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S1c Burdette Charles Campbell
Burdette Charles Campbell enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 23, 1941 — his 17th birthday.
Mr. Campbell was a junior at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles and would have needed a parent’s approval to enlist because he was under the Navy’s minimum age of 18.
His mother, Emma Rose Seymour Campbell, was a homemaker and his father, Ezra Arthur Campbell, a welder. Burdette was born in Nebraska, but by at least April 1935 the family lived in Montebello east of Los Angeles.
The 1940 Census said the family included two younger daughters. The father worked 28 weeks the previous year and earned $600 — equal to about $11,000 in 2020. As for so many young men in the Great Depression, it seems likely Mr. Campbell enlisted to help with family finances.
He did well in the Navy, advancing to seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona by the time he was killed on Dec. 7, 1941, in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Another Garfield High student also died on the Arizona. James Webster Leight quit school in April 1941. He was a seaman second class when he was killedSources: The Los Angeles Times; Census; Navy muster roll; California death index; WWII draft registration card; Garfield High School. 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.