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Printed Navy Cross certificate for Alfonso Chavarrias dated October 12, 2001
Alfonso Chavarrias
Printed Navy Cross certificate for Alfonso Chavarrias dated October 12, 2001
Printed Navy Cross certificate for Alfonso Chavarrias dated October 12, 2001

Alfonso Chavarrias

BiographyAlfonso Chavarrias served on board the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV-11) as a gunner's mate third class (GM3). Before joining Intrepid's crew, he served on board the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2). In 1943, he was assigned to Intrepid as a member of the ship's commissioning crew, a plank owner.

On board Intrepid, Chavarrias, who was Latino, oversaw a group of Black sailors, most of whom were steward's mates that also served as anti-aircraft gunners when the ship was under attack. The men were assigned to gun tub 10 on the port side of the ship. On October 29, 1944, a Japanese kamikaze airplane crashed into Gun Tub 10, killing 10 men including Chavarrias. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross in 2001.
Person TypeIndividual