Etchason, Leslie Edgar 'Ike'

1918 - 1941  (23 years)

• Name	Etchason, Leslie Edgar 'Ike'
  Birth	17 Nov 1918	Clay County, Illinois   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	ETCH.L001
  _FGRAVE	7892718
  Military Service	World War II, Seaman First Class, USS Arizona, United States Navy  [1, 2, 3]
  	Seaman 1st Class; Communications Specialist aboard the mighty dreadnought USS Arizona BB-39. On December 7, 1941 he was killed in action. Went down with his ship and 1,176 shipmates when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His tragic death on that day of infamy made him the first WWII casualty from both his hometown and Clay County, Illinois. When local friends of his formed a Veterans of Foreign Wars post on January 28, 1945, they named it in honor of him, the Leslie Edgar Etchason VFW Post 3999. He is also honored at the WWII Memorial in Flora, illinois. (This information has been posted on the National World War II Memorial's Registry of Remembrances website by Robert Medley Gatewood. It is entered here with his permission.) Source: https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=906561
  		United States of America Flag, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959,…
  		United States Navy
  		Leslie Edgar 'Ike' Etchason (1918-1941)
  		United States Navy
  		Seaman 1st Class (S1c), United States Navy, World War II Seaman Branch rating badges were the only ones worn on the right sleeve, all other branches were worn on the left.
  		Seaman 1st Class (S1c), United States Navy, World War II, Shoulder Piping Seaman Branch rating badges were the only ones worn on the right sleeve; all other branches were worn on the left.
  		United States Navy Enlisted Rates
  		World War II (1939-1945)
  		USS Arizona (BB-39), United States Navy
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007 On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. …
  		World War II Honoree, Etchason, Leslie 'Ike' Edgar (1918-1941)
  Death	7 Dec 1941	Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii   [4]
  	Cause: Killed in Action
  Burial	USS Arizona Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii   [1]
  		Memorial, Etchason, L. E.
  		USS Arizona Memorial, Etchason, L. E.
  		American Battle Monuments Commission - Honolulu Memorial The Honolulu Memorial is located within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in an extinct volcano near the center of Honolulu, Hawaii. On either side of the grand stairs leading to the memorial are eight courts of the missing on which are inscribed the names of the 18,095 American World War II missing from the Pacific, excluding…
  Person ID	I42984	Carl Wayne Gray Research
  Last Modified	18 Jul 2024

  
  

  Father	Etchason, Isaac Walter 'Ike',   b. 16 Feb 1881, Clay County, Illinois d. 27 Jan 1956, Flora, Clay County, Illinois (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Smith, Maude Lola,   b. 6 Jul 1887, Clay County, Illinois d. 071819651965, Illinois (Age 77 years)
  Family ID	F16667	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 17 Nov 1918 - Clay County, Illinois Death - Cause: Killed in Action - 7 Dec 1941 - Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii Burial - - USS Arizona Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S3071] https://www.findagrave.com, USS Arizona Memorial, Etchason, L. E., (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7892718/leslie-edgar-etchason) (Reliability: 2). [S15404] Robert Medley Gatewood, Brochure, Flora, Illinois, World War II Veterans Memorial, page #4, (https://genealogy.carlwgray.com/showmedia.php?mediaID=18791) (Reliability: 2). [S13307] World War II Honoree, Leslie 'Ike' Edgar Etchason, (https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=906561) (Reliability: 2). [S13313] https://www.wwiimemorial.com, World War II Memorial Registry, Etchason, Leslie 'Ike' Edgar, (https://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=906561) (Reliability: 2).