World War II Honoree

David William Bartlett

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Bell, California

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Corporal. He was inducted into the United States Marine Corps March 4, 1940 at San Francisco, California and completed his basic training with the Fourth Recruit Battalion Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base in San Diego, California. Upon his graduation from Boot Camp, he was transferred to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California for his combat training. After the completion of his infantry training, he was selected to attend Sea School at San Diego. Served aboard the USS Arizona Battleship, BB-39 assigned to a Marine Detachment and based at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. On Sunday Morning, December 7, 1941 the Emperor of Japan’s Naval Aviators launched a devastating, surprise attack on the U.S. Naval Base, and other military installations on Oahu. The Arizona moored on Ford Island along with her shipmates came under attack, and she was mortally wounded by an armor piercing bomb that ignited the ship’s forward ammunition magazine. The Battle of Pearl Harbor took his life on the day of the attack, and interred in the Oahu Nuuanu Cemetery, Territory of Hawaii. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the family of this Marine requested that his remains be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific ‘Punchbowl’, with interment January 31, 1949. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.