William Arthur Goodwin |
USS Arizona |
Information provided by Joseph & Ruth Campbell. |
William Arthur Goodwin was born January 6, 1921, in Denver, Colorado. At the age of 2 1/2 he and his brother, Joseph Campbell, age 4 1/2, were placed in St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum in Denver due to the illness of their mother. Later, they were in Mullen's Home for Boys in Fort Logan, Colorado. Both Parents died in their 20's. When William left the Home for Boys, he went to Colorado Springs and joined the CCCs. Joe joined the Navy November 15th, 1938. William enlisted in the Navy on August 12, 1940, in Denver, Colorado, and was sent to the U.S. Naval Training Station in San Diego, California on August 13, 1940. William reported to the USS Arizona on October 14th, 1940. William and Joe had spoken about being assigned to the same ship, but nothing materialized because Joe was on a mine sweeper with 17 sailors aboard, whereas the USS Arizona had a large complement of over 1500 sailors. The minesweeper could not accommodate another person, and Joe did not want to go to a large ship like the USS Arizona. |
William was in Division 4 and assigned to Turret #4 as his battle station. He was one of the two sailors in Division 4 who died on December 7, 1941. |
Old Glory Traditions Newspaper Article (Click on Star to access story) |
