S1c Elwood Henry Maris

Elwood Henry Maris was born March 24, 1922 in Brazoria County, Texas south of Houston,  the only son of  Earl Maris, a railroad agent, and Vera Turk Maris, a homemaker.

He graduated from West Columbia High School in 1940 and enlisted in the Navy on June 7, 1940 in Houston, TX and completed his basic training at the San Diego Naval Training Station in California. Elwood boarded the U.S.S. Arizona for duty on November 28, 1940.

He 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.

A memorial service paid tribute to Mr. Maris at First Baptist Church in West Columbia in March 1942 and he was commemorated at the Holland Cemetery, Village Mills, TX.

The Navy Mothers Club of Brazoria County was named in memory of Mr. Maris and Jesse Silvey, another local man killed on the Arizona.

Sources: The Freeport (Texas) Facts; Texas birth certificate; Navy muster roll; Census. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona and Operation 85.