Stark stood out of Mina Salman at 0510 on 17 May 1987, in preparation for receiving the Gas Turbine Mobile Training Team on 19 May. She cleared restricted navigational waters by 0930 and proceeded to patrol an area west of the Iranian-declared exclusion zone. Stark steamed with bright navigational lighting, as required by international rules of the road. The frigate participated in what the Navy later announced as a “two-way computer data exchange” with La Salle, Coontz, and a USAF Boeing E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). These crewmen relayed to each other relevant information concerning airborne contacts such as geographical position, course, speed, altitude, and assumed or confirmed identity. The AWACs reported an unknown aircraft flying south over the Arabian Gulf at about 1700. At 1743, Coontz reported this aircraft bearing 285º at a range of 120 nautical miles from Stark. The frigate detected the contact on radar fifteen minutes later, bearing 260º and closing at a range of 70 nautical miles. A dusty haze hung heavily in the air as the sun began to set.
The Iraqis had launched a Dassault F.1EQ-5-200 Mirage equipped with two AM.39 Exocet air-to-ground missiles, however, and the pilot maneuvered aggressively, apparently intent on attacking what he believed to be a tanker servicing the Iranian oil trade. Coontz noted that the Mirage turned to an easterly heading at 1800, flying at a speed of 290 knots at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Stark came about to a course of 300º at ten knots, near 26º47’N, 51º55’E. Coontz then reported on the net: “Iraqi aircraft bearing 043º, range 45 nautical miles, course 066º, speed 335 knots, altitude 3,000 feet, heading toward Stark.” La Salle queried Stark as to whether she monitored the intruder, to which the frigate replied, “Affirmative.” Stark’s AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic support measures system then detected a radar signal, which her sailors evaluated as a search mode airborne fire control radar, and correlated the signal to the Iraqi jet, bearing 269º but closing at 27 nautical miles. Stark issued a warning by voice radio over the military distress net (243 MHz), identifying herself as a U.S. Navy warship -- and when the jet closed to only 12 miles -- repeating the warning within a minute.
The Iraqi disregarded the warnings, and from 1808–1810 the Sentry observed the Mirage bank sharply to the right and increase speed as the jet launched a pair of Exocets. Almost simultaneously, Stark detected the Iraqi’s fire control radar lock on to the ship, and her port lookout spotted a missile inbound. The frigate sounded General Quarters and locked her fire control onto the jet (1809–1810), but mere seconds later the first missile slammed into the port side nearly 13 feet above the waterline, under the port bridge wing and at about Frame 100, on the second deck. The Exocet did not detonate but tore into the ship, severing the firefighting water lines to the forward part of the ship, and breaking apart and spilling volatile fuel. About 25 seconds later the second missile hit a few feet aft of but nearly in the same location and exploded in Crew Compartment 2-100-0-L, the fuel from the first missile feeding its fiery detonation. The shock of the hits tore fixtures from bulkheads and wrecked equipment. The heat from the fires and the acrid and blinding smoke impeded damage control efforts, and flames melted aluminum superstructure and decks. Men off watch asleep in their racks awoke to an inferno and screamed as they died.
Lt. William A. Conklin, the ship’s 27-year-old Damage Control Assistant, had just completed a long day of watches and at sea routine and settled into his rack for some eagerly awaited sleep when the first missile struck with a crashing roar. Conklin leapt to his feet and rapidly donned coveralls and shoes as the bridge passed a chilling order over the 1MC: “Inbound missile, port side, all hands brace for shock.” The second Exocet struck the ship, and the lieutenant raced for his battle station in Damage Control Central, where he learned to his horror that the attacks all but severed the fire-fighting system. The blaze reached super-heated temperatures and threatened the ship, so Conklin and HT1 Michael J. O’Keefe crawled through the fire despite the agonizing pain from the heat and closed the critical firemain valves, isolating the torn pipes. “It was a fight for survival,” O’Keefe later summarized. “I was fighting to stay alive.” The blaze also engulfed the chiefs berthing/lounge, ships store, post office, and barber shop, and damaged other areas. Crewmen used a P-250 pump to supply water to battle the flames in the forward section of the ship, and supplemented their efforts at multiple points by using electric submersible pumps. Sailors felt heat rising from the deck into their feet but bravely directed water onto the flames, only to discover with dismay that the heat turned the water into scalding steam. The men poured so much water onto the frigate that she listed dangerously up to 17 degrees to port from the weight.
