John “Jack” William Lincoln was born and raised in Iowa, but spent many summers with relatives at Pelican Lake in northern Minnesota. He learned to fish and handle a boat, and was a professional guide on the lake for three summers.

Mr. Lincoln was born Feb. 23, 1922 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Abraham W. Lincoln, a farmer, and Lois Hoebel Lincoln, a housewife. President Lincoln was a distant relative. 

The family moved to Dysart, Iowa, soon after Jack was born and lived there until the son was 10. He graduated in 1939 from the high school in Norway, Iowa, population 407.

Mr. Lincoln enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 8, 1940, and was a fireman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

A memorial service honored him at the Methodist church in Norway in February 1942. The minister preached from Chapter 14 of the Gospel of St. John. His high school class attended as a group.

Sources: Benton County Star of Norway, Iowa; Blairstown (Iowa) Press; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; Iowa application for WWII compensation. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.