Connecticut Sailor Among Dead in U.S. Destroyer Collision

A sailor who grew up in Connecticut is among the dead after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan.

Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, was one of seven sailors who died onboard the USS Fitzgerald when it collided with another ship on Friday. Huynh went by the name Tan, according to his sister, Lan Huynh.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation.

Huynh's family moved to Connecticut when he was in eighth grade, Lan Huynh told NBC Connecticut Sunday night.

Both siblings went to Plainville High School for a time, but graduated from Watertown High, Lan Huynh said.

Tan Huynh also attended Naugatuck Valley Community College before joining the Navy in 2014.

The family moved to Oklahoma after Huynh enlisted, and that might have led to a delay in notifying them, according to Lan Huynh.

"We got a phone call from the Navy personnel in Connecticut. He was driving and he couldn't find us because he didn't know we had moved to Oklahoma," Lan Huynh said.

She said the family is coping as best they can.

"He was a really quiet person. He was also very nice, very selfless. He helped us, the family with a lot," she said. "He had the brightest smile."

Gov. Dannel Malloy directed U.S. and state flags in Connecticut to fly at half-staff in honor of Sonar Technician Huynh.

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have called for an investigation into the crash. 

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