The attack severed some of the ship’s communications, so sailors creatively rigged a “salt and pepper” line with sound powered phones between the bridge, aft steering, and the flight deck in order to direct their battle against the conflagration. The fire-fighters realized with horror, however, that they often could not communicate with each other directly, and afterward recommended that the Navy equip ships with hand-held radios or walkie-talkies. Crewmen threw FIM-92 Stinger man portable air defense missiles and .50 cal. rounds overboard to prevent them from exploding. Lt. Carl S. Barbour rescued 28-year-old petty officer James Wheeler moments before the flames reached him. The men used 40 Oxygen Breathing Apparatus canisters (18 above their normal allowance of 22) that provided oxygen for a limited time, but used all of them by 0115 during the mid watch, effectively halting their efforts to fight the blaze until a boat from Waddell (DDG-24) and another from La Salle brought them additional canisters within the hour. Firefighting teams from other ships also rotated through, relieving Stark’s exhausted crewmen. The thick black smoke blocked emergency lighting and reduced compartments below deck to total darkness, but men used flood lanterns to illuminate some of the darkened compartments and passageways, though battle lanterns and helmet lanterns failed to pierce the Stygian gloom. In addition, live electrical wires torn from their housings burned men. The attack destroyed the ladder ascending to the next deck and as some men ran out of air they chose between the raging fires and the sea and jumped out the hole torn by the impact of the second missile. A lookout tossed them a life ring while Stark continued on and they survived until morning despite recollections of spotting sharks.
Gunner’s Mate Gary Mahone also showed men how to use escape gear but fell through the hole in the confusion. The last time anyone saw OSSN Terrance D. Weldon he appeared to be wounded and in shock. Both men went into the water. Gunner’s Mate Mark Samples courageously stayed in the missile magazine for nearly 13 hours before relief. Despite consistently losing power that reduced the flow of water to a trickle, Samples poured water onto the missiles to prevent the heat from cooking-off their fuel. The GM probably prevented a catastrophic explosion, but the combination of water from all the firefighting efforts resulted in the ship’s settling. The attack killed 36 sailors -- plus one missing (Weldon) -- many of them burned in their racks while sleeping or suffocating from a lack of oxygen:
QMCS Vernon Foster
FTCS Robert L. Shippee
EMCS Stephen G. Kiser
BM1 Bradley O. Brown
OS1 Steven E. Kendall
SM1 Ronnie G. Lockett
GM1 Thomas J. MacMullen
DS1 Randy E. Pierce
FT1 Gregory L. Tweady
ET2 Christopher W. DeAngelis
RM2 Jerry B. Farr
TM2 James R. Stevens
FC3 Jeffrey L. Calkins
OS3 Antonio A. Daniels
IC3 James S. Dunlap
FT3 William R. Hansen
GM3 Daniel Homicki
EW3 Charles T. Moller
GM3 James Plonsky
OS3 Lee Stephens
ET3 Kelly R. Quick
ET3 Martin Supple
EW3 Joseph P. Watson
ET3 Wayne R. Weaver
STSN Steven T. Erwin
RMSN Dexter D. Grissett
OSSN Kenneth D. Janusik Jr.
SMSN Earl P. Ryals
SN Doran H. Bolduc
SN Mark M. Caouette
SN John A. Ciletta Jr.
SN Vincent L. Ulmer
SMSA Jeffrey C. Sibley
FA Lloyd A. Wilson
SR Brian M. Clinefelter
SR Jeffrey L. Phelps
In addition, the battle wounded 21 more men, two of whom suffered serious burns. Stark’s crewmen valorously saved their ship, and demonstrated their intensive damage control training — Cmdr. Brindel had once ordered them to move about blindfolded to simulate the fear and sensory deprivation of battle. Vessels that aided Stark included La Salle, Coontz, Conyngham, Waddell, and Reid (FFG-30). Coontz, in particular, provided two firefighting teams to Stark, which also, more grimly, proved instrumental in identifying and removing the dead. Rear Adm. Harold J. Bernsen, Commander MEF, lauded the sacrificial efforts of all involved during the tragedy, but added that “of equal merit,” all hands that rendered assistance “performed valiantly and with spirit.” An SH-3G Sea King of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC) 2 Detachment 2 flew flight surgeon Lt. Cmdr. Terry A. Miller and supplies from Bahrain to the wounded ship, and then searched unsuccessfully for survivors in the water. A commercial salvage tug used her water cannons to cool Stark’s starboard side. Calm seas providentially enveloped Stark during her nearly 18 hour battle for survival and at 2000 on 18 May, Conyngham took the stricken ship in tow to Bahrain. Despite occasional reflashes of the fires the men had extinguished, Stark moored outboard of La Salle at 2330 on 19 May, and within two days returned to an even keel, her men also laboriously offloading ammunition. On 28 May the ship’s Seasprite flew to Stephen W. Groves to complete its deployment on board that frigate. Acadia (AD-42) arrived on 1 June, and Stark shifted her berth to outboard the destroyer tender and began voyage and battle repairs by Bahrain Ship Repair & Engineering Co., and Acadia and Stark’s ships companies.
