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Memorialized:
Tablets of the Missing
East Coast Memorial
New York City, New York, USA
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Frank Patrick Abasta (3828290), Apprentice Seaman, U.S. Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a member of the Armed Guard on board the S.S. Warrior when his ship was attacked on 1 July 1942. Apprentice Seaman Abasta remained at the side of his Commanding Officer after the rest of the crew had abandoned the vessel following a torpedoing, despite the fact that the ship began settling by the stern immediately after the first explosion. From a precarious position on the sloping deck Apprentice Seaman Abasta continued to man a 3-inch gun with utter disregard for his own personal safety. Too intent upon directing fire at the threatening submarine to consider his own plight, Apprentice Seaman Abasta waited until the ship had completely upended before putting on a life belt, then lost his footing, fell from the platform, and slid into the sea. By his unyielding loyalty in the face of imminent, ever-increasing danger he helped prevent the full surfacing of the attacking submarine and subsequent possibility of further casualties.
Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 309 (December 1942)
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