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In Honor of
Charles Edward Brittan |
Forever Seventeen
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Charles
Edward Brittan
The above photograph was donated by the sister and
brother-in-law, Lois and Rudy Carlson, of Charles Edward
Brittan. It was taken when he was an apprentice seaman, just out
of boot camp.
I have felt a special kin-ship toward him since Lois told
me his story. I read the records of his short Navy career and
realized that we were the same age in 1941. Now I understand why
I feel so emotionally involved.
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Where his remains are
now is uncertain but the soul of this seventeen year old
departed that day, December 7, 1941, from the starboard side on
the quarterdeck of the burning and sinking battleship, U.S.S.
Arizona BB-39. His name is engraved in stone, along with the
1176 of his shipmates, on the wall of the USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL
that spans the sunken hull, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
His service to his country and ultimate sacrifice earned
him the right, at the tender age of seventeen, to be called a
man.
~Lorraine E. Marks, July 30, 1990
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A Shipmate Remembers
Charles Brittan
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