F2c Calvin Wilbur Joyce

Calvin Wilbur Joyce was born May 13, 1919 in Dayton, Ohio. His father, Clinton Joyce, was a helper at a stove foundry and his mother, Mary Case Joyce, a homemaker.

Wilbur, as he was known, was 10 when his youngest brother, five-year-old Jack, ran into the street and was hit and killed by an auto.

Mr. Joyce enlisted in the Navy on June 21, 1938. His only other brother, Clinton Jr., died two months later after a prolonged illness. He was 20.

Mr. Joyce was a fireman second class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

He had planned to marry in June 1942 when his Navy enlistment expired.

Sources: The Dayton (Ohio) Herald; Census; Navy muster roll. The Department of Defense says he was born June 29, 1923, but that must be in error because his name appears in the Census conducted in January 1920. It says he was 8/12ths, which would make his birthdate in May 1919. That is consistent with news reports that said he was 22 when he died. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the USS Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.