EARLE A. NASON, JR., LTJG, USN
Earle Nason, Jr. '44
Lucky Bag
From the 1944 Lucky Bag:
Loss
From Find A Grave:
Lieutenant Nason, son of Mr. and Mrs. Earle A. Nason of 30 Friendly road, Cranston, was reported missing, last December when his ship, destroyer Hoel, was sank in the second battle of the Philippines, off Leyte.
Son of Earle A. Nason, formerly of this city, who served overseas in the World War as a chief yeoman in the Naval Reserve, he leaves a wife, Mrs. Julia McCaskey Nason of Lancaster, Pa. Besides his wife and parents, there are two brothers, Second Lieutenant Richard Nason of the Air Transport Command, who has seen service in both the China-Burma-India and Atlantic theatres and Ensign Robert Nason, with the 7th Fleet in the Pacific, and a sister, Miss Rosalie Nason, a student at Cranston High School.
USS Hoel (DD 533) was lost on October 25, 1944 in a heroic action against vastly superior Japanese surface forces that earned her the Presidential Unit Citation. "Only 86 of Hoel's complement survived; 253 officers and men died with their ship, at least 40 of them dying in the water while awaiting rescue."
Class of 1944
Earle is one of 66 members of the Class of 1944 on Virtual Memorial Hall.