Rank and Name, Ships Cook Third Class Earl Derwood Banks.
Unit/Placed in, USS LCT-988 (Landing Craft Tank), United States Naval Reserve.
Earl is born approx. on 28 June 1924 in Tahoka, Lynn County, Texas.
Father, William Leslie Banks.
Mother, Birdie Virginia (Seals) Banks.
Sister(s), Irene Janie and Sylvia Ruth Banks.
Brother(s), Clyde Wayne, William Henry, Cecil Erby Seals, R. L. and Edwin Ralph Banks.
enlisted the service in with service number # .
Earl died when the Weather was turning to a “hurricane” and lost secure line from LST-71, hit the water and was rammed, the LCT sunk on 15 May 1944 with all crew at Maalaea Bay, Hawaii, he is honored with a Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Expeditionary Medal, American Campaign Medal, Navy & Marine Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.
Earl is buried/mentioned at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu County, Hawaii U.S.A.
Courts of the missing.
Earl also has a Memorial Grave at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Sumter County, Florida, USA.
Thanks to, https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/expeditions/maui/hazards.html
Jean Louis Vijgen, ww2-Pacific.com
Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.
ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov
Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker
Seabees History Bob Smith https://seabeehf.org/
Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org
POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.
Philippine Info, http://www.philippine-scouts.org/ Robert Capistrano
National Historian
Navy Seal Memorial, http://www.navysealmemorials.com
Family Info, https://www.familysearch.org
Info, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/
Medals Info, https://www.honorstates.org
Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com
Tank Destroyers, http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/
On May 15, 1944, a line of LST’s (amphibious ships) were headed from Mā`alaea Bay back to Pearl Harbor, filled with men and material destined for the invasion of Saipan. These particular ships had been modified to carry other landing craft, 120-foot long LCT’s, on their decks. In the middle of the night the rough seas in the channel caused the large ships to roll to the point that the fastenings attaching the LCTs to the decks carried away.
LCT-984 slid from the deck and struck the water with engine room doors open and bow ramp down. The vessel quickly became waterlogged and semi-submerged. On board LST-71 men of the 8th Marine Division were sleeping on the deck and inside their LCT. When LCT-988 fell into the ocean, the next ship in the convoy, LST-29, accidentally rammed the landing craft, causing her to immediately capsize.
