Quick Facts
Biography
Eldon P. Wyman (11 January 1917 - 7 December 1941) was an ensign serving aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Wyman was among the sailors trapped inside the Oklahoma when it sank at its berth.
Early life
Wyman was born in Portland, Oregon on 11 January 1917. He attended the University of Oregon from 1936 to 1940, before enlisting in the United States Naval Reserve as an apprentice seaman on 22 August 1940 at Portland.
Military career
Following training on the USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37), Wyman accepted an appointment as midshipman in the Naval Reserve on 17 March 1941. Attending the Naval Reserve Midshipman's School at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, Wyman was commissioned as an ensign on 12 June and reported to the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) on 19 July.
The Oklahoma subsequently operated out of Pearl Harbor as a unit of Battleship Division 1 on exercises in the Hawaiian operating area and off the west coast as tensions increased in the Pacific and in the Far East. By early December 1941, Wyman was serving as junior watch officer of the ship's "F" (fire control) division. Moored outboard of the USS Maryland (BB-46) during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Oklahoma took four aerial torpedoes and rolled over at her berth; among those trapped within the ship's hull was Wyman.
On 4 September 2008 the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office announced the remains of Wyman and two other seamen had been identified.
Namesake
The USS Wyman (DE-38), a destroyer escort, was named for Ensign Wyman.