S1c Edward Jr. Gomez

Edward Gomez Jr. was born in Denver, Colorado on Feb. 7, 1921. His father, Edward Gomez, was a polisher at a wheelworks, and his mother, Josephine Sisneros Gomez, a homemaker and later a dishwasher at a bakery.

The family attended St. Louis Catholic Church in Englewood, Colorado. The 1940 Census said Edward Jr. was a high school graduate and doing deliveries for WW Byrd grocery. He had worked 52 weeks the previous year and earned $780.

Mr. Gomez enlisted in the Navy on July 11, 1940, and was a seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

Both of his brothers also served in the war and survived. Richard was in the Navy and Alfred in the Army. Alfred later served in the Air Force from 1947 to 1954.

Sources: Denver Catholic Register; Daily Capital Journal of Salem, Oregon; Navy muster roll; Census; grave markers; Department of Veterans Affairs death file; U.S. Defense Department. Note: On her marriage license, the mother’s name was listed as Cisnero. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.