Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0600801	31k	John Martin Steele, the son of John Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Snell) Steele, was born at Bruno, Minn., on 24 August 1920. The family moved to Morris, Ill. where Steele graduated from Morris Community High School. After working locally for a period of time, he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps at Chicago, Ill. on 29 December 1941. Following recruit training he was assigned as a member of the Marine Detachment aboard USS Lexington (CV 2). Private Steele's battle station was in the port side forward gun gallery, manning a 5″ antiaircraft gun, AA Battery #2 / Gun 6. Steele was at his post on 08 May 1942, during the battle of the Coral Sea. At 1122 hours, an aerial bomb struck Lexington’s flight deck, penetrated the thin armor, and exploded in the ammunition locker of Gun #6. Private Steele was commended by the Commanding Officer of Lexington for remaining at his antiaircraft battery during strafing and the explosion of four torpedoes near the battery, and after a bomb had burst and set fire to a locker of heavy ammunition at the battery. He and other members of the gun crew extinguished the fire and readied the only remaining serviceable gun for further defense of the ship. At about 11:25 a.m., while still under attack from enemy torpedo planes, enemy dive bombers began their attacks and one bomb hit on the flight deck on the port side forward and exploded in the ready ammunition locker for Marine Gun 6, killing all fourteen members of that gun crew. Private Steele's remains were unrecoverable and he is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. USS Steele (DE 8) (1943-1945) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo from the Missing Marines Web Site)		Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Navsource DE / FF / LCS Archive Manager
0600803	126k	undated wartime image		-
0600804	207k	03 June 1943: Great Sound, Bermuda - Two views of USS Steele (DE 8) taken while she was on her commissioning shakedown cruise. The photos, taken from USS Edsall (DE 129) show Steele at 07:15 departing anchorage C-3, Naval Operating Base at Bermuda for a day of drills, exercises, and battle problems. (Photos by Dmitri Kessel for Life Magazine)		John Chiquoine West Chester, Pa.
0600805	140k
233k      203k      139k      193k     03 June 1943: Great Sound, Bermuda - These photos show Steele conducting ASW operations in company with Edsall. After a full day of exercises Steele returned to her anchorage in the Great Sound at 17:56 that evening. (Photos by Dmitri Kessel for Life Magazine)
(0600802)	91k	08 August 1945: Guam - Steele (DE 8) in foreground, observes Tranquility (AH 14) arriving at Guam, carrying survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA 35).		Joe Radigan MACM, USN(ret.) Covington, Va. Navsource Archive Manager Patrol & Mine Warfare Archives

Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has
been made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list
only a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

Additional Resources

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Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved. Page Last Updated: 23 November 2022