The steam tanker " S.S. John D. Gill " was built and completed in January, 1942 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania for the Atlantic Refining Co, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was a 11,641 ton ship.

     On March 12, 1942 the unescorted " S.S. John D. Gill " was enroute from Atreco, Texas with a stop over in Charleston, North Carolina and a final destination of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a cargo of 141,981 barrels of crude oil and a crew of 49 ( 8 officers, 34 merchant mariners, and 7 U.S. Navy Armed Guards).   They were hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-158 approximatley 25 miles east of Cape Fear, North Carolina.   The tanker seemed to lift out of the water and move sideways, but the explosion did not ignite the cargo.

     The oil was ignited when a seaman tossed a life ring with a self-igniting carbide light overboard.   The ship and sea was turned in a blazing inferno, forcing the eight officers and 34 crewmen to abandon ship within eight minutes, followed by the seven navy armed guards.   23 of the crew perished and 26 were able to survive.

The ship Master/Captain of the S.S. John D. Gill was:

Allen Delmar Tucker

who survived the sinking of the S.S. John D. Gill !
He served in the U.S. Navy from August 26 1918 to 22 April 1919 (WW I),
and also from March 5, 1943 to June 24, 1945 (WW II).

     The following below list was created in the memory of those who "Gave Their All" on the " S.S. John D. Gill ".   There are personal "online memorials" for each of these honored men that were created for them by using the "Find A Grave" website.   You will see a blue " Yes " behind their names and by clicking on the " Yes " you will see a personal memorial that has been created for them by myself or someone else.

Key to Abbreviations and Notes MM     =  Awarded the " Mariner's Medal " !                    ( Awarded to the Merchant Mariner's for being Wounded, Missing or Killed In Action ) MM *  =  Awarded the " Combat Bar / Ribbon " !                   ( Awarded to Mariner's who have been under combat conditions ) MM **  =  Awarded the " Combat Star " ( attached to the Combat Bar )                    ( Awarded to Mariner's who are forced to abandon ship when attacked or damaged ) MM-DSM  =  Awarded the Mariner's " Distinguished Service Medal " !                          ( Awarded for " Heroism Beyond the Call of Duty " ) MM-POW  =  Awarded the Mariner's " Prisoner Of War Medal " !                          ( Awarded to Mariner's who served time as a POW " ) PH  =  Awarded the " Purple Heart " !               ( Awarded to U.S. Military Soldiers & Sailors for being Wounded and/or Killed in action ) Other Medals               Such as Good Conduct Medals, Campaign Medals, Defense Service Medals, etc.,               " Are Not " included in this listing.   =  Picture of person shown on online memorial   =  Picture of tombstone shown on online memorial " Family Link Included " = Parent, Spouse, or Child linked in " Online Memorial ". Cenotaph  =  A memorial stone only  ~  " OR "  ~  Remains not recovered  ~  " OR "  ~  Interred somewhere unknown. ( www.usmm.org/medals.html )         Quick Link by first letter of Last Name for the " S.S. John D. Gill " ( Those letters shown below in " Maroon " had no crew members on this ship ) [ A ] - [ B ] - [ C ] - [ D ] - [ E ] - [ F ] [ G ] - [ H ] - [ I ] - [ J ] - [ K ] - [ L ] [ M ] - [ N ] - [ O ] - [ P ] - [ Q ] - [ R ] [ S ] - [ T ] - [ U ] - [ V ] - [ W ] - [ X ] - [ Y ] - [ Z ]    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Atherholt,  William L., Jr.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Oiler " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph   Avestruz,  Felimon             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Messman " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine New York Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph Last Names starting with " B " ~ " There Were None ! "    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Carreon,  Benjamin             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Messman " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Philippines Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph   Cristobal,  Federico C.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Galleyman " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   DeMichael,  Anthony R.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Ordinary Seaman " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Eckman,  Alan M. T.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Chief Mate " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Flores,  Sixto D.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~  Steward " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Hillside Cemetery Roslyn, PA " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Gaskins,  Harry Russell             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Third Engineer " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Virginia Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph   Geier,  William J., Jr.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Deck Maintainer " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Massachusetts Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph   Gurtov,  Robert             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Bosun " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Hagerty,  Joseph             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Third Mate " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine New Jersey Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph Last Names starting with " I " ~ " There Were None ! "    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Jiminez,  Henry Anthony             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~  Fireman / Watertender " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Holy Cross Cemetery Yeadon, PA " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Kimball,  Charles Percy             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~              " Family Link Included " Fireman / Watertender " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Michigan Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Lakeside Cemetery Port Huron, MI " Yes " Cenotaph   Koch,  Curtis Herman             PH ~ Off North Carolina ~  Seaman Second Class " Armed Guard" U.S. Navy Illinois Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Irving Park Cemetery Chicago, IL " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Lefflar,  Jacob             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Oiler " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph   Lewis,  Vincent Harold             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A             " Family Link Included " Pumpman " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Mississippi Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cedarlawn Cemetery Jackson, MS " Yes " Cenotaph   Lunn,  David Martin             PH ~ Off North Carolina ~  Coxswain " Armed Guard" U.S. Navy Illinois Missing In Action March 12, 1942 East Coast Memorial Manhattan, NY " Yes " Cenotaph Last Names starting with " M " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " N " ~ " There Were None ! "    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Oakley,  Arthur Elwood             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A Seaman Second Class " Armed Guard " U.S. Navy Ohio Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Memorial Burial Park Wheelersburg, OH " Yes " Last Names starting with " P " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " Q " ~ " There Were None ! "    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Rappaport,  David Walter             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~  First Engineer " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Lost At Sea ? March 12, 1942 Mount Sharon Cemetery Springfield, PA " Yes " Cenotaph ??    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Schasney,  Paul P.             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~  Deck Maintainer " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Lost At Sea ? March 12, 1942 St. Michael's Cemetery Summit Hill, PA " Yes " Cenotaph ??   Senter,  Asa B.             PH ~ Off North Carolina ~  Seaman Second Class " Armed Guard" U.S. Navy Texas Missing In Action March 12, 1942 East Coast Memorial Manhattan, NY " Yes " Cenotaph   Sitnick,  Israel             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~ N/A             " Family Link Included " Second Engineer " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Cemetery / Memorial " Not Found " " Yes " Cenotaph    Last Name, First Name, M.I.             Awards ~ Place Of Passing ~Photos Military Rank Branch of Service State / Country Cause of Death Date Of Passing Cemetery / Memorial For Online Memorial Click on " Yes "   Tingzon,  Catalino             MM ** ~ Off North Carolina ~  Messman " Ship's Crew " Merchant Marine Pennsylvania Missing In Action March 12, 1942 Northwood Cemetery Southport, NC " Yes " Last Names starting with " U " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " V " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " W " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " X " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " Y " ~ " There Were None ! " Last Names starting with " Z " ~ " There Were None ! " Email any questions or comments to: Russ Pickett ( russpickde@comcast.net )