George Edward Linton was born May 15, 1919 in Platte County in southeast Wyoming. His mother, Hattie Petty Linton, was a homemaker and his father, Harry G. Linton, a dairy farm worker and later a rancher.

George, the second oldest of four children, attended high school at Wheatland, Wyoming for one year, ending in 1934. He worked for three years as a machine-shop helper.

He enlisted in the Navy on April 3, 1940 and was a fireman second class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

The oldest brother, Billy, joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and served in three wars. He was a chief master sergeant when he retired in 1970.

Brother Everett enlisted in the Navy a month after George’s death. A radioman and petty officer first class, he served until December 1945.

The youngest, Raymond, joined the Air Force in 1951 and served for more than 20 years.

There is a cenotaph for George Linton at Wheatland Cemetery in Wheatland, the Platte county seat. His parents are buried there.

Sources: the Caspar (Wyoming) Star-Tribune; family obituaries; Census; Defense Department; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; application for military headstone or marker. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.