S1c George Edward Phelps

George Edward Phelps was born May 26, 1922 at Henderson in upper northwest New York on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. His mother, Gertrude Johnson Phelps, was a homemaker and his father, Ross B. Phelps, a proprietor of a garage. They had six children.

The Census conducted in April 1940 said George had completed four years of high school and was a “new worker.” His father died the next month.

George Phelps left Henderson, population 1,163, in October to enlist in the Navy. Mr. Phelps 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.

He is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl in Honolulu.

At least one of his brothers, Reginald, also served in World War II — as a Seabee in the Pacific.

Sources: the Watertown (New York) Daily Times; the Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard; Census; Navy muster roll; grave markers. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.