Clarence R. Patterson, Jr.

	NAME Clarence Rankin Patterson, Jr.	NICKNAME —	SERVICE NUMBER 291894
	UNIT Marine Detachment USS Arizona	HOME OF RECORD 508 West 7th Street Plainview, TX	NEXT OF KIN* Parents, Clarence & Lillian Patterson
	DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1920 at Tishomingo, OK	ENTERED SERVICE August 15, 1940 at Oklahoma City, OK	DATE OF LOSS December 7, 1941
	REGION Hawaiian Islands	CAMPAIGN / AREA Pearl Harbor	CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC Clarence R. Patterson, Jr. was a member of the Marine detachment aboard the battleship USS Arizona. He was aboard on 7 December 1941 when his ship was bombed and sunk by Japanese aircraft at the battle of Pearl Harbor. Patterson’s remains were never identified, and are believed to rest aboard the Arizona to this day.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart	LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class	STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered.	MEMORIALS USS Arizona Memorial Honolulu Memorial

Biography:
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* Note: Navy casualty rolls and an original USMC Casualty Card show that PFC Patterson was married and that his wife, Mrs. Jadene Patterson of Long Beach, California, was his next of kin. However, Patterson family sources  state that no marriage took place and “Jadene’s” claim was a fraudulent attempt to secure Patterson’s life insurance payout. A revised Casualty Card in Patterson’s file – changing his marital status to “single” and naming his mother as his next of kin – supports this statement. Lillian and Clarence Patterson Senior, were tenant farmers in Texas; Clarence also had two older sisters, Pauline and Iris. Thanks to Michelle Hildebrand for this information.