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Casualty Info
Home Town Woodland, WA
Casualty Date Dec 07, 1941
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Hawaii
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Park Hill Cemetery - Vancouver, Washington
Daryle E. Artley and his younger brother, Richard “Swede,” were both serving aboard the USS Oklahoma when it was torpedoed on Dec. 7, 1941.
The boys and their best friend and unofficial cousin, Francis “Ham” Dick, were all from Woodland. While Swede was rescued from the sinking ship, Daryle and Ham were killed.
Swede Artley’s daughter-in-law, Jennifer Artley of Grangeville, Idaho, said her father-in-law didn’t speak much about the brother he lost in the Oklahoma.
“I know more from reading letters that were sent home,” she said. “His mother kept a really great scrapbook, and I read some of those letters before Swede passed away.”
Daryle was the older of the two brothers.
“I got the impression that he was the golden boy,” Jennifer said. “He was talented and played sports.”
As the eldest, he held a special place in his mother’s heart, she said. Jennifer recalls a visit she had with the Artleys’ mother in the 1980s.
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“She got this phone call one day, and the male voice on the other end asked if this was Maude Artley,” Jennifer said.
Maude confirmed it, and the caller said, “Mrs. Artley, this is Darrel.”
“She (Maude) said she almost fainted,” Jennifer Artley said. “She thought it was HER Daryle for a split second.”
Dorothy Fulbright of Longview, who knew Daryle through the Dick family, said she recalls the handsome man well.
“We had a picnic in the park when the boys left for the service,” she said. “The Artleys were good-looking guys.”
