Stanley F. Kline

Stanley F. Kline (1901–1942) was a United States Navy sailor killed in action during World War II who received the Silver Star posthumously for his actions.

Biography

Stanley Fly Kline was born in Graterford, Pennsylvania, on 15 November 1901. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 2 February 1927 and began World War II active duty on 13 July 1942.

During Operation Torch, the Allied amphibious landings in North Africa, on 8 November 1942, Kline was assigned to the British Royal Navy warship HMS Hartland as a member of a naval antisabotage party. As Hartland entered the harbor at Oran, Algeria, she came under heavy fire from Vichy French ships and shore batteries. When a shell exploded in a compartment occupied by the boarding party, the survivors found themselves trapped by fire and fumes. Kline, crawling through a small overhead hatch and worming his way along the deck under a hail of shells and machine-gun fire, opened a large hatch and assisted 42 men to safety. He then turned to loading ammunition clips for an automatic rifle and continued his heroic conduct with complete disregard of his own safety until killed by a shell explosion.

Awards

Kline was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his conspicuous gallantry at Oran.

Namesake

The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Kline (DE-687) was named for Kline. She was converted during construction into the high-speed transport USS Kline (APD-120), and was in commission as such from 1944 to 1947.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.