S1c John Joseph Wicklund

John Joseph Wicklund was born March 7, 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His mother, Josephine Hanus Wicklund, was a homemaker, and his father, Raymond Leonard Wicklund, a painter and decorator.

The son graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1937 and enlisted in the Navy in November 1939.

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.

His father was a World War I veteran, according to his October 1945 death certificate. At the time of his death, he was working for the Navy Reserve. According to the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, he also served in the Navy during World War II — from January 1943 through November 1944. His gravestone identifies him as a carpenter’s mate third class.

The Wicklund family apparently included one other child, who died at birth in 1921.

Sources: The Minneapolis (Minnesota) Star; the St. Cloud (Minnesota) Times; Minnesota birth and death records; Navy muster roll; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs death file; Census; grave marker at Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.