S2c Thomas William Lounsbury

S2c Thomas William Lounsbury

Thomas William Lounsbury was born May 29, 1922 in Illinois. He was the son of Robert Lounsbury, a grocery store manager, and Florence McDowell Lounsbury, a volunteer for church and civic causes.

He graduated from high school in Woodstock, Illinois in 1940 and enlisted in the Navy that October.

Mr. Lounsbury was a seaman second class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

The local newspaper said Tommy, as he was known, had a legion of friends “among the younger set” in Woodstock, population 6,100.

His older brother, James, served in the Army in World War II and was wounded in Germany in 1944. The telegram telling his parents that he was injured arrived on the third anniversary of Thomas’ death.


 

Sources: The Daily Sentinel of Woodstock, Illinois; the Chicago Sun; the Republic-Register of Rockford, Illinois; the Northwest Herald of Woodstock, Illinois; Census; Navy muster roll. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.

 
 
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