S2c Donald Roger Rombalski

Donald Roger Rombalski was one of the youngest sailors killed on the U.S.S. Arizona in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

He was born April 22, 1924 in Centralia, Washington, population about 7,800, about 20 miles south of the state capital, Olympia. His father, Sylvester, was a loader in the “car” industry, perhaps a reference to one of the five railroads that passed through the town. His mother, Emma Feldman Rombalski, was a homemaker.

The son attended Centralia High School but left before graduating to enlist in the Navy on April 25, 1941. 

Mr. Rombalski was a seaman second class when he was killed, still four months shy of his 18th birthday. 

He was honored at a  memorial service at the Free Methodist Church in Centralia in March 1942.

His father was a veteran of World War I.

Sources: The Daily Chronicle of Centralia, Washington; the News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington; the (Portland) Oregonian; Census; Navy muster roll; Centralia High School yearbook. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.