5/27/22 - Wyoming Sailor Identified as 'Buried At Sea'

Friday, May 27, 2022 at 6:14 AM

The USS Indianapolis was hit by two torpedoes on the last day of WWII. 800 sailors including a Grand Rapids man, were killed. Image courtesy of the US Navy Department of Community Outreach. 5/26/22.

Seaman 2nd Class George David Payne was just 17-years old when he enlisted in the Navy during WWII. After years of investigation, the Navy has now reclassified his death, giving family some closure.

A Grand Rapids area man has been identified as one of the sailors aboard the USS Indianapolis that went down after the vessel was struck during WWII. Seaman 2nd Class George David Payne was among the more than 800 sailors who died when the ship went down in waters between Guam and the Philippines after Japanese torpedoes targeted the heavy cruiser. Payne was classified as “unaccounted for” but after 77 years, the Navy has now classified him as “buried at sea.”

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