Richard Patrick Mack was born in 1925, in Norwalk, Huron County, OHIO, the son of William EARL and Olive M. Mack. He attended Norwalk High School, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He attained the Rank of Seaman First Class (S1c), and was serving onboard the Aircraft Carrier, the USS Bismarck Sea.

The USS Bismark Sea was the 40th Casablanca Class Escort Aircraft Carrier (CVE) built for the United States Navy, laid down at the Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard in January 1944 and commissioned into service with the US Pacific Fleet in May of the same year.

Assigned to the US 7th Fleet at Ulithi Atoll, the Bismarck Sea and her crew got steamed to the Philippine Islands where they provided air support to US forces fighting on Leyte Island before moving up the archipelago and taking part in the Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945. Retiring to Ulithi for a period of upkeep, reprovisioning and rest for her crew, Bismarck Sea arrived off the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima on February 16th after escorting a reinforcement convoy from Ulithi to the front lines.

Disengaged from her convoy the Bismarck Sea began providing close air support for the troops fighting on Iwo Jima which involved almost nonstop air operations from well before dawn to well after dark every day. Crews aboard ship found no respite in between busy flight recovery and launching cycles from the ever-present threat of massed Kamikaze attack by Japanese aircraft, something they were first exposed to in the Philippines.

In the early afternoon of February 21st the Bismarck Sea had launched her scheduled afternoon strike and was maneuvering out of the combat area when her task force came under Kamikaze attack by a small group of Japanese aircraft. Despite her evasive maneuvering and a pall of AA fire thrown up by her gunners and those on her escorts, a single Japanese aircraft managed to weave through her defenses and slammed into the Bismarck Sea's Starboard hull directly beneath her 40mm battery. The plane's motor punched through the unarmored steel of the Carrier's hull and hangar deck before striking the armored casing around the forward magazines, causing several large fires which were soon spreading through the ship and threatening to set off the explosive-filled compartment. Damage control teams flooded her magazines and raced to confront the rapidly spreading fires as her Captain maneuvered his vessel to keep the flames forward, and after a few hours of tenacious efforts the gasoline fires were nearly under control.

Unfortunately another wave of Kamikaze's were soon overhead, eager to destroy the damaged American Carrier. Obscured by smoke from her own fires, Bismarck Sea's gunners again tried in vain to repel the coordinated suicide attack, but another aircraft penetrated her defenses and slammed into her rear flight deck elevator, severing her fire main and coating much of her hangar bay in gasoline-fed flames. Now severely damaged and with no way to fight the rapidly spreading fire onboard, the Bismarck Sea was ordered abandoned.

As her surviving crew swam clear of the ship to nearby Destroyers, the onboard fires reached the Bismarck Sea's rear magazines and set off an enormous explosion that sealed the Carriers fate. As her escorts withdrew from the area, the burning hulk of the Bismarck Sea sank Stern-first at this location on February 21st, 1945 with 318 of her crew still aboard ship. Richard Patrick Mack was one of the 318 men, Killed In Action.

For her actions during the Second World War, USS Bismarck Sea was awarded three Battle Stars.

Richard P. Mack's Brother, William R. Mack, a Paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division was listed as Missing In Action on 06 June 1944, and later, William R. Mack was declared Dead, a fatal casualty, of the invasion of Normany, France, on D-Day.

SEE Connected Page for William R. Mack

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15 April 1930 Census/Norwalk/Huron Co./Ohio/Roll: 1823/ED-20/Page: 11A
Household Members: Name Age Family #:293-308
William E Mach/Head of Household/44/1st married at 36/OHx3/Agent/Extracts
Olive M Mach/Wife/28/1st married at 19/OHx3
William R Mach/Son/7/OHx3
Joan K Mach/Daughter/6/OHx3
Richard P Mach/Son/5/OHx3
Ellen J Mach/Daughter/4yrs-1month/OHx3
Daniel A Mach/Son/2yrs-11months/OHx3
Colleen A Mach/Daughter/8months/OHx3

