The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Illinois USS Oklahoma Victim Returns Home After 76 Years


From the February 16, 2018, Aurora (Illinois) Beacon News  "After 76 years, Aurora sailor killed at Pearl Harbor finally coming home" Denise Crosby.

U.S. Navy Petty Officer, Second Class Walter Howard Backman was 22 when his ship, the USS Oklahoma, was destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.  he will be buried at River Hills Memorial Park in Batavia next to a memorial stone already there.

He was born in 1919 in Wilton, North Dakota.  His family moved to Aurora shortly afterwards and he enlisted in the Navy in 1938.  His job was radioman.

Another Aurora sailor died on the USS Arizona during the attack.  His name was Eugene Fitzsimmons.

Aurora Hit Particularly Hard.  --GreGen


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