David Paul Jackson Jr. was 17 when he joined the Navy on New Year’s Eve 1940.

He was born June 24, 1923 in Gainesville, Texas north of Fort Worth but grew up 25 miles south in Krum. His father, also David Paul, was a farm laborer and later a cotton ginner. His mother, Mae Ethel Green Jackson, was a homemaker.

The son had completed 9th grade at Krum High School and was still a student when he enlisted at Dallas. He completed his basic training at Naval Training Station in San Diego, CA, and reported aboard the U.S.S. Arizona on April 26, 1941. 

David  was seriously injured during the initial attack, but it is believed he died from his injuries on December 10, 1941. He was assigned as Pearl Harbor Death #306 and was not immediately identified, but buried along with 170 other crew as an “unknown”.  In 1947, he was one of 105 U.S.S. Arizona crew that were identified and his remains were returned to Krum, Texas. 

His funeral was held that October at the Krum Methodist Church. He is buried at the town’s Jackson Cemetery.

Sources: Denton Record-Chronicle; Amarillo Sunday News Globe; Census; U.S. application for headstone or marker; Navy enlistment records. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona