Remembering World War II

Name: Arthur Rupert Rockwell Rank: Seaman First Class Service Number: 3868706 Service: LST-816, United States Navy Date of Birth; Between April - August 1927 Place of Birth: River Hebert, Colchester County, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: 1945 Address at Enlistment: Grays Harbor County, Washington Date of Death: December 13, 1946 (unconfirmed) Age at Death: 19 Cemetery: Satsop Cemetery, Satsop, Grays Harbor County, Washington Grave: Block 62, Lot 6, Grave 4 Arthur Rupert Rockwell was the son of Harry Rupert Rockwell (1898-1969) and Almira Ellen (Wood) Rockwell (1897-1977), and the brother of Mildred Irene Rockwell Coram (1919-1992), James Henry Rockwell (1921-1999), Harry Richard Rockwell (1923-1994) and Eleanor Rebecca (Rockwell) Fry (1925- 2012). His parents married July 11, 1918, in River Hebert, Nova Scotia. When Arthur was two, the family moved to Gray’s Harbor in Washington State in October of 1929. In 1930, the family was living in Aberdeen, Gray Harbor Co., Washington. In 1940, they were living in Brady, Grays Co. Arthur joined the United States Navy and first mustered with the YRDH-1-Class Floating Dry Dock Workshop YRDH-7 on January 2, 1945. He subsequently mustered with the USS Luzon February 21, 1945, likely for transfer to the Pacific, and then with LST-816 (a Landing ship, tank) from February 28, 1945, to November 29, 1945. During World War II, LST-816 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima in March and April 1945, and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in May and June 1945. Following the war, LST-816 performed occupation duty in the Far East until early April 1946. LST-816 returned to the United States and was decommissioned on June 29, 1946, and struck from the Navy list on July 31st that same year. On November 29, 1945, Arthur transferred to the USS Tulagi (CVE-72), a Casablanca-class escort carrier, likely for his return to the United States. The Tulagi embarked planes for transportation back to the United States and reached Pearl Harbor in October 1945, and returned to San Diego in January 1946. He is remembered on a family marker at the Satsop Cemetery in Satsop, Grays Harbor County, Washington State. While his name appears on the marker, his actual fate is unknown. There is no official record of his death or burial. The Kitsap Sun paper from Bremerton, Washington, reported a missing man being sought after a 36-foot naval launch ran ashore empty with its motor running and in gear, asserted to have been operated by A. R. Rockwell. At the time the enlisted man was stationed at the Manchester naval depot in Kitsap County in Washington State. Rockwell had taken the boat from the beach at about 5 pm and it ran ashore approximately half an hour later, empty. No trace of Rockwell could be found. It may be that Arthur drowned while operating the boat.

Arthur Rupert Rockwell

Sources: findagrave Photo: courtesy of Carol Hardy, (portrait photo found amongst her grandfather George Ogden Wood’s photos)

Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, Washington, Saturday Dec 14, 1946, Page 1