USS Arizona Postal Cover - December 7, 1941 KIA

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Not long ago I came across this mid-1930s postal cover not long ago. It was postmarked on board the USS Arizona and two things caught my eye. One was the hometown of the addressee Marjorie Lois Ogle - Glendora, California - which also happens to be where I live. The second was the fact that it was not a commemorative/souvenir issue but a cover from a personal letter sent by a member of the crew of the Arizona apparently to his girlfriend or fiancé on March 7, 1935. At the time the Arizona was moored at San Pedro, California with the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Battle Fleet.

 

 

 

The cover (and sadly now missing its letter) was mailed Arizona crew member Herman Lincoln Schuman and needless to say I began investigating his story even before purchasing the cover. The uneasy question in the back of my mind was as to whether Schuman was still aboard the Arizona six years later at Pearl Harbor on the Day of Infamy. Fortunately, I was able to acquire a copy of Schuman’s service file – after a considerable wait - which provided many details of his naval career and ultimate fate.

 

Herman Lincoln Schuman was born in Connecticut on February 12, 1912, the son of Herman R. and Lydia Schuman He had at least one sibling, a sister named Frances. Schuman enlisted in the navy as apprentice seaman on April 3, 1929, while still technically underage, doing so with his father’s permission.

 

His first assignment was onboard the USS Mississippi. He was appointed bugler second class on August 19, 1929. He would serve on the Mississippi until March 1931, reporting aboard the Arizona on the 23rd of that month – not long after James Cagney and company took over the ship during the filming of Here Comes the Navy.

 

Interestingly his records contain a letter to the U.S. Navy from his sister dated July 7, 1931, enquiring as to the whereabouts of her brother. Apparently, Schuman was less than diligent in writing home and his family had no idea as to where he was stationed. A return letter from a Commander I. H. Hayfield stated that Schuman had been informed of his sister’s letter and promised to write home regularly.

 

The dates of Shuman’s advancement in rating were: Apprentice Seaman – July 19, 1929, Seaman 2nd Class (Sea2c) – August 5, 1929, Seaman 1st Class (Sea1c) – June 1, 1934, Store Keeper 3rd Class (SK3c) – February 16, 1936, Store Keeper 2nd Class (SK2c) – August 8, 1936, Store Keeper 1^st Class (SK1c) – November 16, 1940.

 

Schuman was cited twice in 1931 for rater minor infractions. The first on Oct 24 for the improper wearing of his uniform while on liberty, and the second on October 30 for hanging his clothes in an unauthorized place.

 

In the later part of 1935, Schuman would have taken part in fleet exercises and made port at Balboa, Panama. Budget cuts led to the ship being held in port for good portions of 1936 -1938. In 1937 Schuman would marry Marjorie Ogle and the new couple took an apartment in Long Beach, California.

 

Schuman’s new bride was born at Enders, Nebraska on July 24, 1917, to George Washington Ogle and Orrilla Vennie Cooney. The Ogle family headed west in the early 1920s, settling in Glendora. Marjorie’s mother died on May 5, 1923. Exactly how a blue water sailor like Herman Schuman and Marjorie, a girl from the orange growing inland town of Glendora came to meet is for now part of the story lost to history.

 

Fleet exercises took Schuman and the Arizona to Hawaiian waters in 1938 and on April 28, 1939, he was awarded the Navy Good Conduct Medal. More fleet exercises in 1940 and then it was then on to Bremerton, Washington for a long-needed overhaul which was completed in January 1941. The Arizona would make one final visit to Long Beach, California in June – July 1941. While Herman and Marjorie would have had a long-overdue reunion, little did the couple know it would be the last time they would ever see one another. He would be one of the 1,777 officers and men killed on board on December 7, 1941, His body was never recovered.

 

His service records state that Schuman was entitled to the Purple Heart, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with Fleet clasp, and the World War II Victory Medal. To this list, I believe the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one service star for December 7, 1941, should be added.

 

As of now, I have been unable to locate any photograph of Henry Lincoln Schuman.