Hi Historians! Thanks for taking a read.
I'm trying to solve a bit of a family mystery. I have a relative that was killed on the USS Sicily in 1953. An obituary I have been able to find reports that he was killed in an accident aboard the ship on March 4 of that year. I have looked and looked through newspaper archives from all over the country at the time and cannot find any reports of an accident on that date.
Family history has it as a helicopter or airplane landing accident. One of my more interesting relatives claims he was decapitated in the accident.
There are some photos of a plane going into the water while attempting to land on the USS Sicily in 1953 but the captions or news articles always report no deaths and a different time of the year.
Any Navy historians that can shine a light on what might have happened or where I might look for an incident report? If having my relative's name will help, I'll happily provide in DM. Thanks so much!
Hello there! As your question is related to looking for identification/information regarding military personnel, our Guide on Military Identification may be of use to you. It provides a number of different resources, including how to request service records from a number of national agencies around the world, as well as graphical aids to assist in deciphering rank, unit, and other forms of badges or insignia. While the users here may still be able to lend you more assistance, hopefully this will provide a good place to start!