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Navy Tragedy at Kitty Hawk Claims Three Lives
SAN DIEGO officers report a fuel pump room leak during a repair caused three Navy men to succumb to fumes. Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3.C. Leroy Ervin, A. Fischer, Lt. Leo Pich, and Aviation Boatswain's Mate 1.C. G. A. Smith were named. Fischer died earlier, Pich and Smith perished, Ervin remained critically ill. A separate incident saw Lt. Cmdr. Robert J. Simonic drown after ejecting from a Corsair II near his carrier Enterprise during the same exercise.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
NAVY
Kitty Hawk
San Diego
UPR
Aviation
3.C. Leroy Ervin
Balboa Naval Hospital
Ervin
A. Fischer
Bayside
Leo Pich
Aviation Boatswain
C. G. A. Smith
Pacific Beach
Pich
Smith
Fischer
Cmdr
Robert J. Simonic
Lemoore Naval Air Station
Enterprise