World War II Honoree

Robert Arnold Wright

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Muskegon, Michigan

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Fireman Second Class. He was inducted into the United States Navy from Michigan, with recruit training at the U.S. Naval Training Station and Distribution Center, Shoemaker, California. Upon his graduation from boot camp and Fire Training, he was transferred to the USS Spence Destroyer, DD-512 for duty as a Fireman. The Destroyer and her shipmates on November 20, 1944 rendezvous with a fast carrier striking forces in the Philippine Sea for the impending invasion of the Philippine Islands. Reported missing in action, lost at sea Monday, December 18, 1944 when his warship capsized; sinking off-shore of Luzon Island, during Typhoon Cobra AKA: Typhoon of 1944. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the American Cemetery at Fort William-McKinley in Manila, Philippine Islands. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph memorial has been placed at the Mona View Cemetery, in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.