Michael Carl Fox, Jr.

PFC Michael C. Fox, Jr., served with the Marine detachment aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-3).
He was reported missing after a kamikaze strike offshore of Iwo Jima, 21 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 532134
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
August 17, 1926
in Birmingham, AL
Parents
Michael Carl Fox, Sr.
Beulah Drennin (Hinds) Fox
Education
Woodlawn High School
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
August 30, 1943
in Birmingham, AL
Home Of Record
201 Wall Street
Alabama City, AL
Next Of Kin
Parents, Michael Sr. & Beulah Fox
Military Specialty
Tailor
(MOS 234)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
“M. Carl” Fox attended boot camp and Sea School at San Diego, and was posted to the carrier USS Saratoga in early 1944. At battle stations, he likely manned one of the ship’s anti-aircraft guns; when standing down, he did double duty as the detachment’s tailor.
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.
PFC Fox was likely killed at one of the anti-aircraft positions, but no definitive eyewitness accounts are known to exist.
Burial Information or Disposition
PFC Fox’s remains were either lost overboard or buried at sea as an unknown.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Michael and Beulah Fox
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the Saratoga during the kamikaze attack