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| 19k | Kay Kopl Vesole was born on 11 September 1913 in Pzedboz, Russia (now in Poland). Sometime thereafter, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Iowa where he later attended the State University of Iowa. On 19 October 1942, he accepted an appointment as an ensign in the United States Naval Reserve. ENS Vesole studied at a series of naval training schools during the remainder of 1942 and the first part of 1943. Beginning at the Naval Training School, Tucson, Arizona, he transferred to the Naval Training Station (Local Defense) at Boston, Massachusetts, in January 1943. The following month, he moved from Boston to Gulf Port, Mississippi, to enter the Armed Guard School. In April, he moved to the Armed Guard Center located at New Orleans, whence he was routed to Panama City, Florida, to take command of the armed guard gun crew on board a merchant ship. By December 1943, ENS Vesole commanded the armed guard crew assigned to the Liberty ship SS John Bascom. On the night of 2 December, his ship was riding at anchor in Bari, Italy, when a massive air raid of 105 Ju. 88 medium bombers attacked the port. During that raid, Vesole's ship was bombed and sunk. However, before she went down, ENS Vesole heroically directed the defense of the ship despite severe multiple wounds. When it became apparent that the ship would sink, he led a party below and supervised the evacuation of the wounded. Once in the lifeboat, he manned an oar and helped to row the boat ashore even though he had only one functional arm. When he reached land, ENS Vesole still disregarded his wounds in order to help pull survivors out of the oil-covered and flaming waters and to get them safely into a nearby bomb shelter. Finally, an ammunition explosion inflicted still further wounds on the officer —wounds that soon proved fatal. For ". . . his exceptional fortitude and self-sacrificing concern for others . . .," Ensign Vesole was awarded the Navy Cross, posthumously. Photo from the U.S. Merchant Marine Association. | Robert M. Cieri/Bill Gonyo |
| 90k | Undated, location unknown. | Frank Doherty |
| 98k | Brooklyn Navy Yard, April 29 1947. | Pieter Bakels |
| 75k | Brooklyn Navy Yard, April 29 1947. | Pieter Bakels |
| 137k | A series of six photos of the Vesole taken by George Panos QM2 of the USS Baltimore (CA-68) during the 1952 Med Cruise. | George Panos |
| 151k | As above. | George Panos |
| 168k | As above. | George Panos |
| 137k | As above, in Venice. | George Panos |
| 135k | As above, in Venice. | George Panos |
| 115k | As above, in Venice. | George Panos |
| 84k | Circa 1952, location unknown. | Robert Hurst |
| 76k | Valetta, Malta December 12 1953. | Marc Piché |
| 45k | Circa 1954, Valetta, Malta. | Robert Hurst |
| 63k | 1956, The picture is unoffically titled "Washdown '56". The purpose was to decontaminate the ship after a nuclear attack | Art Pratt |
| 103k | USS Vesole (left, foregound) alongside the Soviet vessel Volgoles, outbound from Cuba, with missiles on deck, 11 November 1962. | Robert Hurst |
| 74k | Entering New York, August 12 1965 | © Richard Leonhardt |
| 23k | Montreal July 1967. | Marc Piché |
| 60k | Boston, MA April 12 1968. | Marc Piché |
| 115k | Nearing the end of her final deployment, and only five months before being decommissioned, USS Vesole (DD 878) sits pierside at Barcelona, Spain, on June 29, 1976. | Fabio Peña |
| 74k | At Barcelona, Spain, on July 4, 1976. She is full-dressed for Bicentennial Day. | Fabio Peña |
| 61k | Ship's patch. | Mike Smolinski |
| 48k | Ship's patch. | Mike Smolinski |
