Glenwood Boy on Sub Listed Missing
Special to The Nonpareil
GLENWOOD—E.M. 1/C Kirk Stearns, operating on a submarine in the Pacific, was reported to be missing in action in a telegram from the Secretary of Navy, Tuesday. The word came to his wife, Mrs. Jacquelyn Godsey Stearns, an employe of Martin bomber plant, who is the daughter of Sgt. Carn Godsey of Council Bluffs, prisoner of war in Germany. Most recent visit of Petty Officer Stearns to Glenwood was in December, 1942.
Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Thursday, May 18, 1944
Missing in Action
WASHINGTON, (AP)—The Navy has announced the name of eight Iowans as missing in action. The list includes that of Franklin A. Million, motor machinists’ mate of Bedford and Kirk C. Stearns, electrician’s mate, of Lucas.
Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Tuesday, August 15, 1944
Rank/Rate: Electrician's Mate, First Class
Kirk Comstock Stearns
Birth Date: July 3, 1922
From: Pacific Junction, Iowa
Class of 1940 Graduate Glenwood High School
Decorations: Purple Heart
Submarine: USS Tullibee (SS-284)
Loss Date: March 26, 1944
Location: North of Pelews
Circumstances Sunk by circular run of own torpedo
Additional Notes:
Electrician's Mate, First Class, died on the USS Tullibee (SS-284), which was sunk by a circular run of it's own torpedo on March 26, 1944. He is not buried in the Manila American Cemetery, but is listed on the "Tablets of the Missing".
Source: ancestry.com
