Pacific Historic Parks - USS Arizona Memorial

10/08/2026

US Army Air Forces Cpl. Delmor W. Erwin, 20, of Newport, Arkansas, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Mar 25, 2026, and is finally coming home after more than 80 years.

Delmor was assigned to 31st Infantry Regiment when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Delmor was among those captured, forced on the 65-mile Bataan Death March, and imprisoned at Cabanatuan Camp #1, where he died of malaria on Nov 26, 1942. He was one of approximately 2,800 Americans to die in the camp during the war.

Following the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to Manila. Those that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns, including Delmor.

In 2019, the Unknowns associated with Cabanatuan's Common Grave 706 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for scientific analysis, leading to Delmor's identification.

A memorial service with full military honors will be held on October 15 in Little Rock, Arkansas: https://www.kark.com/news/local-news/world-war-ii-veterans-remains-returning-to-little-rock-after-84-years/

10/07/2026

At "Honouliuli: A History Awakened," Jake Shimabukuro performed his original composition “Kodomo no Tame ni,” translated as, “For the Sake of the Children.”

Listen to his performance from the Sept. 27 concert at Hawaii Theatre Center.

10/07/2026

: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Evelyn Wisner watched her three brothers sign up to serve and decided she would serve, too.

Evelyn became a US Navy nurse and was selected for an elite group of flight nurses tasked with evacuating wounded service members from combat zones in the Pacific during World War II.

During the Battle of Iwo Jima, she was among 12 Navy flight nurses who flew into the combat zone to care for wounded Marines and other servicemen as they were evacuated to Guam. Together, the nurses helped evacuate 2,393 wounded men aboard 125 flights, more than 13% of those evacuated from Iwo Jima.

She went on to serve in Okinawa and was discharged from the Navy in 1946.

For decades, Evelyn rarely spoke about her wartime experiences. Later in life, she began sharing her story, particularly so younger generations would understand the important roles women played during World War II.

Evelyn passed away in 2018 at age 98.

Read more about her life: https://www.sidneyherald.com/news/the-vault/unsung-hero-flight-nurse-evelyn-wisner-helped-save-hundreds-during-world-war-ii

📷: Evelyn Wisner pictured with soldiers, one wounded on a cot. The News-Times via Newspapers.com

10/06/2026

U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Wesley Phelps of Neafus, Kentucky, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on October 4, 1944, on Pelelieu.

Phelps was drafted and inducted into the Marine Corps in 1943 and was assigned to the Signal Battalion for one month, then transferred to the Infantry Training Battalion. He joined the 27th Replacement Battalion in September. He left the United States in October 1943, joining Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines of the 1st Marine Division in December and was promoted to private first class in April 1944.

After a so-called "rest" at Pavuvu Island in the Russell Islands, the 1st Division left for the little-publicized Peleliu Island operation. After nineteen days of bitter and costly fighting, the night of October 4, 1944, found Company K strung out along the military crest of one of the coral mountains for which Peleliu is noted. With the Marines on one slope of the hill and the Japanese on the opposite slope, ri**es became useless, and a series of hand gr***de battles took place over several days. During the night, the enemy launched a particularly vicious counterattack. PFC Phelps and a fellow Marine were in a foxhole when a Japanese gr***de landed with a thud between them. Private First Class Phelps shouted, "Look out, Shipley!" then unhesitatingly rolled over on the gr***de, taking the full force of the explosion with his own body. Phelps was killed, while PFC Richard Shipley received only a tiny scratch. He was 21 years old.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 4, 1944. Phelps was initially buried in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery on Peleliu but was later reinterred in Rosine Cemetery in Rosine, Kentucky.

10/06/2026

: At just 17 years old, Donald Sleeter joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943 with permission from his parents.

After training as a r***eman, he was sent to the Pacific Theater from July 1944 to December 1945, and served in Iwo Jima, where he was wounded in action in March 1945.

Now 100 years old, the Marshfield, Wisconsin, veteran is sharing his memories of the war: https://www.wjfw.com/world-war-ii-oral-history-usmc-veteran-donald-sleeter-of-marshfield-stormed-iwo-jima/video_654364a7-be26-51d4-a515-add0f244a8d9.html

10/06/2026

🇺🇸 How do you know if an American flag was actually made in the United States?

It’s a question we often hear at the Pacific Historic Parks bookstore at Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Pacific Historic Parks Assistant Buyer Jordahn Rodrigues-Helenihi has five tips for identifying a truly American-made flag.

