Entered the service from North Carolina
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The SS Meriwether Lewis was a Liberty Ship built in 1942; her homeport was Portland, Oregon. On March 2, 1943, Seaman 1st Class OTTIS L. CLARKE, a U.S. Naval Armed Guard, was on board as the freighter, enroute from New York to the UK to Russia with a cargo of ammunition and tires, was straggling behind Convoy HX-227 in the North Atlantic. German submarine U-759 attacked the ship but had to quit due to engine problems. Before it quit, however, the sub led U-Boat 634 to the freighter. U-634 fired a spread of four torpedoes, and one hit in the forward part of the ship. After three hours and more hits, and the ammunition blowing up in the forward part of the ship, the Meriwether Lewis sank bow first. A Coast Guard cutter searching the area for survivors found a 30 mile trail of automobile tires. There were 44 Merchant Mariners and 32 Naval personnel on board; none survived.
Ottis Lee Cox's name is included in the Tablets of the Missing on the Memorial Wall, Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
NOTE: This Memorial lists Mar. 3, 1944 as the date of Seaman Cox's death. Since the ship was "lost," this was the date used to officially declare him dead.
(bio by Patricia O.)
see: Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery,
Morganton, Burke Co., N.C. USA
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The SS Meriwether Lewis was a Liberty Ship built in 1942; her homeport was Portland, Oregon. On March 2, 1943, Seaman 1st Class OTTIS L. CLARKE, a U.S. Naval Armed Guard, was on board as the freighter, enroute from New York to the UK to Russia with a cargo of ammunition and tires, was straggling behind Convoy HX-227 in the North Atlantic. German submarine U-759 attacked the ship but had to quit due to engine problems. Before it quit, however, the sub led U-Boat 634 to the freighter. U-634 fired a spread of four torpedoes, and one hit in the forward part of the ship. After three hours and more hits, and the ammunition blowing up in the forward part of the ship, the Meriwether Lewis sank bow first. A Coast Guard cutter searching the area for survivors found a 30 mile trail of automobile tires. There were 44 Merchant Mariners and 32 Naval personnel on board; none survived.
Ottis Lee Cox's name is included in the Tablets of the Missing on the Memorial Wall, Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
NOTE: This Memorial lists Mar. 3, 1944 as the date of Seaman Cox's death. Since the ship was "lost," this was the date used to officially declare him dead.
(bio by Patricia O.)
see: Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery,
Morganton, Burke Co., N.C. USA
Entered the service from North Carolina
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The SS Meriwether Lewis was a Liberty Ship built in 1942; her homeport was Portland, Oregon. On March 2, 1943, Seaman 1st Class OTTIS L. CLARKE, a U.S. Naval Armed Guard, was on board as the freighter, enroute from New York to the UK to Russia with a cargo of ammunition and tires, was straggling behind Convoy HX-227 in the North Atlantic. German submarine U-759 attacked the ship but had to quit due to engine problems. Before it quit, however, the sub led U-Boat 634 to the freighter. U-634 fired a spread of four torpedoes, and one hit in the forward part of the ship. After three hours and more hits, and the ammunition blowing up in the forward part of the ship, the Meriwether Lewis sank bow first. A Coast Guard cutter searching the area for survivors found a 30 mile trail of automobile tires. There were 44 Merchant Mariners and 32 Naval personnel on board; none survived.
Ottis Lee Cox's name is included in the Tablets of the Missing on the Memorial Wall, Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
NOTE: This Memorial lists Mar. 3, 1944 as the date of Seaman Cox's death. Since the ship was "lost," this was the date used to officially declare him dead.
(bio by Patricia O.)
see: Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery,
Morganton, Burke Co., N.C. USA
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The SS Meriwether Lewis was a Liberty Ship built in 1942; her homeport was Portland, Oregon. On March 2, 1943, Seaman 1st Class OTTIS L. CLARKE, a U.S. Naval Armed Guard, was on board as the freighter, enroute from New York to the UK to Russia with a cargo of ammunition and tires, was straggling behind Convoy HX-227 in the North Atlantic. German submarine U-759 attacked the ship but had to quit due to engine problems. Before it quit, however, the sub led U-Boat 634 to the freighter. U-634 fired a spread of four torpedoes, and one hit in the forward part of the ship. After three hours and more hits, and the ammunition blowing up in the forward part of the ship, the Meriwether Lewis sank bow first. A Coast Guard cutter searching the area for survivors found a 30 mile trail of automobile tires. There were 44 Merchant Mariners and 32 Naval personnel on board; none survived.
Ottis Lee Cox's name is included in the Tablets of the Missing on the Memorial Wall, Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
NOTE: This Memorial lists Mar. 3, 1944 as the date of Seaman Cox's death. Since the ship was "lost," this was the date used to officially declare him dead.
(bio by Patricia O.)
see: Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery,
Morganton, Burke Co., N.C. USA
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