World War II Honoree

Theodore Askew

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Freehold, New Jersey

Honored By

Crystal Hodges

Relationship

Niece

He is from Freehold, New Jersey. He was drafted at the age of 18 and enlisted 29 June 1943 into the US Navy during WWII, his rank, Steward’s Mate Second Class U.S. Navy. He was aboard the USS Fiske DE-143. He was lost at sea. The USS Fiske (DE-143) was never recovered from the sea. She was a U.S. Navy Edsall class destroyer escort that served in the Atlantic during World War II. On 2 August 1944, while operating as part of a hunter killer group hunting German U boats, she was torpedoed on her starboard side amidships by a Gnat homing torpedo from U 804. The torpedo struck her in the central Atlantic, about 800 nautical miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, in position 47° 11´N, 33° 29´W. Within 10 minutes, she broke in two and had to be abandoned. The bow section capsized and floated, while the stern section had to be sunk by gunfire to prevent it from drifting into enemy waters. The medals he received are the Purple Heart, American Campaign, World War II and European African Middle Eastern Campaign medals. He is a Freehold Gold Star hometown hero and memorialized at Elks Point in Freehold, NJ.