Navy Recovers Remains Of All 10 Missing Sailors After McCain Collision

The U.S. Navy has recovered the remains of all 10 sailors who were reported missing after the USS John S. McCain collision Aug. 21. 

Divers discovered two of the sailors Thursday: Petty Officers 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith and Dustin Louis Doyon. 

The remains of the other eight sailors were also found on board the McCain. 

According to the Navy, those eight sailors were Petty Officers 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley and Abraham Lopez; Petty Officers 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, Jacob Daniel Drake, Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr. and Corey George Ingram; and Petty Officers 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III and Logan Stephen Palmer.

The New York Times reported the recovery mission took several days because the McCain was so badly damaged. 

It collided with a 30,000-ton oil and chemical tanker east of Singapore. That crash tore a large hole in the McCain's hull. 

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So far this year, four U.S. warships have been involved in accidents, two of which were fatal.

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The Navy removed Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet as a result. 

Based in Japan, that fleet is the Navy's largest forward-deployed naval force. Aucoin oversaw all four of the ships that have been involved in accidents in the Pacific this year.

Aside from the McCain collision, the USS Antietam ran aground in Japan; the USS Lake Champlain hit a fishing boat; and the USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel, resulting in the deaths of seven U.S. sailors. 

The Navy says it's still investigating what caused the McCain incident.