Leander Cleaveland King was born in Arlington, Texas on November 10, 1918.  His father, Leander C. King, was a mechanic and his mother, Bonnie Jewel Bates King, a homemaker.

The father died in April 1927 of injuries suffered in an accidental severe blow to his abdomen. Mrs. King was pregnant and had four children age seven and younger.

Tragedy struck the family again in 1937 when a 16-year-old daughter, Helen, died of tuberculosis.

Leander Jr. served three years in the Army Reserve’s Co. H of the 23rd Infantry. He was discharged on April 15, 1940 and applied to the Navy two days later. By then, he said he’d completed 7th grade. He enlisted in the Navy on May 17, 1940

He 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.

For fun, Mr. King boxed on the Arizona team against sailors from other ships.

His youngest sibling, Wayne, served in the Navy from August 1944 through April 1948.

Sources: Texas birth and death certificates; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; grave marker; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs death file; At ‘Em Arizona newsletter of Nov. 9, 1940. Note: It is unclear whether Mr. King was a junior. Documents with his father’s name and his grave marker simply say his middle initial was “C.” This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.