World War II Honoree

Francis Ray Hallas

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Struthers, Ohio

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Fireman First Class. Inducted into the United States Navy August 19, 1943 at Cincinnati, Ohio, with recruit training at the U.S. Naval Training Station Great Lakes, Illinois. Upon his graduation from boot camp and Fireman Training, he was transferred to the USS Laffey Destroyer, DD-724 for duty as a Fireman. On March 21, 1945 the Destroyer, along with an armada of U.S. Warships arrived off shore of Okinawa in support of the impeding invasion Location: Northwest Pacific Theater of Operations. The Destroyer and her shipmates on 15 April were attacked by Imperial Japanese Naval Kamikaze Fighters, while assigned to a radar picket station off-shore of Okinawa. The ensuing attack inflicted a tremendous amount of damage, and the crew began the long battle to save their ship. Buried at sea April 16, 1945 per administration decision, succeeding the attack. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial Location: Honolulu, Hawaii. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: The Bronze Star was awarded for Bravery, Act of Merit and Meritorious Service in Combat, and the Purple Heart, for his ultimate sacrifice.