Background
William John Yokes was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, on 15 November 1918.
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William Yokes
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A United States. Navy high-speed transport was named for him. He enlisted in the United States. Navy at Cleveland, Ohio, on 3 January 1942. Yokes was a seaman second class attached to the Naval Armed Guard detachment aboard the merchant ship Steamship Steel Navigator, a straggler from Convoy Ontario-137, in the North Atlantic Ocean in October 1942.
Foreign several days, heavy seas and high winds had caused a dangerous shift in ballast in Steel Navigator.
Yokes acted beyond the scope of his duty when he and his shipmates volunteered to go below and perform the physically exhausting task of shifting ballast to trim the ship, working for some 30 hours without rest. On 19 October 1942, the German submarine U-610 attacked Steel Navigator.
Lookouts aboard Steel Navigator spotted U-610"s periscope, and the Naval Armed Guard unit swiftly manned its guns and opened fire. Soon the gunfire registered several near-misses on the periscope, and U-610 withdrew temporarily.
Later that day, U-610 returned and torpedoed Steel Navigator, sinking her immediately.
Yokes was among the dead. Seaman Second Class Yokes was commended posthumously by the United States. Navy"s Chief of Naval Personnel, who cited Yokes"s "courageous and unfailing devotion to duty.. fortitude, skill and bravery" in conduct "in keeping with the highest traditions of the naval service."
The destroyer escort United States Ship Yokes (Delaware-668) was named for Seaman Second Class Yokes.
She was converted during construction into the high-speed transport United States Ship Yokes (APD-69) and was in commission as such from 1944 to 1946.
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Born
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Died
October 19, 1942 (aged 24) -
Nationality
United States