This medium and this writer join our Friends Jackie and Jerry Ingram, Darren and Megan and the entire family as well as our friends at the Poughkeepsie Journal, our elected officials and our entire country as we wait with bated breath for the return of our beloved Corey.
We hope and pray for the parents of all the service members who have died and those who are still missing.
My family and I continue to pray for the safe return of Corey and the others to their families.
Five sailors were injured in the crash. Swift said four were immediately flown by Singapore navy helicopters to a Singapore hospital, and the fifth was hospitalized when the ship reached Singapore. The McCain remains docked in Singapore for repairs.
Admiral Scott Swift, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the investigation into the cause of the collision was continuing.
The U.S. Navy suspended its search efforts after more than 80 hours covering a 2,100-square mile area. According to a release from U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs, search efforts will continue inside the ship’s flooded compartments.
The Ingram family is not giving up.
On Thursday, family members recalled Corey Ingram’s past returns home, and the light mood he would create with his quick wit.
“There was nothing but jokes and laughs from him,” Gardner said. “His smile would light up a room.”
But for all his humor, Corey Ingram, who joined the Navy in 2008, takes his work seriously, his mother said.
“I spoke with him about two months ago on FaceTime, and he was telling me all sorts of stories about his time in Australia,” she said. “But when I asked him where he was going next, he said, ‘You know I can’t tell you where we’re going.’ ”
As the situation develops, the family is relying on official reports as they wait for an update.
“We’re trying to stay away from the news and the media right now,” said Megan Ingram, Corey Ingram’s sister.
Ingram attended Poughkeepsie High School. Bob Murphy, interim athletic director at the school, served as its principal from 2001 to 2006. Murphy said he knew Ingram from school and his daughter, a 2007 graduate, was friends with him.
“He was like most our students — good people, come to school, take care of business, move through our system and set themselves up to be productive members of society, which obviously he had accomplished,” Murphy said. “It’s just unfortunate that we are at this point.”
The crash was the fourth accident involving a U.S. warship this year and the second fatal collision. The U.S. Navy dismissed Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as commander of the 7th Fleet on Wednesday.
City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison expressed “great sadness” that Ingram is missing in a statement Thursday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Corey’s family, friends and fellow shipmates,” the statement said. “As the search continues, the Queen City sits with a heavy heart as we await the return of our hero, Corey George Ingram.”
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D‑Cold Spring, called the loss of Ingram “heartbreaking” in a statement.
“Petty Officer Ingram is an American hero and this tragedy is a reminder of the risks that our service members take every day to keep our country safe. I hope everyone in the Poughkeepsie area will join me in saying a prayer for him and the Ingram family,” Maloney said.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro also released a statement saying, “Our thoughts are prayers are with his parents, Hubert and Jacqueline, one of our own Dutchess County employees, and his friends and loved ones during this time. We appreciate the brave men and women who are searching for Corey and his fellow sailors, and we pray they soon bring these American heroes home.”