CM1c Charles Ermin Kieselbach,

Unknown Sailor

CM1c Charles Ermin Kieselbach

Charles Ermin Kieselbach Jr. was born July 14, 1916 in Jefferson City, Missouri to Charles Kieselbach, a bricklayer, and Emma Schwartz Kieselbach, a homemaker.

He enlisted in the Navy in 1935 and was a carpenter’s mate and petty officer first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

He was survived by his wife, another Missouri native, June Summers, who he married in Long Beach, California in November 1939.

Two brothers, Robert and Harold, also served in World War II, while their parents campaigned for the sale of war bonds. Their mother said she planted a garden, patched old clothes, and volunteered at the Red Cross. But the purchase of bonds was most important, she said.

“If we want to be able to face our boys when they come back, we’ll have to be all-out for victory now,” she told a reporter. “They’re offering their lives.”


 
 
Sources: Jefferson City (Missouri) Post-Tribune; Jefferson City Daily Capital News; California marriage license; Census; Department of Defense; Navy muster roll. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.
 
 
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