Jack Mandeville Emery, was born Oct. 9, 1916, in Los Angeles to Ralph Emery, an insurance agent, and Katherine Kelly Emery, a homemaker. A grandson of the founder of Emeryville, California, Jack was a member of the ROTC at the University of California at Berkeley, from which he graduated in 1939.
He was lieutenant commander of the Beta Psi chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity when he graduated and went on active duty with the Navy. He was appointed an ensign in the Naval Reserve in May 1939 and went on active duty aboard the U.S.S. Arizona that November.
He was an ensign and signal officer when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
All three of his brothers served in World War II — one in the Marines and the others in the Army.
A destroyer escort was renamed in his memory in July 1943. The ship earned four battle stars during the war.
Sources: the Oakland Tribune; “The Delta” of Sigma Nu magazine; Alameda Times-Star; San Francisco Examiner; Census; Naval History and Heritage Command; University of California yearbook. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.