Richard Norbert Dahlheimer was born Dec. 29, 1920 in Rogers, Minnesota, to William Dahlheimer, a farmer, and Alice Anfang Dahlheimer, a homemaker.
He left the small town (population 274) on Jan. 16, 1940, to enlist in the Navy. Mr. Dahlheimer was a seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
An older brother, Clarence, was on a heavy cruiser, the U.S.S. Minneapolis, the day of the attack. His ship was also based at Pearl Harbor but was about eight miles out to sea that day for gunnery practice. Clarence served in the Navy from December 1940 through February 1947.
Sources: The Minneapolis (Minnesota) Star; Census; Navy muster rolls; U.S. Department of Veterans Affair death file. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.