Often Overlooked: 11 Died on Deepwater Horizon

The AP compiles snapshots
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 18, 2015 1:04 PM CDT
Often Overlooked: 11 Died on Deepwater Horizon
Top row from left, Jason Anderson, Dale Burkeen, Stephen Ray Curtis, Gordon Jones; bottom row from left, Roy Wyatt Kemp, Karl Kleppinger Jr., Shane Roshto, Adam Weise. They were among the 11 victims.   (Courtesy of Shelley Anderson, Burkeen Family, Curtis Family, Jones Family, Kemp Family, Hartley Family, Natalie Deason, Cindy Shelton via AP)

Monday marks the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and the AP provides snapshots of the 11 men who died aboard the rig but often get overlooked in coverage. A sample:

  • Jason Anderson, 35, Midfield, Texas. He was transferring to another rig and wasn't even supposed to be there that day.
  • Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, Philadelphia, Mississippi. The crane operator left behind a wife and two kids.
  • Donald "Duck" Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana. Sheila Clark says her late husband liked his job as an assistant driller, but the avid fisherman and family man "never really enjoyed leaving home."

  • Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, Georgetown, Louisiana. An assistant driller, Curtis followed in the footsteps of his father, who was a diver-welder.
  • Gordon Jones, 28, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Two months after Jones' death, his widow gave birth to their second son.
  • Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, Louisiana. In the weeks leading up to the disaster, Kemp hinted to his wife, Courtney, that there were problems on the rig. He started planning his funeral.
  • Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, Natchez, Mississippi. The Baton Rouge native served in the Army during Operation Desert Storm and had worked for Transocean for 10 years. He was a floor hand at the time of the disaster.
  • Keith Blair Manuel, 56, Gonzalez, Louisiana. Known on the rigs as Papa Bear, Manuel's hunting buddies called him "Gros Bebe," or "Big Baby." He was a senior drilling fluids specialist.
  • Dewey Revette, 48, of State Line, Mississippi. The chief driller was reportedly arguing with one of the BP supervisors now facing manslaughter charges in the disaster.
  • Shane Roshto, 22, Liberty, Mississippi. Embedded in his wedding band was a strand of steel cable, the same kind used on the rigs.
  • Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas. Weise was so proud of the little house he'd bought in Yorktown that he didn't mind the 10-hour drive every three weeks to get back to work on the rig.
Click for more details on the men. (More Deepwater Horizon stories.)

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