Sailor’s body found in gulf, his family says
Published 9:00 pm Friday, November 23, 2001
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. — The military has recovered the body of a missing U.S. sailor, presumed drowned after a decrepit, overloaded ship sank in the Persian Gulf, the sailor’s father said.
Kenneth Johnson said he received a telephone call from Navy officials on Friday confirming that divers had found his son, Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Johnson.
Pentagon officials were not immediately available to confirm the finding Saturday.
Benjamin Johnson, 21, was identified by a Pentagon official as one of two U.S. sailors missing after boarding a rickety United Arab Emirates-flagged tanker that sank.
Sailors from the USS Peterson boarded the ship because it was thought to be smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of international sanctions. The tanker sank shortly after the sailors boarded it before dawn Sunday. The Navy rescued six U.S. sailors and 10 Iraqi crew members and recovered the body of two Iraqi sailors.
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
