SM3c Donald William Anderson

Donald William Anderson was born in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 16, 1920. His mother, Esther Stensrude Anderson, was a homemaker and Norwegian immigrant. His father, William Anderson, was a certified public accountant.

The son attended Grant High School in Portland. He enlisted in the Navy on July 13, 1938 in Portland, Oregon and completed his basic training at the San Diego Naval Training Station in California. Donald boarded the U.S.S. Arizona on January 2, 1939 and was a signalman and petty officer third class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

A brother, James K., was an Army corporal in the Korean war.

Sources: the Oregonian of Portland; Census; Navy muster roll; Navy Enlistment Records; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs death file. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona and Operation 85.