US Marines WORLD WAR II
Private Charles Benjamin Adams MIA/KIA
Official date of death 15-Dec-45
Loss Area West Java Country of Loss Indonesia
Hometown: Willowbrook, California
Parents, Albert & Zella Adams
Service #307367
Awards: Purple Heart
Private Adams was a Marine Corps radioman. He was en route for service at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippine Islands when Pearl Harbor was attacked; Cavite fell soon after. Adams' group of communicators was diverted to the USS Houston on 7 January 1942 and became part of the cruiser's Marine detachment.
Private Adams lost on board the USS Houston and was killed in action on March 1, 1942, when the USS Houston and HMAS Perth went against the entire Japanese Battle Fleet at the Battle of Sunda Strait.
His remains were never found, and he was declared dead on 15 December 1945.
On February 28, 1942, the day after the Battle of the Java Sea, the HMAS Perth of the Australian Navy and the USS Houston (CA-30), both damaged during the Battle of the Java Sea, steamed into Banten Bay where they encountered a large force of Japanese vessels conducting an amphibious landing. A squadron of enemy destroyers blocked Sunda Strait, the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra which was the only path of retreat for the two Allied ships. The Allied cruisers sunk one Japanese vessel and forced three others to run aground before the Perth, which had been hit repeatedly with gunfire and torpedoes, sank itself. The Houston, also heavily damaged by gunfire and torpedoes, managed to damage three enemy destroyers and sink a minesweeper before finally sinking. More than six hundred crew members from the Houston were lost when the cruiser went down. Those who survived the sinking were immediately captured by the Japanese.
Private Charles Benjamin Adams MIA/KIA
Official date of death 15-Dec-45
Loss Area West Java Country of Loss Indonesia
Hometown: Willowbrook, California
Parents, Albert & Zella Adams
Service #307367
Awards: Purple Heart
Private Adams was a Marine Corps radioman. He was en route for service at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippine Islands when Pearl Harbor was attacked; Cavite fell soon after. Adams' group of communicators was diverted to the USS Houston on 7 January 1942 and became part of the cruiser's Marine detachment.
Private Adams lost on board the USS Houston and was killed in action on March 1, 1942, when the USS Houston and HMAS Perth went against the entire Japanese Battle Fleet at the Battle of Sunda Strait.
His remains were never found, and he was declared dead on 15 December 1945.
On February 28, 1942, the day after the Battle of the Java Sea, the HMAS Perth of the Australian Navy and the USS Houston (CA-30), both damaged during the Battle of the Java Sea, steamed into Banten Bay where they encountered a large force of Japanese vessels conducting an amphibious landing. A squadron of enemy destroyers blocked Sunda Strait, the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra which was the only path of retreat for the two Allied ships. The Allied cruisers sunk one Japanese vessel and forced three others to run aground before the Perth, which had been hit repeatedly with gunfire and torpedoes, sank itself. The Houston, also heavily damaged by gunfire and torpedoes, managed to damage three enemy destroyers and sink a minesweeper before finally sinking. More than six hundred crew members from the Houston were lost when the cruiser went down. Those who survived the sinking were immediately captured by the Japanese.
US Marines WORLD WAR II
Private Charles Benjamin Adams MIA/KIA
Official date of death 15-Dec-45
Loss Area West Java Country of Loss Indonesia
Hometown: Willowbrook, California
Parents, Albert & Zella Adams
Service #307367
Awards: Purple Heart
Private Adams was a Marine Corps radioman. He was en route for service at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippine Islands when Pearl Harbor was attacked; Cavite fell soon after. Adams' group of communicators was diverted to the USS Houston on 7 January 1942 and became part of the cruiser's Marine detachment.
Private Adams lost on board the USS Houston and was killed in action on March 1, 1942, when the USS Houston and HMAS Perth went against the entire Japanese Battle Fleet at the Battle of Sunda Strait.
His remains were never found, and he was declared dead on 15 December 1945.
On February 28, 1942, the day after the Battle of the Java Sea, the HMAS Perth of the Australian Navy and the USS Houston (CA-30), both damaged during the Battle of the Java Sea, steamed into Banten Bay where they encountered a large force of Japanese vessels conducting an amphibious landing. A squadron of enemy destroyers blocked Sunda Strait, the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra which was the only path of retreat for the two Allied ships. The Allied cruisers sunk one Japanese vessel and forced three others to run aground before the Perth, which had been hit repeatedly with gunfire and torpedoes, sank itself. The Houston, also heavily damaged by gunfire and torpedoes, managed to damage three enemy destroyers and sink a minesweeper before finally sinking. More than six hundred crew members from the Houston were lost when the cruiser went down. Those who survived the sinking were immediately captured by the Japanese.
Private Charles Benjamin Adams MIA/KIA
Official date of death 15-Dec-45
Loss Area West Java Country of Loss Indonesia
Hometown: Willowbrook, California
Parents, Albert & Zella Adams
Service #307367
Awards: Purple Heart
Private Adams was a Marine Corps radioman. He was en route for service at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippine Islands when Pearl Harbor was attacked; Cavite fell soon after. Adams' group of communicators was diverted to the USS Houston on 7 January 1942 and became part of the cruiser's Marine detachment.
Private Adams lost on board the USS Houston and was killed in action on March 1, 1942, when the USS Houston and HMAS Perth went against the entire Japanese Battle Fleet at the Battle of Sunda Strait.
His remains were never found, and he was declared dead on 15 December 1945.
On February 28, 1942, the day after the Battle of the Java Sea, the HMAS Perth of the Australian Navy and the USS Houston (CA-30), both damaged during the Battle of the Java Sea, steamed into Banten Bay where they encountered a large force of Japanese vessels conducting an amphibious landing. A squadron of enemy destroyers blocked Sunda Strait, the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra which was the only path of retreat for the two Allied ships. The Allied cruisers sunk one Japanese vessel and forced three others to run aground before the Perth, which had been hit repeatedly with gunfire and torpedoes, sank itself. The Houston, also heavily damaged by gunfire and torpedoes, managed to damage three enemy destroyers and sink a minesweeper before finally sinking. More than six hundred crew members from the Houston were lost when the cruiser went down. Those who survived the sinking were immediately captured by the Japanese.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from California.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
