SHELTON; HORACE E

UNITED STATES ARMY
WORLD WAR II
UT
Individual Type Unaccounted For
Rank Pvt
Service Number 38305332
Location Mediterranean Sea
Date of Loss 11/27/1943
Unit HMT Rohna; 853 ENGINEERS BATTALION (AVIATION)

PVT Shelton was a passenger on the HMT Rohna.

The Rohna and four other troop ships left Oran in French Algeria with cargo and troops. Off Béjaïa, Algeria the convoy was attacked by an estimated 60 German Luftwaffe Heinkel 177's. One of the 177's, piloted by Hans Dochtermann, released a glide bomb that hit Rohna on her port side and she eventually sank.

1,138 men were killed, including 1,015 U.S. personnel. The attack is the largest loss of US troops at sea due to enemy action in a single incident. 35 U.S. troops of the 2,000 originally embarked later died of wounds.

Horace E Shelton