European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday april 22, 1988 the stars and stripes Pago 3 iranian ship s Captain called fanatic frigate crippled by . Missiles offer of Facks aboard the Jack Williams in the Gulf a the iranian frigate Sab Alan crippled in this week s skirmish with , warships was the most Noto Nous attacker of Neutral ships in i he persian Gulf. . Officer said. The Captain of the saharan is a real  said one officer who spake on Condi i Ion of anonymity. He s the one who shoots holes in the tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and then says have a Nice Day " he said tuesday. . Officers appeared pc rally satisfied with the naval action against iranian warships monday though some said the results could have been belter. Some officers appeared concerned that the Sab Alan. One of the iranian Trigales hit by . Missiles was not sunk. Defense Secretary Frank c Oriucci told reporters in Washington the Sab Alan alack was no followed up because the ship appeared crippled. Senior . Officers said the missile Exchange Mon Day was Over As far As the uni cd Stales was concerned bul there was no Assurance Iran Felt the some Way. Cape. Donald Dyer commander of the Desron 22, made up of some of the us. Warships in the Gulf said the situation remained pretty tense. But i think it s beginning to Back off a Little bit. The iranians look some part Fly heavy losses. I would Hope today they would disengage he said tuesday. Cmdr. Edward Mann 42, skipper of this 3,700-ton frigate flying the Flag of Dyer s command said he was surprised by Iran s reaction and did not believe the Issue of Iran s predatory attacks on Neutral commercial shipping has been settled. There Ain t a Winner until the game is Over he said. The clashes began with the . Nava attack on iranian Oil platforms Early monday and continued through the Jay. In inc action Iran fired chinese made silkworm anti ship missiles deployed along the Strait of Hormuz Gateway to the Gulf for the firs Lime. Five of the huge subsonic projectiles were lobbed at inc Jack Williams and two destroyers sailing with it. All the missiles went awry their radar guidance sys tems confused by showers of aluminium chaff fired into the air by the american ships. Four a Cal into the sea und one skimmed beyond the 3 Roberts sailors Hurt in Gulf attack arrive at . Clinic san Antonio Texas up three of the More seriously injured sailors from the guided mis Sile frigate Samuel b. Roberts which hit an iranian mine april 14 in the persian Gulf arrived in Texas for medical treatment wednesday. A spokeswoman at Brooke army medical Cen Ter said the sailors arrived wednesday night a Kelly and san Antonio and were transferred to the army Hospital which specializes in bum injun  of the injured. Petty officer 2.c. Larry Welch and Petty officer 3.c. David Burbine were in serious condition thursday said army Cape. Jill Hanlon. Hanlon said inc Condit Ion of Scaman apprentice Wayne Smith was unknown. Smith had been re ported in stable condition at land stud army regional medical Cenich in West Germany before Transfer to Texas a Pentagon spokesman said. A Iota of 10 sailors were injured on the Roberts. Five with minor injuries were resumed to duty on the frigate shortly Alicr the incident. One of  on Shore duly in Bahrain and another is slut in the . The spokesman said. The april 14 mine incident led to an Ameri can attack monday on iranian targets. Us. Navy Tor Proman rms Mal Tiews prep we in toss � sonic buoy during search for missing is. Helicopter. Williams Stern and struck an Oil Rig. A Smith was fired from iranian position in the Northern end of the Gulf but officers on the Williams did not know Whai happened to it. It. Cmdr. Carl Van Dyke a Navy spokesman said there were no american casualties in monday s actions and iranian casualties were not known. The United states claimed o in iranian patrol boat sunk three armed swedish built speedboats sunk or damaged and two frigates disabled. In addition Van Dyke sail the i to Oil platforms a Sirri and Sassan in the South Central Gulf were neutralized by naval gunfire and by a Marine attack . Officials snid both were sird for military Pur ports including support for speedboats attacking Neutral ships in retaliation for iraqi air strikes on Ifan s Oil tankers during the to year Ola War. When an iranian tugboat at Sirri radioed the Cruiser Wainwright for permission to pick up survivor in the water Cape James Chandler who commands the 8,200-ton warship agreed Anil dropped lifeboats. , Olti cers Saij inc two frigates. Sahand and Saba Lan also fired on . Aircraft after they ignored want Ings against taking any hostile action. This happened when the Williams surface action group which also included the missile destroyer Joseph Strauss and the destroyer o Brien received word an iranian flotilla the Sahand and at least  speedboats was approaching from Iran s naval base at Bandar Abbas. 30 Miles to the North. The Sahand is in your Vicinity. Talc  was inc terse message from rear. Adm. Anthony less com Mander of the join task Force Middle Hast. . Officers said two a-6 intruder jets from the aircraft Carrier Enterprise flying air cover Drew mis Sile fire from the Sahand As they made a reconnaissance flight Over the iranian ships. They retaliated Vilh Harpoon missiles that damaged the i i year of British built frigate. Then the Strauss sailing just ahead of the Williams. Tired another Harpoon blasting inc ship from 20 Miles away when last seen by an american Pilot it was listing badly with a Hole in ill Hull and its superstructure ablaze whether it Sank was not known Van Dyke  Baba land the Sahand s sister ship was hit by f 14 tomcats also flying Oil the Enterprise in the Ara Bian sea. It was i by a laser guided Cluster i pc skipper bomb and left dead in the water. It was not known whal happened to the ship since the attack. Even though fhe search is Over marines families hold on to Hope thomasv1lle, . Api the Navy has ended its search for iwo marines missing in the per Sian Gulf bul relatives if the fliers say it is difficult for them to give up Hope. It s awful to say we be Given up said Bob Hill father of capt. Kenneth Hill. At the same time Ourson has a 4-Ycar-old who has to be Laid something and we assume it will be Tiit lie s not going to Sec ins daddy again. "1 can t imagine it being a  from now and life could still be like this just How do you live with a Story that hat no conclusion a White House spokesman announced wednesday that the Navy had ended its search for Hill 33, of Thomasville and Cape. Stephen Leslie 30, of new Bern. The two  were declared missing. The news came Little More than a Day after the families of both men Learned they had failed to return from a night patrol Mission in the Gulf. The two marines stationed a new River As were aboard an ah-1 cobra Hel Topler monday and were to have resumed to the guided missile Cruiser Wainwright following the flight. Iran claims it shot Down the Heli copter but the Pentagon denies that. We Don t blame anyone Fot calling off the search Bob Mill said wednesday afternoon As tears welled in his eyes. We knew they could t keep nine ships out there endlessly. Bul we Don t know How people Are supposed to gel through times like Lac at times we re of. At other1 times we feel like the end of the world has  we re just holding on to Faith that Stephen and Ken will be Home soon Kenneth Hill s wife Lori Laid. We love him and we want him to come Home. Bul sometimes we Don t always gel what we  a member of the Leslie i family meanwhile Obj feeling a mixture of Sor Row and Pride he told the family if he Ever got lost or did t come Back to remember that he was doing what he wanted to do and to hold on i that thought said Leslie s younger sister 24-year-old Kris. The wailing has been the worst part. We Are a close knit family and we Are banding together she said. Be lie and his wife Lisa live in Jacksonville and the Taupie is a pecking ill first child Kris Leslie said. We re very numb right now she said. Hill