Suffield Sailor, 9 Others Posthumously Advanced in Rank

SUFFIELD, CT — A sailor from Suffield and nine colleagues who perished in a collision aboard the USS John S. McCain have been posthumously advanced to their next rank, according to an announcement Thursday by the U.S. Navy.

Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Suffield, was posthumously advanced to Electronics Technician 2nd Class.

Suffield First Selectman Melissa Mack's office is helping Doyon's family's wishes for privacy by accepting cards and letters of condolence on their behalf. Correspondence can be sent to the Doyon Family, c/o The First Selectman's Office, 83 Mountain Road, Suffield, CT 06078.

The 10 sailors were killed in a collision between the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer John
S. McCain and the Liberian-flagged merchant vessel Alnic MC on Aug. 21. The incident is under
investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the collision, according to the Navy.

The other nine crew members who were posthumously advanced in rank are:

• Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Kansas City, Missouri, to Chief Electronics Technician.
• Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from El Paso, Texas, to Chief Interior Communications Electrician.
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, to Electronics Technician 1st Class.
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from Poughkeepsie, New York, to Information Systems 1st Class.
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Cable, Ohio, to Electronics Technician 2nd Class. Drake had been selected for promotion and authorized to wear the rank of a second class petty officer, but had not yet been advanced.
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels, Jr., 23, from Manchester, Maryland, to Information Systems Technician 2nd Class. Eckels had been selected for promotion and authorized to wear the rank of a second class petty officer, but had not yet been advanced.
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Killeen, Texas, to Electronics Technician 2nd Class.
• Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Decatur, Illinois, to Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class.
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to Electronics Technician 2nd Class.

(From L to R, top) Corey Ingram, Abraham Lopez, Logan Palmer, John Hoagland III and Dustin Doyon. (L to R, bottom) Jacob Drake, Timothy Eckels Jr., Charles Findley, Kenneth Smith and Kevin Bushell. Photos courtesy of U.S. Navy via AP.