Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
	29k	John Joseph Shea, born in Cambridge, Mass., on 13 January 1898, enlisted in the Naval Reserve Force on 11 June 1918. At the time of his release from active duty in 1919, he was appointed the rank of Ensign. He was honorably discharged in 1921 and reappointed in 1923. With the abolition of the Naval Reserve Force in 1925, he was transferred to the Fleet Reserve. In 1941, he was transferred to the Regular Navy in the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Lt. Comdr. Shea was serving in WASP (CV-7) on 15 September 1942, when she was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese. He left the relative safety of his own station to direct the fight against the raging inferno on Wasp's flight deck. Amid frequent explosions and flying debris, he worked to save the carrier. He was leading out another hose to continue the struggle against the fires in a ready ammunition room when a shattering explosion occurred. In all probability, Lt. Comdr. Shea died in that explosion; but, lacking concrete proof of death, he was declared Missing in Action until a year and a day later when he was declared legally dead. She was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart medals and was promoted to Commander, all posthumously.		Ed Zajkowski
	69k	Undated, location unknown. The ship is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 25d.		-
	23k	Undated, location unknown.		Christopher Karwowski
	138k	Staten Island, New York, May 20 1944, the late Commander John Joseph Shea, whose only letter to his son “Jackie” won national acclaim for outlining simply the ideals which is why America is fighting this war, was honored by the Navy Department today when a destroyer bearing his name went down the ways at the Bethlehem Steel Company Staten Island Shipyard. Mrs. John J. Shea of Arlington, Massachusetts, widow of the late commander, sponsored the ship. John Richard “Jackie” Shea, now six-years old, also attended the launching. Here Jackie points out his autograph which he wrote on the ship’s bow to his mother. Image courtesy of Acme Newspictures.		Bill Gonyo
	113k	New Year's Day, 1945 at Pier 54, San Francisco. Left to right, Sigsbee (DD-502), Ringgold (DD-500), and Shea (DM-30), all are concluding overhauls. Nara 19N80477.		John Chiquoine
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CDR Charles Cochran (Chili) Kirkpatrick    Sep 30 1944 - Jul 13 1945 (Later RADM)
LCDR Willard Young Howell    Jul 13 1945 - Jul 19 1945
CDR Elward Francis Baldridge    Jul 19 1945 - Jun 1946
CDR Dillon Robert McMullen    Jun 1946 - Jan 1 1948
LCDR Frederick Saunders Robertson Jr.    Jan 1 1948 - Feb 3 1948
LCDR Eugene Hill Scott    Feb 3 1948 - Jan 1 1949
CDR John Joseph Becker    Jan 1 1949 - Jul 10 1949
CDR Joseph Francis Dalton    Feb 1951 - Feb 1953
CDR David Spencer Bill Jr.    Feb 1953 - ?

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