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| Ensign Lawrence Anderson was on the battleship Arizona when the Japanese surprise attacked Pearl Harbor. http://www.ussarizona.org/index.php/features/lists/uss-arizona-casualty-list/392-anderson-lawrence-donald https://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/online-exhibits/items/show/931 |
Lawrence Donald Anderson never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 21, 1918 in Illinois. His parents August and Mabel were born in Illinois and Iowa, respectively. His father worked as a poultry dealer. Lawrence had one older brother, two younger brothers, and one younger sister. They grew up in Iowa. By 1940 Lawrence had completed two years of college. He was living at home and was employed as a waiter.
He enlisted in the navy in August 1940 and was commissioned an officer in March 1941. He became an ensign serving on the battleship USS Arizona. He was give responsibility over the ship band and football team.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Ensign Anderson 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. His battle station was Turret IV, far away from the massive explosion that sent Arizona to the bottom of the harbor. He somehow got off of the ship.
Ensign Anderson was badly injured when he was rescued and taken to the hospital ship USS Solace. He died at 0045 on December 8, 1941.
His grave is at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Waukon, Iowa.
Last year on this date I profiled Philippines guerrilla captain James Hart. You can read about James here.
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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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