Last updated: January 22, 2024
Person
Robert Dean Moore
Photo Courtesy of the family of Robert D. Moore.
Quick Facts
Significance:
US Navy Sailor, World War II, KIA
Place of Birth:
Enid, Oklahoma
Date of Birth:
April 4, 1926
Place of Death:
At Sea, Fifty Miles North of Okinawa
Date of Death:
April 12, 1945
Place of Burial:
San Bruno, California
Cemetery Name:
Golden Gate National Cemetery
On November 17, 1942, Robert Dean Moore and his mom, Vera Little, signed an "Age Certificate" swearing it was Robert’s 18th birthday, and he was old enough to enlist in the Navy. Robert was six feet tall, and had the bulk to support this claim, though he added 17 months to his age.
Apprentice Seaman Moore attended 16 weeks of Basic Torpedo School, in San Diego, California. His strongest grade was in English. He followed that up with an additional 12 weeks of Advanced Torpedo School in Keyport, Washington. This certified him for the Mark 8, 13, 14 and 15 torpedoes. USS Cassin Young (DD-793) carried ten Mark 15 torpedoes, so that training was useful. He worked his way up the ranks through seaman to torpedoman’s mate 3rd class (trainee) (TM3c(T)).
Moore reported to USS Cassin Young December 31, 1943, making him a plank owner. On the way to the South Pacific he crossed the equator April 23, 1944. That is a long way from Enid, Oklahoma, Robert’s hometown!1
As part of the Cassin Young crew, Robert endured typhoon like seas, experienced several campaigns including the massive Battle of Leyte Gulf, rescued sailors from the USS Princeton (CVL-23) and USS Birmingham (CL-62), as well as pilots who had been shot down.
In the spring of 1945, Cassin Young, alongside other destroyers, served on picket duty off the coast of Okinawa. They formed a line of defense surrounding larger slower ships and used their radar and sonar to provide early warning in the event of enemy attack. On April 12, 1945 the USS Cassin Young was hit by a kamikaze 50 miles north of Okinawa, destroying the conning tower mast. TM3c(T) Moore was killed by shrapnel, and 59 shipmates were wounded.
The USS Cassin Young War Diary logged the action:
A fourth Val was taken under fire at 1344 at 5000 yards, position angle 20 as he dove at the ship in a low angle dive on the starboard beam. The rudder was thrown hard right and the plane crashed into and carried away the port yardarm and upper section of the foremast with SG, SC, and numerous radio antennae and exploded mid air 50 feet from the ship. A broken salt water line short circuited the main board cutting out all power to the main battery director. A ruptured stream line and loss of ventilation in the forward fireroom and engine room necessitated their evacuation.2
Shipmate Ralph Sam Rhoads recorded the attack in his own words:
Lady Luck kinda walked out on us today. This afternoon we were attacked by [Japanese] planes and they were out to get us. One hit our mast and exploded, two more dived on us but missed by a few ft. […] There were about 17 cans hit but only one sunk. We got about 110 of the [Japanese] planes, our ships and fighters combined. The Cassin Young got six today before they temporarily put us out of commission. The number is 13 all-together. We were the 13th can to get hit on the day before Friday the 13th.3
April 12 was the same day that President Franklin Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. A mere teenager, Robert was known by good friends as "Donald Duck," for he was able to mimic the new Walt Disney animated star.
Vera Little was sent Robert’s Purple Heart. She asked the Navy if she could wear her son’s Purple Heart. The Navy denied her request.4 (In 1947 a new pin combing the purple heart and gold star was designed for family members to wear.)
TM3c(T) Robert Dean Moore was buried in the American Military Cemetery on Zamami Shima, Ryuko Rhetto, an island off Okinawa. In 1949 he was reinterred in Golden Gate National Cemetery in California. He is in Section O, Site 1212. His military headstone has two “errors.” It includes his pretend date of birth and marks “Alaska” as his state because his mother was working there in 1949.
Footnotes:
- Official Military Personnel File of Robert Dean Moore, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.
- USS Cassin Young (DD-793) War Diary. Notation from April 12, 1945.
- Rhoads, Ralph Samuel. USS Cassin Young (DD-793) A Sailor’s War Diary. Notation from April 12, 1945. “Tin cans” or “cans” are nick names for destroyers.
- Official Military Personnel File of Robert Dean Moore, National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, MO.