Albert Dupeck Jr.
Albert Dupeck Jr. was born on 17-Feb 1926, in Steele, Pemiscot County, Missouri. His father, Albert Jack Dupeck Sr. (1884–1968) was 41 and his mother, Bessie Lee Still (1894–1994) was 31. It is believed that Albert had no siblings. According to the 1930 Federal Census, the family was living in Cooter MO (in Southeast Missouri). Albert was then 4 years old. In 1940, the family was still living in Cooter and Albert was now 14. Albert attended and graduated from Steele High School where he was described by a local paper as “a very active member of the class of ‘44.”
Albert joined the Marines in June 1944 when he was 18 years old. He did his recruit training at Camp Pendleton CA. His service number was 980504. In January 1945, he is shown mustered at MD, Naval Disciplinary Barracks, USN Training and Distribution Center, Shoemaker CA. It is unknown what his role was while mustered at this station. It is likely he was acting as an administrator or guard. By July 1945, Albert was ordered to Mare Island and mustered aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). He was a Private First Class. In WWII, Marine detachments on Navy ships primarily focused on internal security, operating secondary gun batteries, and forming landing parties. They were a standard part of larger warships like battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. Marines also provided security for the ship’s captain and other officers.
The USS Indianapolis departed from Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 10-Jul 1945. The ship had been at Mare Island for repairs after suffering battle damage. Following the repairs, she left for Tinian, with a brief stop at Hunters Point in San Francisco to pick up atomic bomb components. She then proceeded to Tinian Island to deliver the parts for the atomic bomb. After a successful high-speed run, with no escort ships for protection to deliver the atomic bomb components to Tinian, the decorated Portland-class cruiser continued to Guam.
The USS Indianapolis was en-route from Guam to Leyte when she was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58.
The sinking was not discovered for five days. Roughly half of the men who abandoned ship would die awaiting rescue.
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