- Rank: Hospital Appren. 1st Class
- Service No: 316-64-41
- Branch: US Navy
- Enlisted: April 30, 1940
- Basic: Great Lakes, NTS
- Rpt For Duty: August 22, 1941
- Home Town:
- Date Of Birth: October 17, 1919
- Age: 22
- Height: 5'-5"
- Disposition: Unrecovered
- Family DNA on File: NO
HA1c Gerald Arthur Atkins
Gerald Arthur Atkins, “Jerry”, an only child, was about 10 when his mother, Lola Kelly Atkins, died.
Born on Oct. 17, 1919, in Kearney, Nebraska, he was raised by his father, Bernard B. Atkins, a policeman, about 60 miles away Gothenburg. He played several sports in high school, including track, where as of 2018 he was still one of the best 100-yard-dash runners in Gothenburg High history. He then went on for one year to Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, where he played football. He also worked for several months as a theater usher.
Mr. Atkins enlisted in the Navy on April 30, 1940. He was a hospital apprentice first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. His body was not recovered, but his father arranged for a cenotaph to be placed at the Geneva, Nebraska, cemetery.
A memorial service was held March 1, 1942, at the Methodist church in Gothenburg.