TheStark’s crew was unaware of the firing of
the first missile, which failed to detonate when it hit
the port side of the hull. The fuel from the rocket
caught fire, however, increasing the damage caused
by its impact. Now aware that they were under attack,
the crew was nevertheless helpless to stop the second
missile from being fired: It impacted at roughly the
same part of the ship as the first, penetrated to the
crew’s quarters, and exploded. The casualty list in-
cluded thirty-seven sailors killed and twenty-one in-
jured.
After the attack, theStarkwas listing and on fire.
The crew struggled to gain control of the ship, fi-
nally succeeding during the night. TheStarkmade
its way to the tiny kingdom of Bahrain, near Qatar,
where it was met by the USSAcadia. TheStarkwas
returned to seaworthiness with temporary repairs
made by the crew of theAcadia. Under its own power,
theStarkmade it back home to the United States.
The ship returned to Mayport, Florida, its home
port. In 1988, the ship traveled to Mississippi for per-
manent repairs conducted by Ingalls Shipbuilding
at a cost of $142 million. After the repairs were made,
theStarkreturned to active service.
Impact The attack on the USSStarkwas not pro-
voked; Iraq and the United States were at peace at the
time. It is unknown if the Iraqi pilot who launched
the missiles was ever punished for the accident, be-
cause the Saddam Hussein regime was in control of
Iraq at the time. American officials have speculated
that the pilot was executed.
Further Reading
Levinson, Jeffrey L., and Randy L. Edwards.Missile
Inbound: The Attack on the Stark in the Persian Gulf.
Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1997.
Wise, Harold Lee.Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Mil-
itar y in the Persian Gulf, 1987-88.Annapolis: Naval
Institute Press, 2007.
Timothy C. Hemmis1012 USSStarkincident The Eighties in America
The USSStarklists to port after being struck by two Iraqi missiles on May 18, 1987.(U.S. Department of Defense)