At the first memorial service held at North Island Naval Air Station on September 23, 1923, Admiral Robert E. Coontz, Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Fleet, led the service to honor the 23 sailors who perished at Point Honda. His speech before 10,000 civilian and military personnel included this stirring message:

"In keeping with the highest ideals of the Naval Service of the United States, our Destroyer crews at Honda upheld the best traditions of the Navy. Trained to be ready for the last great moment, those who took our Destroyers to sea, and who died with their ships, were true in every way to the trust we had in them - that they would nobly add to the Navy's heroic tradition. At Annapolis, the young men training to be officers, find upon the walls of the great Naval school the pictures, busts and records of enlisted men who have made the Navy proud - and it is these examples, which help fill the young officers with the true spirit which breathes in every Naval man. It nerves them to duty in the face of death, and sustains them in times of woe. In our distress for our dead, we are sad; in our admiration for their conduct, we are exalted."

(Extract from Tragedy at Honda by Charles A. Lockwood, Vice Admiral, USN (Ret) and Hans Christian Adamson, Colonel, USAF (Ret).)

DEAD

USS DELPHY

CONWAY, James W. H., Fireman Third Class, Omaha, Nebraska

DALIDA, Sofronio, Cabin Cook, Saipan Piaz, Phillipine Islands

PEARSON, James T., Fireman First Class, Elk City, Oklahoma

USS YOUNG

BUCHAN, Ralph K., Chief Pharmacist, Sonoma, California

DUNCAN, Earl, Seaman Second Class, Rose, Oklahoma

GRADY, Everett W., Fireman Second Class, Gretna, Nebraska

HARRISON, Ernest C., Fireman First Class, Fort Neches, Texas

JONES, Ernest, Cabin Cook, New Orleans, Louisiana

KIRBY, Edward C., Fireman Third Class, Charlotte, North Carolina

KIRK, Henry T., Fireman Third Class, East St. Louis, Illinois

MARTIN, James T., Seaman First Class, Dallas, Texas

MORRIS, Wade H., Fireman Third Class, Bluff Dale, Texas

OVERSHINER, Gordon J., Fireman Third Class, San Jose, California

REDDOCK, Clitus A., Radioman First Class, Ocean Beach, California

ROGERS, Leo F., Fireman Third Class, North Baltimore, Ohio

SALZER, Charles A., Coxswain, New Orleans, Louisiana

SKIPPER, Hugh W., Fireman Third Class, Newville, Alabama

SLIMAK, Joseph J., Fireman Third Class, Bridgeport, Connecticut

TAYLOR, Max H., Engineman Second Class, Spokane, Washington

TORRES, Enrique, Cabin Steward, Bulacin, Phillipine Islands

VAN SCHAACK, Vern R., Fireman Third Class, Fraser, Iowa

YOUNG, John, Fireman First Class, Salt Lake City, Utah

ZAKRZEWSKI, August, Fireman Second Class, Omaha, Nebraska

INJURED

When word of the grounding reached Lompoc California, two doctors volunteered to go to the site to treat the injured. They were Drs. M. S. Kelliher and L. E. Heiges. More than 100 ambulatory cases were treated. A special train took the more seriously injured to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California, on September 9, 1923. Most sustained cut feet or contusions and suffered shock due to exposure. An article in the New York Times on September 12, 1923, and Charles Hice in his book The Last Hours of Seven Four-Stackers, listed the names of 13 sailors who were injured. The train returned to Pt. Honda with five doctors aboard from the Cottage Hospital. They volunteered to assist the Lompoc doctors in providing first aid to the sailors on site. Their names were: Dr. Rexwald Brown, Dr. Himar Kofoed, Dr. Benjamin Bakewell, Dr. Harry Henderson and Dr. Irving Wills. Their assistance was greatly appreciated by all hands, including the doctors from Lompoc, who were ready for some relief.

The sailors who suffered minor injuries were treated at the U. S. Naval Hospital, San Diego upon their arrival by train on the following day. Only nine names could be traced.

Treated at Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, California

John J. Becker, Gunner's Mate, (YOUNG) St. Paul, Minnesota

Gilbert W. Bauschmann, Seaman Second Class, (DELPHY) Brooklyn, New York

Thayer C. Farnham, Fireman Third Class, (DELPHY) Montgomery, Alabama

Walter C. Gerlach, Machinist's Mate, (DELPHY) Roy, Idaho

John E. King, Seaman Second Class, (DELPHY) Mulga, Alabama

Harry B. Krause, Fireman Second Class, (DELPHY) Winona, Minnesota

Carl J. Lude, Boilermaker First Class, (DELPHY) Davenport, Iowa

Arthur W. Lund, Seaman Second Class, (DELPHY) Jamestown, New York

William E. McGahy, Torpedoman First Class, (DELPHY) Astoria, New York

Eldridge B. Palmer, Coxswain, (DELPHY) St. Paul, Minnesota

Mike G. Scherer, Seaman Second Class, (YOUNG) Fanning, Missouri

Gerald E. Tyler, Signalman Third Class, (DELPHY) Charlston, West Virginia

Dalfin Dagala, Mess Attendant First Class, (DELPHY) Capiz, Phillipine Islands

Treated at U. S. Naval Hospital, San Diego, California

L. F. Blodgett

A. P. Mullinix

J. D. Hoff

Wm. Murphy

W. J. Ekenberg

H. F. Morgan

A. Knox

W. Stallman

N. N. Payne