World War II Honoree

Louis Albert Costin

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Henryville, Indiana

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Fireman First Class. He was inducted into the United States Navy September 24, 1940 at Louisville, Kentucky, with recruit training at the U.S. Naval Training Station Great Lakes, Illinois. After completing boot camp, he was transferred to the USS West Virginia Battleship, BB-48 for duty as a Fireman, and based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands. 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 installation on Oahu. The Battleship along with her shipmates was moored on Ford Island, when the warship was attacked by five Torpedo Bombers. The torpedo warheads hit the battlewagon on her portside causing severe flooding, and she slowly capsized, settling to the harbor bottom. 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 Sailor requested that his remains, be buried at the Honolulu National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific ‘Punchbowl’, with interment June 20, 1949. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.