WW2 Pearl Harbor Fallen - Howard Merrill, USS Arizona

Ensign Howard Merrill was killed when a Japanese bomb ignited the forward magazine of the USS Arizona.
He is still entombed there. The destroyer escort USS Merrill was named in his honor.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65377077
https://www.militaryimages.net/media/paintings-of-pearl-harbour.34690/
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/uss-arizona-pearl-harbor-memorial-feat/index.html
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/392.htm

Howard Deal Merrill never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on December 16, 1917 in Utah. His father Claude was also born in Utah while his mother Eva was born in England. His father worked as a farmer. Howard had three older sisters. 

By 1940 Howard graduated from the US Naval Academy. He was commissioned an ensign and assigned to the USS Arizona.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, Ensign Merrill was on duty onboard the Arizona when it was  hit by four Japanese bombs. The final one penetrated to the forward magazine and exploded with devastating loss of life. Ensign Merrill's battle station was the central engine room. Along with hundreds of his fellow sailors, Ensign Merrill remains entombed in the USS Arizona Memorial.

His cenotaph grave is at Aultorest Memorial Park, Ogden, Utah.

In August 1943 Howard's sister Dorothy christen the destroyer escort USS Merrill, named in Ensign Merrill's honor. It provided transatlantic escort duty during the war.

Thank you Ensign Merrill for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Howard.  

Ensign Merrill's story is also told at https://www.fold3.com/page/636414303-howard-merrill/stories. It is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project, Utah pilot.

Thanks to Darillyn Lamb Starr for recommending that Howard be profiled.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

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