🔎 Tip #2: Understand what “Made in USA” means. A truly American-made flag is not just sewn or assembled domestically. The full manufacturing process matters, including where the materials are produced, where the fabric is made, and where the flag is cut, sewn and finished.

Check back this week and next week for more tips from Jordahn!

The Pacific Historic Parks bookstore sells about 4,000 U.S. flags each year, all made in the USA in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The stars and stripes are flown above the USS Arizona Memorial, including on significant dates such as Veterans Day, Dec. 7, Independence Day and Memorial Day. Custom dates are available for those who want to select a date with personal significance.

Each flag is flown by US military service members and folded before being prepared for sale. Flags include a certificate of authenticity documenting the date flown.

Proceeds support Pacific Historic Parks’ education, preservation and restoration programs at Pearl Harbor and other historic sites across the Pacific.

For more information or to purchase a flag, visit pacifichistoricparksbookstore.org.

📷: The American flag waves during the interment ceremony of US Navy Seaman 2nd Class Everett G. Windle at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 26, 2020. Everett died aboard USS Oklahoma as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank/DVIDS)

10/06/2026

10/05/2026

: On Oct 5, 1943, US Navy aircraft began two days of strikes against Japanese-occupied Wake Island.

The carriers USS Essex, Yorktown, Lexington, Cowpens, Independence, and Belleau Wood all took part, while cruisers and destroyers bombarded Japanese positions ashore. Over Oct. 5–6, American aircraft flew 738 combat sorties against Wake.

The raids were not followed by an invasion, and Wake remained under Japanese control until Japan’s surrender in 1945.

The raids also had a tragic consequence. Believing an American invasion might be imminent, the Japanese commander on Wake ordered the ex*****on of all 98 American civilian prisoners who had remained on the island since its capture in December 1941.

Rear Adm. Shigematsu Sakaibara was later tried and executed for the killings.

📷: Wake Island Raid, October 5-6, 1943. US Navy photo.

10/05/2026

World War II Across America’s National Parks: Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park

During World War II, Richmond, California became one of the nation’s most active home front manufacturing centers. Tens of thousands of people from across the United States came to the city to support wartime industries. Many women entered the workforce for the first time, taking jobs in shipyards, factories, and other essential industries. These workers contributed to welding, riveting, and assembly line production.

Richmond’s four Kaiser Shipyards were among the most productive in the country, ultimately producing 747 vessels during the war. With so many people arriving for defense work, the city’s population grew rapidly from about 24,000 residents to nearly 100,000. This rapid growth reshaped daily life for everyone living or working in Richmond.

Workers came from many different backgrounds, including African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants. Each person played a role in supporting the national war effort. Women, people migrating from other regions, and families seeking new opportunities all became part of a diverse and dynamic community.

Richmond’s story mirrors the wartime experience across the country, showcasing how ordinary people united to face extraordinary challenges. It stands as a lasting example of what can be achieved when working toward a common purpose.

World War II transformed life in America’s cities, factories, and shipyards, but the home front stretched far beyond them. Next, follow us to Mojave National Preserve to discover how the war reached the California desert.

NPS Photo: Kaiser Shipyard workers posing for a group photo in front of a WWII era ship.

10/05/2026

: On Oct. 6, 1941, George “Hank” Sylvester Greeneberg Jr. volunteered for service in the US Marine Corps - just two months before the United States entered World War II.

The 21-year-old Camden, New Jersey, native completed recruit training at Parris Island and received additional training as a scout sniper and r***e noncommissioned officer.

Hank deployed to the Pacific aboard USS Monrovia in 1943 as part of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. After staging in New Zealand and the New Hebrides, he and his unit headed for the Gilbert Islands.

Starting in November 1943, Hank fought in the Battle of Tarawa, where Marines faced some of the fiercest fighting of the Pacific War in order to capture the island and its airfield.

The next year, he took part in the Battle of Saipan and was wounded in the right leg and left shoulder by shell fragments. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.

By 1945, Hank was back in the United States helping train new Marines at Camp Lejeune before receiving an honorable discharge in October.

After the war, he returned to civilian life, marrying Virginia “Ginny” Short in 1950. Together they had one daughter, Barbara. Hank worked as an aeronautical engineer with Sikorsky Aircraft in Connecticut for many years before moving to Louisiana. He died in 2007 at age 87 and is buried at Baton Rouge National Cemetery.

Source: Jace Johnson https://nhdsilentheroes.org/profiles/george-hank-sylvester-greeneberg-jr/