Elwood Henry Maris was born March 24, 1922 at Angleton, Texas, the only son of  Earl L. 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. While in school he worked at a Texaco gas station.

He 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 with a cenotaph 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 enlistment records and 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. Note: On his handwritten Navy application Mr. Maris said he was born March 25, 1922. His Texas birth record lists the date as March 24, which matches the date on his cenotaph.