Albert Sidney O'Neil, Jr.

Gunnery Sergeant Albert S. O’Neil, Jr., served as a 40mm battery officer aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-3).
He was reported missing after a kamikaze strike offshore of Iwo Jima, 21 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 223757
Current Status
Remains not recovered
Pursuit Category
Based on circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 21, 1911
in Riverside, CA
Parents
Albert Sidney O’Neil, Sr.
Edna (Borden) O’Neil
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
American Potash & Chemical Corp.
Service Life
Entered Service
September 19, 1929 (1st enl.)
December 23, 1941 (2nd enl.)
Home Of Record
3962 Alla Road
Venice, CA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Marion C. (Luebke) O’Neil
Military Specialty
Antiaircraft Officer
40mm Battery
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Albert O’Neil first joined the Marine Corps in 1929 and served on active duty through 1936. He spent the next five years on the inactive reserve list, reentering the Regular service shortly after Pearl Harbor. O’Neil was posted to the San Diego recruit depot until the end of 1943, at which time he joined the Marine detachment aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3). Marines on capital ships commonly manned anti-aircraft guns; O’Neil would eventually run the detachment’s 40mm gun crews.
While steaming off Iwo Jima on the afternoon of 21 February 1945, Saratoga’s radar picked up unidentified aircraft on an intercept course. The carrier went to General Quarters at 1652; at 1700, six Japanese aircraft dove out of the sky. In less than five minutes, Sara was hit by one bomb and five suicide strikes, wrecking her flight deck and causing chaos below. The last plane to hit careened into the starboard aircraft crane, released its bomb, and crashed over the port side. Its right wing tore off and fell on the antiaircraft gunners, causing an explosion and gasoline fire “completely wiping out the No. 1 gun gallery.”
As damage control raced to control the fires, a trio of “Betty” bombers appeared. Two were shot down clear of the ship, but the third dropped its bomb on the Sara before crashing over the port side. The explosion blew a hole in the flight deck, destroyed a 40mm ready room, and demolished both the No. 2 five-inch battery and the No. 6 40mm quad mount. Altogether, six 40mm quads and four five-inch guns were knocked out.
The final Marine casualty list included twelve killed in action, plus one officer (1Lt. David Steinberg) and three enlisted missing. Saratoga‘s medical report notes, “it appears that 25 men were blown into the sea as a result of explosions on board.” A total of 93 bodies were buried at sea; 32 of these were beyond recognition.
As a 40mm battery officer, Gunnery Sergeant O’Neil was probably among those killed in the second attack. However, there are no known confirming eyewitness accounts.
Burial Information or Disposition
Gunnery Sergeant O’Neil’s remains were either lost overboard or buried at sea as an unknown.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Marion O’Neil
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the Saratoga during the kamikaze attack