One of the seven sailors who died when their destroyer collided with a container ship off Japan on Saturday was from Elyria.
Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, was one of the members who was unaccounted for after the collision flooded berths with seawater. Navy divers recovered the bodies after the severely damaged USS Fitzgerald returned to a Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan, aided by tugboats.
His family told News 5 Monday night he was getting ready to retire and come home.
The Japan-based 7th Fleet identified the other victims as Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia; Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California; Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut; Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas; Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlosvictor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, California and Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland.
Rehm graduated from Oberlin City Schools in 1998 but never physically attended classes at Oberlin High School because he went to Lorain County JVS.
Rehm's family tells News 5 his parents moved to Virginia to be near their son. Now they're heading to Japan to be with him on his final trip home.
