking the ship’s ammunition storage area. The second plane struck the aft elevator shaft, destroying the fire fighting salt water distribution system. The ship’s Captain gave the order to abandon ship, after the second Kamikaze strike, with the loss of three hundred lives. His name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Honolulu National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.