World War II Honoree

Vernon Everett Casper

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Oak City, North Carolina

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Fireman First Class. Inducted into the United States Navy June 4, 1943 at Raleigh, North Carolina, and completed his basic military training at the U.S. Naval Training Station Norfolk, Virginia. Upon his graduation from boot camp, he was transferred to the USS Luce II Destroyer, DD-522 for duty as a Fireman. Wednesday, 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 Friday, May 4, 1945 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. At 08:00 hours the USS Luce took a heavy list to starboard, and she went down. Reported missing in action or buried at sea succeeding the attack. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at Honolulu Memorial Location: Honolulu, Hawaii. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph Memorial has been placed at the Oak City Cemetery in Oak City, North Carolina. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.