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Wartime Heritage
ASSOCIATION
Remembering World War II
Name:
Adrian Curtis Wiles
Rank:
Radioman Third Class
Service Number:
6663868
Service:
USS Swanson, US Naval Reserve, US Navy
Awards:
Purple Heart
Date of Birth:
December 1, 1921
Place of Birth:
Bridgewater, Lunenburg Co., NS
Date of Enlistment:
Unknown
Place of Enlistment:
Unknown
Address at Enlistment:
Worcester, Massachusetts
Age at Enlistment:
20-21
Height:
5 feet, 10 inches
Complexion:
Ruddy
Hair Color:
Brown
Eye Color:
Blue
Occupation:
Forging metal components
Next of Kin:
John H Wiles
Date of Death:
September 29, 1944
Age:
22
Cemetery:
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii
Grave:
Honolulu Memorial, Courts of the Missing
Adrian Curtis Wiles was the son of John Harold Wiles (1887-) and Dora Kathleen (Turner) Wiles (1893-). His
mother was born in Hemford, Lunenburg Co., NS. The family moved to the United States in 1926.
In 1940, Adrian was living and working as a bowling alley pin boy in Worcester, Mass. He registered for the
US Draft two years later on February 15, 1942, in Worcester, and was working for the Wyman-Gordon
Company, a metal-forging business, on Madison Street in Worcester.
Adrian served on the USS Swanson.
The USS Swanson (DD-443) was a
Gleaves-class destroyer of the United
States Navy, named for Secretary of
the Navy Claude A. Swanson
(1862–1939). Adrian first appears of
the Navy muster rolls with the
Swanson on January 14, 1943, and
served on the USS Swanson until his
death in September 1944.
On August 19, 1944, Swanson left New Guinea and joined Fast Carrier Task Force (Task Force 38). The
destroyer screened the aircraft carriers Franklin, Enterprise, and San Jacinto, while they launched airstrikes
on Bonins, Ulithi, Yap, Palau, Okinawa, Taiwan, and while they provided air support for the Philippine
landings on October 20, 1944.
Adrian Curtis Wiles was killed in action while serving aboard USS Swanson on September 29, 1944.
He is remembered on the Honolulu
Memorial in the Courts of the Missing
at the National Memorial of the
Pacific in Hawaii.
Adrian Curtis Wiles