Charles Kleinsmith was a petty officer

Petty Officer

A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 who was killed in action during the Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Biography

Charles Kleinsmith was born on September 28, 1904 in Zionsville

Zionsville, Pennsylvania

Zionsville is a village mostly in Upper Milford Township, Lehigh County, and also in Lower Milford Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its zip code is 18092. The West Branch Hosensack Creek forms its natural SE boundary and drains it via the Hosensack Creek to the Perkiomen Creek...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. He enlisted in the United States Navy on October 26, 1922 as an apprentice seaman. Until honorably discharged on October 5, 1926 as fireman second class, he served on board several ships, including the battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

s Wyoming

USS Wyoming (BB-32)

USS Wyoming , the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named Wyoming, although it was only the second named in honor of the 44th state....

 (BB-32) and Maryland

USS Maryland (BB-46)

USS Maryland , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the seventh state.Her keel was laid down 24 April 1917 by Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 20 March 1920, and sponsored by Mrs. E. Brook Lee, wife of the...

 (BB-46).

Kleinsmith reenlisted in the Navy on December 20, 1928, and during the next 11 years he had duty on board the light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s USS Milwaukee (CL-5)

USS Milwaukee (CL-5)

thumb|300px|right|Launching of MilwaukeeUSS Milwaukee was an Omaha-class light cruiser in the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship named for the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin...

 and USS Cincinnati (CL-6)

USS Cincinnati (CL-6)

USS Cincinnati , a light cruiser of the United States Navy, was the third ship of the four-stack Omaha-class. She was the third Navy ship named for the city of Cincinnati, Ohio....

, the heavy cruiser

Heavy cruiser

The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...

 USS Portland (CA-33)

USS Portland (CA-33)

USS Portland , the lead ship of her class of heavy cruiser, was the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Portland, Maine....

, and the light cruiser USS Honolulu (CL-48)

USS Honolulu (CL-48)

USS Honolulu of the United States Navy was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser active in the Pacific War...

. He reported aboard the aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 USS Saratoga (CV-3)

USS Saratoga (CV-3)

USS Saratoga was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, , which is the third actually commissioned after and Saratoga...

 on December 27, 1939, and transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5)

USS Yorktown (CV-5)

was an aircraft carrier commissioned in the United States Navy from 1937 until she was sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. She was named after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and the lead ship of the Yorktown class which was designed after lessons learned from operations with the large...

 on October 31, 1940. He achieved the rank of chief

Chief Petty Officer

A chief petty officer is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.-Canada:"Chief Petty Officer" refers to two ranks in the Canadian Navy...

 watertender

Watertender

A watertender is a crewman aboard a steam-powered ship who is responsible for tending to the fires and boilers in the ship's engine room.In the United States Navy, "watertender" was a petty officer rating which existed from 1884 to 1948. Watertenders held a paygrade equivalent to today's petty...

.

During the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, Chief Watertender Kleinsmith maintained auxiliary power on Yorktown after an intense Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese bombing attack extinguished the fires in all of her boiler

Boiler

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...

s but one. Despite the stifling fumes, intense heat, and imminence of explosion, he performed courageously, enabling the aircraft carrier to attain the speed necessary for launching planes to oppose a Japanese aerial torpedo

Aerial torpedo

The aerial torpedo, airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo is a naval weapon, the torpedo, designed to be dropped into water from an aircraft after which it propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in World War II, and remain in limited...

 attack. At the end of the attack, Kleinsmith was missing and presumed dead.

Namesakes

The destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 USS Kleinsmith (DE-376)

USS Kleinsmith (DE-376)

The first USS Kleinsmith would have been a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named for Chief Watertender Charles Kleinsmith , who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Midway.The name Kleinsmith was assigned...

 was named for Chief Kleinsmith in 1944, but construction of the ship was cancelled a week later.

The name was reassigned to another destroyer escort, USS Kleinsmith (DE-718). Before launching

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

, Kleinsmith was redesignated as a Crosley class fast transport and converted accordingly. She was in commission

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 as the fast transport USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)

USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)

USS Kleinsmith , ex-DE-718, was a for the United States Navy. She was named for Chief Watertender Charles Kleinsmith , who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Midway....

from 1945 to 1960.