Living at 129 Woodlawn Ave

WW II Memorial
Richard Patrick Mack   Norwalk, OH   U.S. Navy   National Archives
Seaman 1c Richard Patrick Mack
Branch of Service: U.S. Navy
Hometown: Norwalk, OH
Status: KIA
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Richard P. Mack    OH U.S. Navy   ABMC Tablets of the Missing
Richard P. Mack ID: 06140494
Entered the Service From: Ohio
Rank: Seaman, First Class
Service: U.S. Navy, United States Naval Reserve
Died: Wednesday, February 21, 1945
Memorialized at: Honolulu Memorial
Location: Honolulu, HI, USA

Awards: Purple Heart

S1 Richard P Mack
Birth: unknown
Death: Feb. 21, 1945
Note: Entered the service from Ohio.
Burial: Honolulu Memorial
Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA
Created by: CWGC/ABMC
Record added: Aug 06, 2010

Find A Grave Memorial# 56123975

http://navymemorial.org/NavyLog/LogView/tabid/127/Default.aspx?&navylogid=929119
RICHARD P. MACK
Rate/Rank: S1
Service Branch: USN 0000 - 1945
Born: UNK OHIO
KILLED IN ACTION - USS BISMARCK SEA CVE-95, 02/21/1945

Significant Duty Stations
USS BISMARCK SEA CVE-95, SUNK BY TWO KAMIKAZE STRIKES, INVASION OF IWO JIMA

Significant Awards
PURPLE HEART

ASIATIC-PACIFIC CAMPAIGN MEDAL

WWI, WWII, and Korean War Casualty Listings
Name: Richard P. Mack
State Registered: Hawaii
Death Date: 21 Feb 1945
Cemetery: Tablets of The Missing At Honolulu Memorial
Cemetery Burial Plot: Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Cemetery City: Honolulu
Cemetery Country: Hawaii
War: World War II
Awards: Purple Heart
Title: Seaman, First Class
Rank: Seaman, First Class
Service: U.S. Navy
Service ID: 6140494
Division: United States Naval Reserve

Data Source: World War II Honor Roll

World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas
Name: Richard P Mack
Inducted From: Ohio
Rank: Seaman First Class
Combat Organization: United States Navy Reserve
Death Date: 21 Feb 1945
Monument: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Last Known Status: Missing

U.S. Awards: Purple Heart Medal

World War II Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945
Name: Richard Patrick Mack
Relative Name: Mr. and Mrs. William Earl Mack
Relative Relationship: Parents (Parent)
State: Ohio
Country: United States
Type of Casualty: Killed In Action
Roll: ww2c_27

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USS BISMARCK SEA was the 41st CASABLANCA - class escort carrier and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. USS BISMARCK SEA was lost at Iwo Jima with 318 of her crew. The BISMARCK SEA was stricken from the Navy list on March 30, 1945.
Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Zulu - India
General Characteristics: Awarded: 1942
Keel laid: January 31, 1944
Launched: April 17, 1944
Commissioned: May 20, 1944
Sunk: February 21, 1945
Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash.
Propulsion system: four boilers
Propellers: two
Length: 512.5 feet (156.2 meters)
Flight Deck Width: 108 feet (32.9 meters)
Beam: 65 feet (19.9 meters)
Draft: 22.6 feet (6.9 meters)
Displacement: approx. 10,400 tons full load
Speed: 19 knots
Catapults: one
Aircraft: 28 planes
Armament: one 5-inch L/38 gun, 16 40mm guns, 20 20mm guns
Crew: 860

BISMARCK SEA was launched 17 April 1944 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract as ALIKULA BAY; sponsored by Mrs. M. C. Wallgren, wife of Senator Wallgren; renamed BISMARCK SEA 16 May 1944; transferred to the Navy 20 May 1944; and commissioned the same day, Captain J. L. Pratt in command.

The USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) was the eleventh and last American Aircraft Carrier lost during World War II. She was sunk on February 21, 1945 by a kamikaze attack that occured just after sunset while engaged in the Battle for Iwo Jima. There was a loss of 321 men from the ship's company and the composite squadron VC-86 that was stationed on the ship at the time of the attack.