The U.S. Navy Thursday publicly identified the sailor from the San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt, who died this week of COVID-19 complications.
Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, died Monday at the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam, four days after he was found unresponsive during a daily medical check.
Thacker's spouse, an active-duty member stationed in San Diego, was flown April 11 to Guam and was by his side when he died, according to the Navy.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time," said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, the Theodore Roosevelt's commanding officer. "Our number one priority continues to be the health and well-being of all members of the Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group and we remain steadfast in our resolve against the spread of this virus."
RELATED: Sailor On USS Theodore Roosevelt Dies From COVID-19 Complications
As of Thursday, six of the ship's sailors have been hospitalized for COVID-19 symptoms, one of whom is in the Intensive Care Unit "for increased observation due to shortness of breath," according to a Navy statement.
The number of positive coronavirus cases aboard the carrier now totals 655.
More than 4,000 of the ship's sailors have been moved off the ship. The Navy says 94% of the ship's crew have been tested for COVID-19.
The ship's outbreak garnered widespread attention following its then- captain's publicized memo to Navy leadership asking for immediate assistance to move about 90% of the crew off the ship.
The memo's publication on March 30 was central to Capt. Brett Crozier's firing days later by then-Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly.
Modly resigned less than a week later after his address to the USS Theodore Roosevelt's crew, in which he called Crozier's actions "a betrayal" and stated his belief that Crozier purposely copied his email to unauthorized parties to facilitate its publication, was made public.
"If he (Crozier) didn't think that information was going to get out into the public in this information age that we live in, then he was a) either too naive or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this," Modly said. "The alternative is that he did it on purpose, and that's a serious violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
Army Undersecretary James E. McPherson, a San Diego native, has been appointed Acting Navy Secretary on an interim basis.
