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| Gunners Mate 3rd Class Paul Johann served on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. He died on his birthday. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7900481 https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/uss-arizona-life-and-death.html |
Paul Frederick Johann never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Paul was born on December 7, 1919 in Alta Vista, Iowa. His parents Peter and Malinda were born in Germany and Iowa respectively. His father immigrated to the US in 1913 and worked as a tenant farmer and later as the operator of a tavern. Paul had two younger brothers and one younger sister. In May 1937, he graduated from Alta Vista High School, where he was the second leading scorer on the basketball team his senior year and was the class salutatorian.
He enlisted in the US Navy in February 1940 and underwent training at Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago, Illinois. He was eventually assigned as a Gunners Mate 3rd Class (GM3c) aboard the battleship USS Arizona. As a GM3c his duties included leading one of the many gun crews on the Arizona. On the morning of 7 December 1941, GM3c Johann was surely looking forward to celebrating his 22nd birthday, unaware of what fate had in store for him. When Japanese aircraft suddenly appeared shortly before 0800 hours, dropping bombs and torpedoes on the Arizona and the other ships on Battleship Row, I’d like to think that GM3c Johann quickly sprang to action at his gun mount to defend his ship and crewmates.
Over a span of less than 10 minutes, the Arizona was hit by no less than five Japanese bombs, the last of which penetrated the armored deck near the ammunition magazines located in the forward section of the ship. The magazines detonated in a cataclysmic explosion, effectively tearing the ship in half. The explosion touched off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. The bombs and subsequent explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board the Arizona at the time, approximately half of the total American servicemen killed during the attack.
Paul’s parents were notified by the Navy Department two weeks later that their son was missing in the attack. In late January 1942 they were notified that after extensive search no trace of his body could be found and he was officially declared killed in action, and is presumed to be among the 1,000+ souls still on board the shattered remains of the USS Arizona.
Paul Frederick Johann is memorialized in the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii and in Union Cemetery in his hometown of Alta Vista, Iowa. His brother enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and survived the war.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Medal of Honor hero William McWhorter. You can read about William 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.
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“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
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