Navy IDs Arkansas sailor as 1st active-duty COVID-19 death

thacker

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The crew member of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt who died of the coronavirus was an Arkansas man, the Navy disclosed on Thursday.

In a statement, the Navy said Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, died on April 13 at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. He died 11 days after his captain was fired for pressing the Navy for greater action to safeguard his crew from the virus.

Thacker was the first active-duty military member to die of COVID-19.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Thacker had tested positive for the coronavirus on March 30 and was taken off the ship and placed in “isolation housing” along with four other sailors at the Guam Navy hospital. On April 9, he was found unresponsive during a medical check and was moved to the Navy Hospital’s intensive care unit.