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S1c Lawrence Henry Funk
Lawrence Henry Funk grew up in a large family in Rockton, Illinois a few miles south of Wisconsin and almost half way between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.
The 1940 Census showed him living with his parents, Oscar Funk, a laborer at a stone quarry, mother, Mary Ann Zimmerman Funk, a homemaker, and nine brothers and sisters. It said Lawrence had completed 8th grade and worked in 1939, but did not identify his job.
He enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 8, 1940, and was a seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
He was born March 5, 1922, at Roscoe, Illinois 4 miles southeast of Rockton. There is a cenotaph in his memory in the cemetery in Adeline, Illinois 30 miles to the southwest.
At least two brothers, Robert and Donald, also served in the Navy in World War II. When Robert enlisted on his 17th birthday in January 1942, he said he wanted “to be out there as a gunner fighting just like” Lawrence.
Sources: The Freeport (Illinois) Journal-Standard; Census; Navy muster rolls; cenotaph and grave markers; VA death file; Department of Defense. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.
NOTE: If you are a family member related to this crew member of the U.S.S. Arizona, or have additional information, pictures or documents to share about his life or service to our county please contact us through our FAMILY MEMBER SUBMISSION FORM.