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Still remember Pearl Harbor 68 years later
Published December 3, 2009
“Yesterday, Dec. 7,1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt
As the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor approaches, I thought it proper to remember some of the Alabamians who died there.
Although, the list is not complete I have included as many names as I could discover.
To the families of those whose names are not included, I extend my apologies. The sacrifice of those individuals is also honored.
According to the U.S.S Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, the following Alabama military personnel were killed on the battleship Arizona, Dec. 7, 1941. Included are:
Adams, Robert Franklin, S1c, USN
Benson, James Thomas, S1c, USN
Bibby, Charles Henry, F2c, USN
Bishop, Millard Charles, F3c, USN
Black, James Theron, PVT, USMC
Blankenship, Theron A., S1c, USN
Boyd, Charles Andrew, CM3c, USN
Broadhead, Johnnie Cecil, F2c, USN
Chandler, Donald Ross, PVT, USMC
Frizzell, Robert Niven, S2c, USN
Hindman, Frank Weaver, S1c, USN
Holland, Claude Herbert Jr., S2c, USN
Holmes, Lowell D., F3c, USN
Hughes, Lewis Burton Jr., S1c, USN
Ison, Luther James, S1c, USN
Johnson, Samuel Earle, CDR, (MC) USN
Jones, Daniel Pugh, S2c, USN, and his brother, from Cottondale,
Jones, Woodrow Wilson, S2c, USN
Morris, Owen Newton, S1c, USN
Murdock, Charles Luther, WT1c, USN, and his brother,
Murdock, Melvin Elijah, WT2c, USN
McCrary, William Moore, S2c, USN (McCrary was a tuba player in the ship’s band; all 21members were killed)
McGrady, Samme Willie Genes, MATT1c, USN
Nichols, Louis Duffie, S2c, USN
Peleschak, Michael, S1c, USN
Penton, Howard Lee, S1c, USN
Putnam, Avis Boyd, SC3c, USN
Rogers, Thomas Sprugeon, CWTP, USN
Shores, Irland Jr., S1c, USN
South, Charles Braxton, S1c, USN
Wilson, Comer A., CBMP, USN
Woolf, Norman Bragg, CWTP, USN
A monument inside Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park states, “In dedication to Julius Ellsberry, the first Black Alabama man to die in World War II; born Birmingham, Ala., 1922. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy, 1940; First Class Mate Attendant aboard battleship Oklahoma in the Battle of Pearl Harbor, did sacrifice his life to save his shipmates, December 7, 1941.”
Johnnie C. Laurie, also of Alabama, died with Ellsberry aboard the USS Oklahoma.
The Japanese attack came in two waves, the first at 7:55 a.m., consisting of 183 planes and the second of 180 planes.
Eight battleships, three destroyers and three cruisers were damaged and sunk, along with 169 aircraft completely destroyed. Another 159 planes were damaged. The Arizona blew up and sunk, carrying nearly 1,000 men to a watery grave.
The total casualties suffered in the bombing includes 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians killed.
Let us never forget!
George Jones is a staff writer for The Sand Mountain Reporter. His e-mail address is boaz(at)sandmountainreporter.com.
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