July 29, 1920. Echoes of wars.
Ruth Sturtevant Smith at the launching of the U.S.S. Sturtevant on July 29, 1920. The ship was named after her brother Albert Dillon Sturtevant (1894-1918) who served as a U.S. Navy officer and was killed in World War I.
The Navy remembered Albert Dillon Sturtevant on the name of a ship.
He was an aircrewman of a Curtis Model H that had an international crew and which was shot down on February 15, 1918. The crew survived the crash into the sea, but they were not able to be rescued by an other seaplane, as the waves were too rough. He was the only American on the aircrew and occupied the position of gunner. He was the first serving member of the U.S. military to be brought down in an air action.
The destroyer named after him and dedicated on this day was lost to mines during World War Two. A second destroyer was named after him in 1943 and served until 1960.
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