USS Vammen (DE-644) was a of the United States Navy. Namesake Clarence Earl Vammen Jr. was born on 17 October 1919 in Aberdeen, Washington. He attended Pomona Junior College in California before enlisting in the Naval Reserve on 17 February 1941 at Long Beach, Calif. After his initial duty at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base Long Beach, Seaman 2d Class Vammen was transferred to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida on 4 April for flight training. Detached on 19 August and transferred to Naval Air Station Miami, for further training, Vammen was appointed a naval aviator (heavier-than-air) on 23 September. Completing his instruction on 20 October, he accepted the rank of ensign that day. Assigned to Advanced Carrier Training Group, Pacific Fleet, soon thereafter, Vammen continued his training until joining Torpedo Squadron 6 (VT-6), based on the aircraft carrier , on 28 April 1942. He joined the ship within two weeks of the completion of the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, 18 April 1942, and just before his carrier and proceeded south toward the Coral Sea to meet an expected Japanese thrust. The two flattops were too late to assist and in the critical Battle of the Coral Sea which took place from 4 to 8 May. During the Battle of Midway Vammen, now assigned to Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6), did not take part in the strikes of 4 June against the Imperial Japanese Navy carrier fleet. On Friday evening, 5 June, Vammen, flying a Douglas SBD Dauntless, with Aviation Machinists' Mate 2nd Class M. W. Clark in the rear seat took off with eight other planes of VS-6, as part of the strike launched to locate and sink what had been erroneously reported as two Japanese carriers. Subsequently, the SBDs from Enterprise and Hornet found and attacked what they reported to be a "Japanese CL" (light cruiser)— a ship that turned out to be the destroyer Tanikaze. The Dauntlesses that made the dusk attack failed to score any hits with their 500-pound bombs on the twisting, turning destroyer. Vammen, who had never received instruction in night carrier recoveries, made his first night landing not on Enterprise, but on Hornet. The next morning, on 6 June, Vammen joined Hornet'''s planes in attacking the fleeing Japanese heavy cruisers Mogami and Mikuma, a strike that inflicted such severe damage on the latter that it sank later that day. Vammen and his gunner failed