Pearl Harbor — 80 Years Ago

WAR! OAHU BOMBED BY
JAPANESE PLANES

This was the headline of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin First Extra edition on December 7, 1941.
On that day, two families in Acadia Parish lost sons on the USS Arizona. However, they didn’t know it for several weeks.
Claude D. Arnold Sr. and his wife Olga, along with their family, moved from Lake Charles to Crowley in August of 1941. He was the Southwest Traffic Bureau manager for 16 rice mills in the area.
At the age of 18, their son Claude Duran Arnold Jr. joined the Navy and was serving as a Fireman Third Class aboard the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
A native of Morse, Joseph McNeal LeGros, was living with his father Oneal, a member of the Acadia Parish Police Jury, and his mother Liza LeGros when he enlisted in the Navy in 1940. Joseph was also a crew member of the USS Arizona in Hawaii with the rank of Seaman First Class.
After the Japanese surprise bombing attack, both young men were reported as missing by the U.S. Navy.
According to USSARIZONA.ORG, Arnold enlisted on April 25, 1941. He began his service on the USS Arizona on Nov. 18, 1941. His duties included fire and tend boilers as well as operate, adjust and repair pumps.
The same source reports that LeGros enlisted on Oct. 11, 1940, and began his service on the ill-fated ship on Jan. 8, 1941. His duties were know naval drill duties, knots, steering and signaling. He also had watch and gunnery duties.
Benjamin Shirley Avant, another Morse High graduate and a friend of LeGros, had been stationed on the same ship.
Despite a letter from the Navy to his parents Dewey and Elita stating that he was missing in action, the family considered him safe. The couple had received a letter from Shirley dated after the Pearl Harbor attack.
It was later determined, the young Sailor had been transferred to San Diego where he was studying pharmacy. He would serve as a pharmacist mate during his tour of duty with the Navy.
In the Crowley Daily Signal issue of Dec. 19, 1941, it was reported that LeGros was “believed safe.” The telegram from Louisiana Senator Allen Ellender declared that “the next of kin of all casualties aboard the Arizona have been notified.”
Since LeGros’ parents had not been notified, “it was safe to presume that young LeGros was safe.”
Oneal LeGros was asked if he thought that his son was safe, he said “no;” but he did note that it was possible that his son “may have been ashore, at church.”
Only three days later, the Signal reported that LeGros’ parents received a telegram from the Navy Department dated Dec. 20. Alphee LeBlanc and C.A. Brewer delivered the telegram to the Morse family on Sunday Dec. 21.
It read: “The Navy Department regrets to inform you that your son, Joseph McNeal LeGros, Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy, is missing following action in the performance of his duty and in service of his country.
“The Department appreciates your great anxiety and will furnish you further information promptly when received. To prevent possible aid to our enemy, please do not divulge the name of his ship or station.”
The message was signed by Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation.
Despite this dire message, according to the newspaper account, “the family still holds on to the possibility that he is alive.”
Arnold’s parents also faced uncertainty regarding the fate of their son Claude. After completing his training in St. Louis, Missouri, in November, Claude was transferred to the west coast; his parents received a letter from him postmarked Dec. 4, 1941. According to an article in the Crowley Daily Signal of Jan. 10, 1942, the Arnolds received a message two days earlier from the U.S. Navy informing them that their son was missing in action.
Unfortunately on Jan. 30, 1942, the Crowley Daily Signal reported that both families had received a telegram from the Navy. Each delivered the news that neither family wanted to hear.
The telegrams read in part: “After exhaustive search, it has been impossible to locate your son…and he has therefore been officially declared to have lost his life in the service of his country as of December 7, 1941.
“The Department expresses to you its sincerest sympathies.”
Both young men are considered among the 900-plus still aboard the USS Arizona. Both were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Star, and the World War II Victory Medal.