Delos was serving on a "tin can" when it exploded.

Albert Delos Godfrey was born on March 27, 1922, in Soquel, California, to Mr. and Mrs. Albert D. Godfrey. The Godfrey family also included one other son, Herbert, and a daughter, Mrs. Martin Blakemore. "Delos," as he was popularly known, attended elementary school in Soquel until 1937 when he entered Santa Cruz High School. In school he completed a trade and industrial course of study. Following his graduation in 1940, Godfrey went to Los Angeles where the North American Company employed him in their sheet metal department.

In June 1942, Albert Godfrey joined the US Navy, and was sent to boot camp in San Diego. When he completed his introductory and advanced training in early 1943, he was assigned to the Destroyer Abner Read.

“After two weeks in dry dock at San Francisco, Abner Read got underway on 14 June for Adak, Alaska. Upon her arrival there, she joined Task Force (TF) 16 and, soon thereafter, began patrolling the waters around Kiska Island. On 22 July, as part of TG 16.22, she took part in a heavy bombardment of Kiska. Between 12 and 15 August, the destroyer again shelled Kiska in support of landing operations on that island. On 17 August, American forces discovered that Japan had removed its forces from the island. While she was patrolling off Kiska that night, Abner Read was shaken by an explosion aft at 0150.
The exact cause of the blast was unknown, and it was later thought that the destroyer had struck a mine. The concussion tore a huge hole in her stern and ruptured her smoke tanks. Men sleeping in aft compartments suffered from smoke inhalation. In the darkness, a few men fell through holes in the deck into fuel oil tanks below. Soon the stern broke away and sank. Once in the water, the men recovered from the effects of the smoke and could breathe. Abner Read was taken undertow by Ute (AT-76) at 0355 and was pulled to Adak for temporary repairs. The destroyer lost 70 men who were killed or missing, and another 47 were wounded.”

The explosion aboard the Abner Read on August 17, 1943, took the life of Seaman Second Class Albert Delos Godfrey. His remains were never recovered. He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. His awards include the Purple Heart.

(ABMC, SCHSC Pg. I0; DANFS, USS Abner Read DD-520; SCSn September 1, 1943 1:4)