GILBERT SUN NEWS | JULY 19, 2020
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from page 6
in 2016 and was a top-10 New York Times bestseller. Donald had enlisted in the Navy after graduating high school in 1940. At the time, the country was neutral but had begun providing significant military supplies and other help to the Allies. On Dec. 7, 1941, Donald was on deck when a 1,760-pound bomb slammed into the USS Arizona, hitting the ammunition storage area and setting off an explosion that killed 1,177 crew on board. About half of the servicemen who died that Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, were on the USS Arizona. Donald, 19, however, didn’t escape unscathed. “He was burned over 65 percent of his body,” Stratton said. “He was in the hospital for a year and a half and went home to Red Cloud. After his recovery, he didn’t want to be stuck on the sideline and went to re-enlist in the Navy. The Navy told him ‘no, we don’t think you could do it because the extent of the injuries was so massive.’” Stratton said her grandfather replied, “I want to go to war. I want to go back for my shipmates. I want to make a difference.” The Navy finally acquiesced but only on the condition he could make it through boot camp a second time, which he did. He participated in six more invasions aboard the USS Stack destroyer. “He finished out WWII at the beginning and end of the war,” Stratton said. After the war, Donald worked as a longshoreman for an off-shore oil drilling rig. He and his wife, Velma, lived in California for a number of years, moved
to Yuma and then back to California. The couple later relocated to Colorado, where they lived for 15 years before Donald died Feb. 15, followed by his wife three months later. The two had been married for 70 years. With Donald’s death, there are now two living survivors of the USS Arizona. Stratton said she’s received backing from the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and from the family of Joe George, who agreed Gilbert was the right place for the new ship. George is credited with saving Donald and five other sailors on the USS Arizona as it went down in flames. George, who died in 1996, was aboard the USS Vestal, a repair ship moored right next to the USS Arizona. Donald didn’t return to the USS Arizona until 1966 for the 25th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, four years after the official debut of the USS Arizona Memorial, which was built over the sunken remains. Over the years, Donald had returned a number of times, taking Stratton with him for her first visit in 1991. There, Stratton said she saw a different side of her grandfather who she characterized as a jovial type who told the corniest jokes and was the epitome of dad jokes. “He stepped on the memorial and he was a totally different person,” she recalled. “He became very stoic, very quiet. You could kind of tell it was almost like he was back there as a 19-year-old kid reliving the absolute surreal horror he went through that day. “It was probably one of the most impactful and powerful experiences in my life.”
in Chandler. Intel had apparently devised some AI programming and been testing it out elsewhere before seeking out Chandler-Gilbert’s help at implementing the curriculum for the local workforce. The program will additionally offer a certificate option for workers and graduates looking to add some additional skills to their resume. Habib Matar, who notably earned an associate’s degree from Chandler-Gilbert at
the age of 16, said they’re designing these new courses to help students get a better understanding of how modern technology works. These classes will hopefully “clear the fog” on some of the complexities surrounding new AI technology, he added, and possibly push students to pursue more advanced degrees at a four-year university.
INTEL from page 4
NEWS
see INTEL page 8
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