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Contact Info
Home Town Earlville, IA
Last Address Sarasota, FL
Date of Passing Aug 19, 2013
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Robert James Norman was born in Earlville, Iowa, in 1919 and enlisted in the Navy in 1937. He was aboard the battleship Nevada on December 7, 1941 (see "newspaper" article), and was burned during the rescue of a seriously injured shipmate while the ship was afire and sinking. He received the Purple Heart, but further recognition had to wait until the Clinton Administration. In 1998, following an intensive letter-writing campaign by the man he rescued, Congress and the Defense Department approved the Silver Star Medal for Capt. Norman.
Not one for retirement, Captain Norman continued a successful civilian career on various logistics and construction projects including the Alaska Pipeline where he worked for Arctic Constructors and served as the Logistics Vice President for the northern most sections six and seven near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. He also was the Port Director on the Jari project, a pulp and forestry project in the AmazonRiver basin, Brazil. His last major project before settling into retirement was to manage the Willbros-Butler logistics and mobilization project for the Department of Defense mobile pipeline used in the 1991 invasion of Iraq.
Other Comments:
Robert Norman served in the Navy from 22 June 1937 until October 1973.
Nevada Class Battleship: Displacement 27,500 Tons, Dimensions, 583' (oa) x 95' 3" x 29' 7" (Max). Armament 10 x 14"/45 21 x 5"/51, 2 x 21" tt. Armor, 13 1/2" Belt, 18" Triple Turrets, 16" Dual turrets, 3" Second (armor) Deck, 2 1/2" Third (splinter) Deck 16" Conning Tower. Machinery, 26,500 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws. Speed, 20.5 Knots, Crew 864.
Operational and Building Data: Laid down by Fore River, Shipbuilding, Quincy, MA., November 4, 1912. Launched July 11, 1914. Commissioned March 11, 1916. Decommissioned August 29, 1946. Stricken August 12, 1948.
Fate: Target During Atomic Bomb Tests, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. Sunk, off Oahu, July 31 1948, by Gunfire from Iowa BB-61 and 3 Heavy Cruisers.
