Courtesy Photo | Seaman Apprentice Brian M. Clinefelter, from Barstow, Calif., was only 19 years old...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - On May 12, the city of Barstow is renaming a street in memory of a U.S. Navy sailor killed 25 years ago in an Iraqi missile attack.
Seaman Apprentice Brian Michael Clinefelter was 19 years old when he died May 17, 1987, along with 36 other sailors, in a missile attack on his ship the USS Stark, a guided missile frigate.
Clinefelter’s sister Jennifer Martinez said he came from a long line of Navy veterans including both grandfathers, his two uncles, his older brother Dennis Clinefelter, and his father Gary.
As a Navy dependent, Clinefelter lived all over the world including San Diego, Guam, Troy, Ind., and Pomona, Calif., before the Clinefelter family settled in Barstow in the summer of 1979, Martinez said.
Clinefelter graduated from Barstow High School in June 1986 and joined the Navy in December of the same year.
He completed Navy boot camp at the San Diego Naval Training Center in January 1987.
On April 23, 1987, Clinefelter arrived onboard the USS Stark as it patrolled the coast of the small island nation of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates.
On May 17, 1987, Martinez said her brother had just gotten off watch and was preparing to go to bed when an Iraqi pilot launched two Exocet missiles at the Stark.
The first missile failed to explode, but did result in a large fire from leaking fuel. The second exploded, leaving a ten by fifteen foot hole in the side of the ship.
Clinefelter was buried at Riverside National Cemetery with full military honors and his family was presented with his Purple Heart, Martinez said.
The street renaming for Clinefelter carries on a tradition of naming city landmarks and roads to honor military veterans and local dignitaries.
Most recently, Pettit Street was officially named to honor Marine Master Sgt. William R. Pettit, a long time resident of Barstow who was taken as a prisoner of war first by the Japanese during World War II and then by the Chinese during the Korean War.
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2012 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 88165 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,438 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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