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Casualty Info
Home Town Warrior, Alabama
Casualty Date Dec 07, 1941
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Hawaii
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (VA) - Honolulu, Hawaii
Chief Warrant Officer John Austin was Killed in Action on December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma BB37.
Comments/Citation:
Chief Carpenter (CC-Chief Warrant Officer) John Arnold Austin, United States Navy. Service Number: O-75565
Early Life
John Arnold Austin was born on 10 August 1905 in Warrior, Jefferson County, Alabama. His father, John Mack Austin, born 1 September 1883 in Georgia (some records indicate Tennessee), died 10 January 1944 in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, was a farmer. His mother, Bertha Thompson, was born on 20 May 1885 in Alabama and died on 9 Sep 1966 in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. John’s parents were married on 28 February 1904 in Jefferson County, Alabama. John was the oldest of five children in the family. He had two younger brothers and two younger sisters.
At some point, John was married to Florence (last name unknown), born about 1905 in New York. They had a son, John Arnold Austin Jr. (1929-1999).
Military
John Arnold Austin enlisted in the United States Navy on 20 November 1920. Following boot camp, additional follow-on training and various other duty stations, including the USS Canopus (AS-9 ) from July 1935 to July 1937), USS Augusta (CL/CA-31) in 1937, USS Tennessee (BB-43) from October 1937 to June 1939, and USS Rigel (AD-13/ARb-1/AR-11) from July 1939 to September 1940. In October of 1940, he was assigned to the Battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) which was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii when the Japanese attack occurred. He was commissioned as a Warrant Officer from the enlisted ranks.
On the morning of 7 December 1941, a fleet of Japanese carriers launched an air strike against the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The attack decimated the ships and personnel of the fleet and thrust the United States into World War II. At the onset of the 7 December 1941 attack, the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37), being moored at berth Fox 5 on “Battleship Row.” Just before 8 am, the Oklahoma was among the first of the ships struck in the attack. A torpedo struck on her port side, and she capsized quickly. After the Arizona, she was the largest loss of life, at 429 sailors and marines. The Oklahoma was salvaged in 1942, but it was determined she could not be repaired. In May of 1947, she was sold for scrap and while under tow to California, she sank in a storm. Her exact location remains unknown to this day.
Death and Burial
John Arnold Austin is credited with assisting 15 sailors in escaping the USS Oklahoma, though he himself failed to get out. Austin died alongside 428 of his fellow crewmen. He was 36 years old.
Austin was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross in recognition for actions that were in "keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service." "He gallantly gave his life for his country," the commendation said.
His Navy Cross citation follows:
“The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Chief Carpenter John Arnold Austin (NSN: 75565), United States Navy, for exceptional courage, presence of mind, and devotion to duty and disregard for his personal safety while serving on board the Battleship U.S.S. OKLAHOMA (BB-37), during the Japanese attack on the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. When the U.S.S. OKLAHOMA capsized, Chief Carpenter Austin and a number of the crew were entrapped in one of the ship's compartments. By his efforts, a porthole which was under water was located and he assisted fifteen of the crew to escape. The conduct of Chief Carpenter Austin throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”
On 13 February 1943, the United States Navy commissioned DE-15, an Evarts-class destroyer escort. Six days later, the Navy named her the USS Austin to honor the memory of Chief Carpenter John Arnold Austin (1905-1941) and his gallant efforts on behalf of his shipmates.
John Arnold Austin was Declared Dead while Missing in Action or Lost at Sea and his remains were among those transported to Halawa and Nuuanu cemeteries during the war. In 1947, the American Graves Registration Service disinterred the remains of the U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries in an effort to confirm their identities. Only 35 of the men who died on board the Oklahoma were able to be identified at that time. Austin was among the remaining 45 unknowns who were buried at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition, a cenotaph was placed in the Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, Section: MA, Site: 5 to memorialize Austin’s sacrifice.
In 2015, advances in forensic techniques prompted the re-examination of the unidentified sailors from the Oklahoma. On 08 January 2019, the DPAA officially announced that Chief Carpenter Austin had been accounted for. He was buried with full military honors on 12 June 2019 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and a rosette was placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing.
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org/). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen person's name and read his/her story.
If you have any details, photos, or corrections for this story, please email me by clicking on my name. CDR Robert "Red" Mulvanny-Contributing Author, Stories Behind the Stars
