A Suffield man is among the sailors missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker Monday in the Pacific Ocean.
The parents of Electronics Technician 3rd Class Petty Officer Dustin Doyon are still awaiting confirmation from the Navy, but they do believe their son to be among the 10 sailors missing after the collision.
On Tuesday, Suffield First Selectman Melissa Mack released a statement from the Doyon Family.
“On behalf of the entire Doyon family, we want to thank all those who have expressed concern and offered prayers and support as we await word from the U.S. Navy on our son and brother Dustin who is assigned to the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56),” the statement said. “We appreciate the courageous work of the crew in the aftermath of the collision and the continuing rescue efforts. As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family and we respectfully request that you honor our privacy.”
Dustin Doyon is a 2009 graduate of Cathedral High School, now Pope Francis High School in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
In a statement, Dr. Paul Harrington, Head of School for Pope Francis, confirmed that Doyon was a student at the school:
“The Pope Francis High School community – including our legacy schools – pray for Dustin and his family during this time of uncertainty,” Harrington said in the statement. “Dustin is a valued member of the Cathedral Class of 2009; we know his classmates and Cathedral faculty and staff would join us in praying for him and the crew of the USS McCain.”
Navy divers on Tuesday searched a flooded compartment on the destroyer and found the remains of some of the 10 soldiers. Since then, additional divers have been sent to the site of Monday's collision, about five miles off the coast of Malaysia to search for more remains.
The Navy is investigating why this collision happened, the latest in a string of collisions in the Pacific involving Navy ships.
In June, Watertown resident Ngoc Truong Huynh was among seven sailors killed when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a cargo ship in the waters south of Japan.
