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F1c Forrest Jesse Estes
Forrest Jesse Estes was born Oct. 6, 1918 in Fergus County in central Montana. His mother, Savanna Gibbs Estes, was a homemaker, and his father, Jesse M. Estes, a farmer.
By 1930 the family had moved to Sacramento County, California, where the father was a ranch hand. The parents divorced that year after the mother alleged domestic abuse.
Mother and son remained in the county and she married a rancher from nearby Elk Grove the next year. Forrest graduated from Elk Grove High in 1936.
Two years later, on Thanksgiving Day, his step-father stabbed him with a pruning knife. One of the first all-women juries in county history convicted the step-father in March 1939 and he was sentenced to eight months in jail. By then, the mother and step-father were divorced.
Mr. Estes enlisted in the Navy that summer and went aboard the U.S.S. Arizona in September.
He was a fireman first class when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
Sources: The Sacramento (California) Bee; California marriage record; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Navy muster rolls; Census. Note the Arizona’s final muster roll says he enlisted on June 9, 1940, but that is contradicted by a previous roll that shows him aboard the battleship on Sept. 11, 1939. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.
NOTE: If you are a family member related to this crew member of the U.S.S. Arizona, or have additional information, pictures or documents to share about his life or service to our county please contact us through our FAMILY MEMBER SUBMISSION FORM.