Donald L. Shelton (1918 - 1942)

SHELTON, MOONEY, TABLER

Posted By: Barry Mateer (email)
Date: 3/21/2024 at 15:02:43

February 5. 1942
The Osceola Sentinel

Another Clarke county boy has been placed on the roll of those who have given their lives in the defense of their country. He is Don Shelton, 22, son of Mrs. Frank Tabler. Word of his death was received by Mrs. Letha Tabler Tuesday, stating her son had been killed in action on January 23.

Donald Leroy Shelton was born July 18, 1918 in Trenton, Missouri to Letha Mooney Shelton and Dave R. Shelton.

Don, who enlisted in the U.S. Navy from Clarke County on December 26, 1939, was on the U.S.S. Neches*, a tanker used to refuel ships of the navy. The loss of the ship was announced by the Navy department this week and Don was last known to have been on board the vessel. The ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine somewhere in the Pacific.

The young man lived in Osceola for some time before joining the navy and while here was employed at the Tabler Oil Station. He made many friends during his residence here and is said to have had an excellent record in the service.

The last word his mother had from him was a postal he had mailed from his ship on December 24.

February 9th, 1942,
Trenton Republican Times
Trenton, Missouri

Word has been received here of the death of Donald Shelton, former Trenton school boy, presumably in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Mrs. Frank Tabler of Osceola, Ia., the boy’s mother, Letha Mooney Shelton, has notified Trenton relatives that Shelton was killed in action. He was serving in the navy.

Donald was born near Dunlap and was about 23 years old.

Besides his mother, he is survived by four uncles, Victor Shelton of Trenton Route 2, George Shelton of Trenton, Clyde Shelton of Galt, and Frank Shelton of Princeton; three aunts, Mrs. Lucy Gibson of Galt, Mrs. Allie Evans of Independence and Mrs. Lydia Belt of Springfield and other relatives.

Dec. 7, 1941 was Pearl Harbor attack. Donald died January 23, 1942. 6 weeks after the beginning of World War II.

Information about U.S.S Neches

• The oiler was underway from San Diego to Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked that base. She arrived on 10 December 1941, rapidly off-loaded and hurriedly returned to Los Angeles in order to take on more cargo for Pearl Harbor.

Having returned to Hawaii, Neches steamed from Pearl Harbor late in the afternoon of 22 January 1942, headed for the western Pacific as the re-fueling ship for the task force containing the aircraft carrier USS Lexington. Shortly after midnight, the watch discerned a possible submarine at a range of about 1,000 yards and immediately took evasive action.
At 03:10 there was a heavy thud amidships, probably a dud torpedo.
At 03:19 a torpedo from Japanese submarine I-72 struck the oiler on the starboard side. The explosion caused extensive flooding in the engine room spaces, although water did not reach the fire room.
At 03:28 the submarine was sighted to port just before another torpedo struck the port side. Both 5-inch guns took the submarine under fire and continued firing until 03:35, when the list to starboard made it impossible to depress the guns sufficiently.

At 04:37, she sank with a loss of fifty-seven men, at approximately 220 km west of Pearl Harbor. Three injured men were picked up by a seaplane after sunrise. A destroyer arrived by noon to pick up the rest of the men in the life boats. A total of 126 survivors were rescued, a few men were on a lifeboat for some days before rescue. (Wikipedia)

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