UDTs Yates, Lee Carlton

[John Robertson]

• SURNAME

Yates ​

• FORENAME

Lee Carlton ​

• UNIT

U.S.N.R. UDT-14 ​

• RANK

Lieutenant Junior Grade ​

• NUMBER

0-286799 ​

• DATE OF DEATH

17th February 1945 ​

• AGE

28​

• GRAVESITE

National Memorial Cemetery,Honolulu,Hawaii Tablets of the Missing ​

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

from Nashville,Tennessee​

husband of Nancy Dunn (nee Burge) Yates (1923-2013)​

born 26.2.1916 Nashville,Tennessee​

graduated Tennessee State Teachers College​

U.S.N.R. 23.6.1942​

commissioned Ensign 14.6.1943​

Fort Schuyler,New York June - October 1943​

Landing Craft School,San Diego,California October 1943 - February 1944​

12th Naval District,San Francisco (Boat Officer) February - September 1944​

UDT-14 September 1944​

award Silver Star​

killed on LCI(G)-449 off Iwo Jima - KIA gunfire from shore ​

Nashville National Cemetery,Nashville,Davidson County,Tennessee Section MA Site 21 (memorial stone)​

​

 

[LCI449]

Lee Carlton Yates

Lt. (j.g.) Yates died aboard my grandfathers LCI gunboat 449. He was in the conning tower with the Executive Officer and the Skipper of the 449. Also there were two signalmen. A mortar round landed right in the conning tower blowing the skipper out of the back and down to the deck below. Yates, Signalman Park, a Photographer named McGrath the Executive Officer named Yarbrough were all killed as was another member of the UDT party PFC Brockmeyer USMC recon. These men were obliterated. In fact, one of the crew said the conning tower was cleaned up with shovels and buckets. It was a sad loss. The ship was hit two other times just a few seconds before resulting in 21 Dead and 22 Wounded out of a crew of 70 men. My grandpa did not get a scratch. His name was Clifford Lemke and he had a hard time with it. He wondered how he could survive when he was standing right in the middle of so many who had died. I know Yates was married and had a daughter.