BKR3c Peter John Paroli

Peter John Paroli was born in San Francisco, California on Oct. 16, 1914. His parents were Pietro Paroli, a hostler at a stable, and Jaira Ida Martinelli Paroli, a homemaker. They were Italian immigrants.

The father died in 1923 and the mother in 1928. They are buried at the Italian Cemetery in Colma, California.

It isn’t clear where Peter was in 1930, but all of his siblings were together in the household of his oldest brother, Nati. By the time of the spring 1940 Census Peter’s name appeared in the household of his older sister, Frances Brarens, her husband, and their year-old daughter in San Francisco. 

That Census said Mr. Paroli had completed 8th grade and worked as a baker for 26 weeks in 1939, earning $968.

He enlisted in the Navy in August 1940 with one of his best friends, Bruno Pavini. They were  assigned to the U.S.S. Arizona, boarding her on October 14, 1940 from San Diego. Mr. Pavini was a seaman first class and Mr. Paroli a baker and petty officer third class when they were killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

Mr. Paroli’s brother Albert, born in 1908, was a Marine private during World War II. He died in 1963 and is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.

Sources: Census; Navy muster roll; California birth and death index; grave markers; Defense Department. Thanks to Bruno Pavini’s niece, Marie Pavini Martin, for background on the friendship of the two men. Note: Jaira Ida Martinelli’s name is spelled as Zeira and Zaira in some records. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.