In the early morning hours of June 17, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a heavily laden Philippine cargo vessel about 56 miles off the coast of Japan. Most of the crew were asleep in the berths below.
Although he was safe where he was, he began going down to the sleeping berths and rescuing his shipmates, helping them to get to safety. There wasn’t a lot of time as the ship began taking on water, and the crew was finally faced with making the difficult decision to close the hatch. Rehm was sealed in with six other sailors. They all perished in that watery grave.
Rehm's family was told by the Navy that his efforts saved at least 20 sailors, according to WBNS-10TV in Columbus, Ohio. “He entered a flooded berthing compartment several times to free and evacuate sailors trapped in the wreckage until the flooding reached a stage so dangerous to the ship’s own survival that the order was given to close the water tight door.”
This is how another news account described it. “The Guided Missile Destroyer USS Fitzgerald DDG-62 was struck with a glancing blow on her starboard side by a cargo container ship. The Fitzgerald was badly damaged and compromised below the water line. The extensive damage to the vessel included three compartments, a machinery space and two of her berthing compartments for her crew of 116. Seven sailors, mostly NCOs, perished in the aftermath. One of those lost, Fire Controlman 1st Class Leo Gary Rehm Jr. is said to have served with great distinction in saving the lives of his shipmates.”
Rehm, 37, from Elyria, Ohio, joined the U.S. Navy in 1998 fresh out of high school. He was just three months from retiring with full benefits. He had served in the Navy for 19 years and had been deployed on the Fitzgerald for two years.
Rehm and his wife, Erin, had no children of their own and, being older than most of his fellow shipmates, he called them “his kids”. His uncle, Stanley Rehm said, “he could have walked away and been safe but he said, according to reports from the other sailors, “If my kids die, I’m going to die.”
These “kids” were so close to his heart that when the ship was docked stateside near his home in Virginia, he would invite those who were far from home to join him on holidays. “Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter,” the uncle remembered.
The USS Fitzgerald is named after another sailor, Navy Lt. William Fitzgerald, who also joined the Navy right out of high school. In August 1967, he was advising South Vietnamese forces at a compound near the Tra Khuc River delta when they came under heavy Vietcong fire.
Fitzgerald ordered the South Vietnamese forces and civilians to escape into the river on small boats, but he was killed while covering their escape with small-arms fire. He received a posthumous Navy Cross for sacrificing himself so his comrades could escape an overwhelming enemy force.
The USS Fitzgerald had just received $21 million in upgrades and repairs in February. The destroyer’s purpose on the coast of Japan is to “provide stability and security” for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
I had intended to write this week’s column about the commissioning of the USS Gerald R. Ford which I watched on C-Span last Saturday. I was overwhelmed with emotion at the beauty and power of this majestic ship and the pride displayed by our government and Navy officials and especially the crew members dressed in their immaculate white uniforms.
But when my research brought to my attention the story of the heroism of Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Rehm, I knew I had to pass it on to you because the bravery of this one sailor was greater than even this mighty ship because there is no greater love than one willing to give his life for others.
© Joan Rowden Hart 2016
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